POPULATION: 19,636.
Ripley Town Council: Town Hall, Market Place, Ripley, DE5 3BT Telephone & Fax: 01773 570022
Amber Valley Borough Council: Town Hall, Market Place, Ripley DE5 3BT (01773) 570222, out of hours (emergencies only) (01773) 841414. Opening times: 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Wed.
Ripley Medical Centre: Derby Road, Ripley, tel 0844 499 4468 (24 hour/emergency).
History: The industrial town of Ripley was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Ripelie.
Coal and iron have been mined in the area for centuries. But one man, Benjamin Outram, really made a difference to the prosperity of the town.
Outram was one of the men responsible for engineering the Cromford Canal in 1793. Its junction at Ripley linked the town to the rest of the network.
Outram also founded the Butterley Company ironworks, bringing jobs to the area..
Butterley Hall was built in the 18th century and was home to Benjamin Outram for a number of years. It was also head quarters of the Butterley Company and is now the head quarters of Derbyshire Police Force.
Famous names:
Aviator Barnes Wallis (1887-1979), whose most famous invention was the Bouncing Bomb developed for the Dambuster Raid of 1943, was born in Ripley, the son of a local doctor. One of the town’s parks is named after him, and there is a blue plaque outside the house where he was born.