102-785: The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London , England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames , not far from Hungerford Bridge , in the London Borough of Lambeth . It is a Grade I listed building , the first post-war building to become so protected (in 1981). The London Philharmonic Orchestra , the Philharmonia Orchestra ,
204-477: A unitary authority area of the City of Derby. Derby remains part of Derbyshire only for ceremonial purposes. Derbyshire has become fractionally smaller during government reorganisation over the years. The Sheffield suburbs Woodseats, Beauchief, Handsworth, Woodhouse, Norton, Mosborough , Totley , Bradway and Dore were previously parts of the county, but were lost to Sheffield between 1900 and 1933; Mosborough
306-631: A bryophyte flora for Derbyshire still continues: by 2012 a total of 518 bryophyte species had been recorded for the county. Botanical recording in the UK predominantly uses the unchanging vice-county boundary system, which results in a slightly different map of Derbyshire from the modern geographic county. A number of specialist organisations protect, promote and monitor records of individual animal groups across Derbyshire. The main ones are Derbyshire Ornithological Society; Derbyshire Mammal Group; Derbyshire Bat Group, Derbyshire Amphibian and Reptile Group, and
408-500: A cost of £2 million and officially opened on 3 May 1951 with a gala concert attended by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth , conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent and Sir Adrian Boult . The first general manager was T. E. Bean, who had previously managed the Hallé Orchestra . "I was overwhelmed by a shock of breathless delight at the originality and beauty of the interior. It felt as if I had been instantly transported far into
510-468: A hurried burglary, but none has a compromised sightline. The ceiling was wilfully sculptural, a conceit at the very edge of building technology and, as it turns out, way beyond the contemporary understanding of acoustics. Robin Day , who designed the furniture for the auditorium, used a clearly articulated structure in his designs of bent plywood and steel. The original building had lushly planted roof terraces;
612-415: A long period. Lead, for example, has been mined since Roman times. The limestone outcrops in the central area led to the establishment of large quarries to supply the industries of surrounding towns with lime for building and steelmaking , and latterly in the 20th-century cement manufacture. The Industrial Revolution also increased demand for building stone , and in the late 19th and early 20th-century,
714-507: A number of rich and varied ensembles which alone or in combination could equal the dynamic scale of any orchestra or choral grouping, in addition to coping with the entire solo repertoire. The design principles enshrined in its construction gave rise to a whole new school of organ building, known as the English Organ Reform Movement , influencing in the UK alone the cathedral organs of Coventry and Blackburn and
816-535: A number of sensitive species are now being seen to be either expanding or contracting their range as a result. For the purposes of protecting and recording the county's most important habitats, Derbyshire has been split into two regions, each with its own Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), based around National Character Areas. The Peak District BAP includes all of Derbyshire's uplands of the Dark Peak, South-West Peak and White Peak, including an area of limestone beyond
918-565: A population of 1,053,316. The east of the county is more densely populated than the west, and contains the county's largest settlements: Derby (261,400), Chesterfield (88,483), and Swadlincote (45,000). For local government purposes Derbyshire comprises a non-metropolitan county , with eight districts, and the Derby unitary authority area. The East Midlands Combined County Authority includes Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council. The north and centre of Derbyshire are hilly and contain
1020-532: A population of 770,600 lived in the county with 248,752 (32%) living in Derby. Although Derbyshire is officially part of the East Midlands statistical region, parts of the county are often considered to be culturally in Northern England , such as Chesterfield and Glossop. The table below shows all towns with over 10,000 inhabitants. During a series of administrative boundary changes during
1122-683: A second concert hall and an art gallery on the eastern part of the South Bank site previously occupied by a lead works and shot tower (and which had been earmarked as a site for the National Theatre ). It was another 12 years before the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the linked Purcell Room opened to the public. Together, they were to be known as South Bank Concert Halls. In 1968, the Hayward opened, under direct management of
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#17327795092221224-463: A significant part of Derbyshire's economy, as did coal mining. Lead mining has been important here since Roman Times. The more recent river gravels of the Trent valley remain a significant extractive industry today in south Derbyshire, as does the mining of limestone rock in central and northern parts of the county. Coarse sandstones were once extensively quarried both for local building materials and for
1326-400: A single day easier, and to add to the flexibility of the venue. Theatre consultants Carr & Angier worked with ISG Interior Exterior and Stage Technologies to create a new working space over the stage area with four large movable lighting bridges, capable of load sharing to lift large touring productions without the need for custom rigging . Delstar Engineering supplied eleven lifts to form
1428-501: A third of the organ was reinstalled. The remainder was reinstalled between 2012 and 2013, and voicing completed in 2014. The Festival Hall was one of the first concert halls in the world to be built using the application of scientific principles, both theoretical and experimental. Hope Bagenal and his colleagues from the Building Research Station formed an integral part of the design team. The acoustic behaviour of
1530-488: A wing running parallel to Waterloo Bridge behind the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium. Its features were to include a glass pavilion, new arts spaces, a literature centre, cafes and commercial units. The proposed alterations would have replaced the skate park which has developed in the undercroft , hailed as the birthplace of British skateboarding, with retail units to fund the new arts spaces. By May 2014,
1632-482: Is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester , West Yorkshire , and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south and west, and Cheshire to the west. Derby is the largest settlement, and Matlock is the county town. The county has an area of 2,625 km (1,014 sq mi) and
1734-906: Is a complex of artistic venues in London , England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge ). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the National Poetry Library , the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room ), together with the Hayward Gallery , and is Europe’s largest centre for the arts. It attracted 4.36 million visitors during 2019. Over two thousand paid performances of music, dance and literature are staged at Southbank Centre each year, as well as over two thousand free events and an education programme, in and around
1836-609: The Arts Council . The new buildings had their main entrances at first floor level and were integrated into an extensive elevated concrete walkway system linked to the Royal Festival Hall and the Shell Centre . This vertical separation of pedestrian and vehicle traffic proved unpopular due to the difficulty pedestrians had in navigating through the complex, and the dark and under-used spaces at ground level below
1938-971: The Brutalist movement better known. The buildings re-opened in 2018 following completion of the works. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic , which halted live performances and closed exhibitions, most of the centre's 600 employees were furloughed, and in July 2020 up to 400 were expected to be made redundant. The Hayward Gallery reopened in August but the Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall were expected to remain closed until April 2021. The resident orchestras at Southbank Centre are: 51°30′20.56″N 00°07′0.34″W / 51.5057111°N 0.1167611°W / 51.5057111; -0.1167611 Derbyshire Derbyshire ( / ˈ d ɑːr b i ʃ ɪər , - ʃ ər / DAR -bee-sheer, -shər )
2040-565: The Building Research Station ; Henry Humphreys, Peter Parkin and William Allen. Martin was 39 at the time, and very taken with the Nordic activities of Alvar Aalto and Gunnar Asplund . The figure who really drove the project forward was Herbert Morrison , a Labour Party politician. It was he who had insisted that Matthew had Martin as his deputy architect, treating the Festival Hall as a special project. A 1948 sketch by Martin shows
2142-731: The EFL Championship , the second tier of English football. The next highest-placed team is Chesterfield , which participates in EFL League Two , the fourth tier of English football. There are also many non-league teams playing throughout the county, most notably Alfreton Town , which plays in the National League North . The county is currently home to the world's oldest football club, Sheffield F.C. , which plays in Dronfield in north-east Derbyshire. Glossop
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#17327795092222244-499: The East Midlands Combined Authority , and elected the first Mayor of the East Midlands in the 2024 East Midlands Mayoral Election . The Derbyshire school system is comprehensive with no selective schools. The independent sector includes Repton School , Trent College and The Elms School . There are several towns in the county, with Derby the largest and most populous. At the time of the 2011 census,
2346-779: The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment , the London Sinfonietta , Chineke! and Aurora are resident orchestras at Southbank Centre. The hall was built as part of the Festival of Britain for London County Council , and was officially opened on 3 May 1951. When the LCC's successor, the Greater London Council , was abolished in 1986, the Festival Hall was taken over by the Arts Council , and managed together with
2448-552: The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room (opened 1967) and the Hayward Gallery (1968), eventually becoming an independent arts organisation, now known as the Southbank Centre , in April 1998. The complex includes several reception rooms, bars and restaurants, and the Clore Ballroom, accommodating up to 440 for a seated dinner. A large head and shoulders bust of Nelson Mandela (by Ian Walters , created in 1985) stands on
2550-653: The Repton area. Following the Norman Conquest , much of the county was subject to the forest laws . To the northwest was the Forest of High Peak under the custodianship of William Peverel and his descendants. The rest of the county was bestowed upon Henry de Ferrers , a part of it becoming Duffield Frith . In time the whole area was given to the Duchy of Lancaster . Meanwhile, the Forest of East Derbyshire covered
2652-539: The Roman conquest of Britain , the invaders were attracted to Derbyshire for its lead ore in the limestone hills of the area. They settled throughout the county, with forts built near Brough in the Hope Valley and near Glossop . Later they settled round Buxton , famed for its warm springs, and set up a fort near modern-day Derby in an area now known as Little Chester . Several kings of Mercia are buried in
2754-853: The Women of the World Festival , Madani Younis (previously Artistic Director at the Bush Theatre ) was appointed to the new role of Creative Director from January 2019, to work alongside Gillian Moore, the Director of Music, and Ralph Rugoff , Director of the Hayward Gallery. Younis resigned in October 2019. The role of artistic director remained vacant until the appointment of the former creative director of Manchester International Festival , Mark Ball who took up his position at
2856-662: The 20th century, settlements which were historically part of the county now fall under the administrative areas of Greater Manchester , South Yorkshire , and Staffordshire : Numerous other boundary changes also took place during the course of the 19th century, with county settlements being ceded to the counties of Staffordshire and Leicestershire Because of the size of the county, southern parts of Derbyshire such as Derby, Matlock, Ashbourne and Bakewell are covered by BBC East Midlands and ITV Central in Nottingham , broadcast from Waltham . Northeast Derbyshire, Chesterfield,
2958-556: The Derbyshire & Nottingham Entomological Society. All maintain databases of wildlife sightings, whilst some such as the Derbyshire Ornithological Society provide alerts of rare sightings on their websites or social media pages and also publish major works describing the status and distribution of species. Derbyshire has a mixture of a rural economy in the west, with a former coal-mining economy in
3060-507: The Hall were relined to change their acoustic qualities and the undulating plaster ceiling panels were completely reconstructed using more robust materials to provide greater warmth of sound and support for bass frequencies. New adjustable acoustic canopies were placed over the stage's width to allow bass frequencies to resonate in the space above the stage, and for treble frequencies to be reflected back to improve feedback to performers. The stage
3162-528: The Jubilee Gardens Trust and the car park on the remaining land beyond Hungerford Bridge was sold in 2013, to extend the gardens as part of the Shell Centre redevelopment. The site is next to the National Theatre and BFI Southbank , but does not include them. The closest Underground stations are Waterloo and Embankment . Misan Harriman became chairman of the Board of Governors of
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3264-496: The Level Two foyer café had been able to spill out onto the terraces looking out on the river, and original entrances were positioned on the sides of the building, enabling visitors to arrive directly at the stairs leading to the auditorium. The foundation stone was laid in 1949 by Prime Minister Clement Attlee on the site of the former Lion Brewery, built in 1837. The building was constructed by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts at
3366-593: The Neolithic henge monument of Arbor Low , which has been dated to 2500 BCE. It is not until the Bronze Age that real signs of agriculture and settlement are found in the county. In the moors of the Peak District signs of clearance, arable fields and hut circles were found after archaeological investigation. However this area and another settlement at Swarkestone are all that have been found. During
3468-502: The Nottinghamshire border. Deposits left in the caves date the occupancy at around 12,000 to 7,000 BCE . Burial mounds of Neolithic settlers are also situated throughout the county. These chambered tombs were designed for collective burial and are mostly located in the central Derbyshire region. There are tombs at Minninglow and Five Wells that date back to between 2000 and 2500 BCE. Three miles west of Youlgreave lies
3570-687: The Peak District LNP and the Lowland Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire LNP. Since 2002, the county flower for Derbyshire has been Jacob's-ladder ( Polemonium caeruleum ), a relatively rare species, and characteristic of certain limestone dales in the White Peak. Derbyshire is known to have contained 1,919 separate taxa of vascular plants (including species, hybrids and micro-species) since modern recording began, of which 1,133 are known to be either native or archaeophyte ,
3672-552: The Peak District National Park. The 11 National Character Areas found within Derbyshire are: Derbyshire's solid geology can be split into two very different halves. The oldest rocks occur in the northern, more upland half of the county, and are mostly of Carboniferous age, comprising limestones , gritstones , sandstones and shales . In its north-east corner to the east of Bolsover , there are also Magnesian Limestone rocks of Permian age. In contrast,
3774-593: The Southbank Centre in 2022, succeeding Susan Gilchrist, who had held the role since 2016. Elaine Bedell was appointed as Chief Executive in 2017; from 2009 to 2016 that position was held by Alan Bishop, former chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi International and Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information . September 2005 saw the arrival of Jude Kelly as the centre's Artistic Director. After Kelly stepped down in order to devote herself to
3876-692: The Southbank in January 2022. The history of Southbank Centre starts with the Festival of Britain , held in 1951. In what was described as "a tonic for the nation" by Herbert Morrison , the Labour Party government minister responsible for the event, the Festival of Britain aimed to demonstrate Britain’s recovery from World War II by showcasing the best in science, technology, arts and industrial design. It ran from May to September 1951, and by June
3978-501: The UK's largest car manufacturing plants at Burnaston . Ashbourne Water used to be bottled in Buxton by Nestlé Waters UK until 2006 and Buxton Water still is. Derbyshire is one of only three counties permitted to make cheese that is labelled as Stilton cheese . The others are Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire . The smallest of six companies making this product is Hartington Creamery at Pikehall . As of March 2021, Hartington Stilton
4080-466: The airflow in the auditorium. During the 2000s a building comprising seven commercial units was erected opposite the western side of the hall, with many of the Southbank administrative offices above. Shops and restaurants were added along the river frontage. The venue officially reopened to the public in June 2007. The refurbishment was estimated to have cost in the region of £91 million. A film documenting
4182-414: The arrival of the railways led to a large number of stone quarries being established. This industry has left its mark on the countryside, but is still a major industry: a lot of the stone is supplied as crushed stone for road building and concrete manufacture, and is moved by rail. Derbyshire's relative remoteness in the late 18th century and an abundance of fast-flowing streams led to a proliferation of
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4284-594: The auditorium, they also had the effect of insulating the Hall from the noise of the adjacent railway bridge. To quote Leslie Martin, "The suspended auditorium provides the building with its major attributes: the great sense of space that is opened out within the building, the flowing circulation from the symmetrically placed staircases and galleries that became known as the 'egg in the box'." The hall they built used modernism's favourite material, reinforced concrete, alongside more luxurious elements including beautiful woods and Derbyshire fossilised limestone. The exterior of
4386-428: The authorities, after prolonged experiment, had become convinced that no improvement in the hall's reverberation could be achieved by any further treatment of its surfaces. Longer reverberation would require modification to the main structure, reducing the seating capacity and the provision of a new ceiling. This was considered too costly, particularly as any hypothetical gain in 'warmth' or 'resonance' might well be by
4488-468: The best-known. Cemented screes and tufa deposits occur very rarely in the limestone dales and rivers, whilst cave systems have been created naturally in the limestone since Pleistocene times. A recently discovered cave chamber near Castleton , named Titan , is the deepest shaft and biggest chamber of any cave in Britain. The oldest rocks are Lower Carboniferous limestones of Dinantian age, which form
4590-424: The building process. A specific problem for performers was the difficulty of hearing each other on the platform. Both the angled 'blast' side walls and the plywood reflectors projected sound away from the stage. The general consensus was that the hall was 'too dry', not reverberant enough, particularly at low frequencies, and that the bass tone was weak. The definition was 'excellent' for chamber and modern music, but
4692-450: The building was bright white, intended to contrast with the blackened city surrounding it. Large areas of glass on its façade meant that light coursed freely throughout the interior, and at night, the glass let the light from inside flood out onto the river, in contrast to the darkness which befell the rest of London after dusk. The hall originally seated 2,901. The cantilevered boxes are often described as looking like drawers pulled out in
4794-483: The campaign group strongly opposing the proposals called Long Live Southbank had gained over 120,000 members. As well as the skateboarders, the National Theatre also had objections. In early 2014, the scheme was put on hold when the Mayor of London, then Boris Johnson , said he would not support removal of the skateboarding area from the Queen Elizabeth Hall undercroft to under Hungerford Bridge. The development of
4896-588: The concert hall organs of the Fairfield Halls , Croydon , and the Bridgewater Hall , Manchester : there are also innumerable organs in other countries which have been influenced by it. However, the design of the organ in its housing made maintenance difficult, and by 2000 it had become unusable. It was consequently completely removed before restoration of the Hall itself began in 2005, and after restoration and updating by Harrison & Harrison,
4998-500: The concert hall space was almost entirely intact until this re-modelling, which saw its stage canopy and walls rebuilt in plainer more rectangular forms. Seating was reduced slightly to 2,788, including the choir seating. This was carried out in the face of opposition from conservationists, led by the Twentieth Century Society . On the advice of acoustics firm, Kirkegaard Associates , the lack of reverberation and
5100-498: The core of the White Peak within the Peak District National Park. Because northern Derbyshire is effectively an uplifted dome of rock layers that have subsequently eroded to expose older rocks in the centre of the Derbyshire Dome , these are encircled by progressively younger limestone rocks, until they in turn give way on three sides to Upper Carboniferous shales, gritstones and sandstones of Namurian age. Younger still are
5202-525: The county and surround large conurbations: Because of its central location in England and altitude range from 27 metres in the south to 636 metres in the north, Derbyshire contains many species at the edge of their UK distribution ranges. Some species with a predominantly northern British distribution are at the southern limit of their range, whilst others with a more southern distribution are at their northern limit in Derbyshire. As climate change progresses,
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#17327795092225304-479: The county is provided by BBC Radio Derby , BBC Radio Sheffield (covering Chesterfield and Bolsover ) and BBC Radio Manchester (covering Glossop, New Miils and Chapel-en-le-Frith). County-wide commercial radio stations are Capital Midlands , Hits Radio East Midlands , Gold , Greatest Hits Radio East Midlands and Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire (for Chesterfield, Matlock and Bakewell). Derbyshire has two Football League teams, Derby County , which plays in
5406-714: The county's highest point at Kinder Scout . The terrain is relatively low-lying across the lower Dove Valley , from the Trent Valley and southwards, the far south of the Derwent Valley and near its eastern borders with Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire . The main rivers in the county are the River Derwent and the River Dove which both join the River Trent in the south. The River Derwent rises in
5508-606: The design of the concert hall as the egg in a box. But the strength of the design was the arrangement of interior space: the central staircase has a ceremonial feel and moves elegantly through the different levels of light and air. They were concerned that whilst the scale of the project demanded a monumental building, it should not ape the triumphal classicism of many earlier public buildings. The wide open foyers, with bars and restaurants, were intended to be meeting places for all: there were to be no separate bars for different classes of patron. Because these public spaces were built around
5610-439: The difficult performance conditions for musicians were corrected by changes in the fabric of the auditorium. Surfaces that had previously absorbed sound were transformed to support and sustain that sound. The tapestries on the back walls of the boxes were gathered up to increase reverberation, but can be redeployed, together with additional absorbent blinds above the stage and around the Hall whenever needed. The wooden wall panels of
5712-490: The east side of the RFH, running along Belvedere Road towards the Shell Centre was removed in 1999–2000, to restore ground level circulation. The Waterloo Site (the late 1960s buildings) has been the subject of various plans for modification or reconstruction, in particular a scheme developed by Richard Rogers in the mid-1990s which would have involved a great glass roof over the existing three buildings. This did not proceed due to
5814-653: The eastern High Peak (Hope Valley) and northern area of the Derbyshire Dales ( Tideswell and Hathersage ) are covered by ITV Yorkshire and BBC Yorkshire from Emley Moor , with their ITV News Calendar and Look North programmes, both from Leeds . The western area of the High Peak ( Buxton , Glossop , New Miils and Chapel-en-le-Frith ) is covered by BBC North West from Winter Hill and ITV Granada , both based in Salford . BBC Local Radio for
5916-429: The far south of Derbyshire from Ticknall (limestone) to Swadlincote (coal measures). Some areas of the White Peak exhibit contemporaneous basalt flows (e.g. Ravens Tor at Millers Dale), as well as subsequent dolerite sill intrusion at a much later stage (e.g. near Tideswell Dale), whilst mineralisation of the carboniferous limestone in a subsequent period created extensive lead and fluorite deposits which have formed
6018-449: The following year most of it had been dismantled, following the victory of Winston Churchill and the Conservative Party in the general election of 1951. The Royal Festival Hall is the only building from the Festival of Britain that survives. From 1962 to 1965, the Royal Festival Hall was extended towards the river and Waterloo station and refurbished. The London County Council (later, Greater London Council ) decided in 1955 to build
6120-489: The furthest point from the sea in the UK. The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited, probably briefly, by humans 200,000 years ago during the Aveley interglacial , as shown by a Middle Paleolithic Acheulean hand axe found near Hopton . Further occupation came with the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age when Mesolithic hunter-gatherers roamed the hilly tundra. Evidence of these nomadic tribes has been found in limestone caves located on
6222-402: The future and that I was on another planet," said journalist Bernard Levin of his first impressions of the building. The 7,866 pipe organ was built during 1950–1954 by Harrison & Harrison in Durham , to the specification of the London County Council 's consultant, Ralph Downes , who also supervised the tonal finishing. It was designed as a well-balanced classical instrument embracing
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#17327795092226324-416: The hall was not as effective for music of the late Classical or Romantic period. Sir John Barbirolli commented, "Everything is sharp and clear and there is no impact, no fullness on the climaxes." A water source heat pump was used to heat the building in the winter and cool the building in the summer. Water was extracted from the River Thames below Hungerford Bridge using a centrifugal pump . Heat
6426-458: The high degree of National Lottery funding required and likely high cost. In 2000, a masterplan for the South Bank Centre site was produced. The main features were In line with the plans, in 2006-7 a new glass-fronted building was created to provide office space for Southbank Centre staff as well as a range of new shops and restaurants. This was inserted between the RFH and the approach viaduct to Hungerford Bridge . New restaurants and shops along
6528-1143: The high moors. The dales of the White Peak are known for habitats such as calcareous grassland , ash woodlands and rock outcrops in all of which a much greater richness of lime-loving species occurs than elsewhere in the county. These include various orchids (such as early purple orchid ( Orchis mascula ), dark-red helleborine ( Epipactis atrorubens ) and fly orchid ( Ophrys insectifera )), common rockrose ( Helianthemum nummularium ), spring cinquefoil ( Helianthemum nummularium ) and grass of parnassus ( Parnassia palustris ). Specialised communities of plants occur on former lead workings, where typical metallophyte species include spring sandwort ( Minuartia verna ), alpine penny-cress ( Thlaspi caerulescens ) (both known locally in Derbyshire as Leadwort), as well as mountain pansy ( Viola lutea ) and moonwort ( Botrychium lunaria ). In 2015, Derbyshire contained 304 vascular plant species now designated as of international, national or local conservation concern, for their rarity or recent declines, and collectively listed as Derbyshire Red Data plants. Work on recording and publishing
6630-637: The last 120 years in a series of four major botanical works, each by different authors between 1889 and 2015, all entitled The Flora of Derbyshire . Plant recording is mainly undertaken locally by volunteers from the Derbyshire Flora Group, and by staff at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and the Peak District National Park. The Dark Peak is marked by heathlands, bogs, gritstone edges and acid grasslands containing relatively few species, with plants such as heather ( Calluna vulgaris ), crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum ), bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus ) and hare's-tail cotton grass ( Eriophorum vaginatum ) being dominant on
6732-405: The low frequencies which critics and musicians thought did not adequately reverberate in the hall. 172 channels were used to cover a frequency range of 58 Hz to 700 Hz, increasing reverberation time from 1.4 to 2.5 s in the 125 Hz octave band. However, the system never fully solved the problem, and as it aged it became unreliable, occasionally emitting odd sounds during performances. It
6834-450: The low level Thames elevation of the Royal Festival Hall replaced an earlier cafeteria area and accompanied pedestrianisation of this frontage, achieved by removing the circulation road. Between 2005 and 2007 the Festival Hall auditorium was modified, the natural acoustic enhanced to meet classical music requirements. Seating was also reconfigured, together with upgrades to production facilities and public areas, with provision of new bar areas,
6936-486: The main city of Derby, the largest town in the county is Chesterfield . Derbyshire is also part of multiple combined authorities . The Erewash, Amber Valley and Derby districts are part of the D2N2 partnership with neighbouring Nottinghamshire. The Derbyshire Dales, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield districts are part of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (as non constituent members). Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council are part of
7038-431: The map above. These district councils are responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing , environmental health , markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. Education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards , waste disposal and strategic planning are
7140-642: The moorland of Bleaklow and flows throughout the Peak District and county for the majority of its course, while the River Dove rises in Axe Edge Moor and forms a boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire for most of its length. The varied landscapes within Derbyshire have been formed mainly as a consequence of the underlying geology, but also by the way the land has been managed and shaped by human activity. The county contains 11 discrete landscape types, known as National Character Areas , which have been described in detail by Natural England and further refined, mapped and described by Derbyshire County Council and
7242-436: The national park boundary. The remaining areas are monitored and recorded in the Lowland Derbyshire Biodiversity Action Plan, which subdivides the landscape into eight smaller Action Areas. The Derbyshire Biological Records Centre was formerly based at Derby Museum and Art Gallery, but since 2011 has been managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. Two of Englands 48 Local Nature Partnerships (LNP) also cover Derbyshire; these are
7344-476: The north-east (Bolsover district), the Erewash Valley around Ilkeston and in the south around Swadlincote. The rural landscape varies from arable farmland in the flatlands to the south of Derby, to upland pasture and moorland in the high gritstone uplands of the southern Pennines. Derbyshire is rich in natural mineral resources such as lead, iron, coal , and limestone, which have been exploited over
7446-545: The organ, the original organ builders, Harrison & Harrison , finally completed the reinstallation on 29 August 2013. Further work including re-balancing the pipework followed and was completed in time for the re-inauguration of the organ on 18 March 2014, exactly 60 years since it was first inaugurated. The first orchestral and organ concert was on 26 March 2014 and was recorded for the London Philharmonic Orchestra's own live label. The organ remains
7548-400: The performing arts venues. In addition, three to six major art exhibitions are presented at the Hayward Gallery yearly, and national touring exhibitions reach over 100 venues across the UK. Southbank Centre's site, which formerly extended to 21 acres (85,000 m ) from County Hall to Waterloo Bridge , is fronted by The Queen’s Walk . In 2012 management of Jubilee Gardens transferred to
7650-458: The production of gritstone grinding wheels for use in mills, and both former industries have left their mark on the Derbyshire landscape. As well as the protections afforded to the Peak District area under national and local policies, there are several green belts within the county, aimed at preserving the landscape surrounding main urban areas. There are four such areas, the first three being portions of much larger green belts that extend outside
7752-402: The refurbishment, entitled This Is Tomorrow , was directed by Paul Kelly and produced by Andrew Hinton. The organ has been reconfigured to suit the new architectural and acoustic requirements: its depth has been reduced by 110 cm, but the basic principles of the layout have been respected. Following a successful campaign to raise £2.3 million for a full restoration and reinstallation of
7854-795: The remainder being non-native species. These comprise 336 established species, 433 casuals and 17 unassigned. It is known that 34 species of plants once native here have been lost from Derbyshire (i.e. become locally extinct) since modern plant recording began in the 17th century. Derbyshire contains two endemic vascular plants, found nowhere else in the world: Rubus durescens , a bramble occurring in central Derbyshire, and Derby hawkweed ( Hieracium naviense ), still known only from Winnats Pass . One endemic species of moss, Derbyshire Feather Moss , occurs in one small 3-metre patch in just one Derbyshire limestone dale, its sole world location intentionally kept confidential. The distribution and status of vascular plants in Derbyshire have been recorded over
7956-448: The removal of most shops from foyer spaces, and refurbished lifts and WCs. In early 2013 the Southbank Centre unveiled plans, which soon became a source of vigorous debate, for alterations to the Hayward Gallery and Queen Elizabeth Hall dubbed the "Festival Wing", funded by Arts Council England . The proposal would have provided arts spaces in a new high level L-shaped building linking the Hayward Gallery and Purcell Room buildings and with
8058-582: The responsibility of the County Council. Although Derbyshire is in the East Midlands , some parts, such as High Peak (which incorporated former areas of Cheshire after boundary changes in 1974), are closer to the northern cities of Manchester and Sheffield and these receive services more affiliated with northern England; for example, the North West Ambulance Service , Granada Television and United Utilities .Outside
8160-413: The reverberation time by a system called 'assisted resonance' in which some of the acoustical energy lost to the surfaces of the hall was replaced by acoustical energy supplied by a loudspeaker. Each microphone and its associated loudspeaker was limited to the one frequency by placing the microphone inside a Helmholtz resonator fitted into the ceiling in a range of sizes which resonated over a wide range of
8262-470: The sacrifice of other positive qualities for which the Hall was generally esteemed, for example, its clarity, its comparative uniformity of acoustic response and its freedom from echo. It was known that the ancient Greeks had developed the technique of using vases built into their auditoria which added resonance to strengthen tone or improve its quality, though the effect was very weak. The Building Research Station developed an electronic method of lengthening
8364-419: The sandstones, shales and coal deposits found on the eastern flank of Derbyshire, forming the coal measures, which are of Westphalian age. All these rock layers disappear south of a line drawn between Ashbourne and Derby under layers of clays and sandstones ( Mercia Mudstone Group and Sherwood Sandstones ) of Permo-Triassic age. Small amounts of carboniferous limestones, gritstones and coal measures reappear in
8466-679: The scheme was granted planning permission in May 2015. The Southbank Centre also received funding for the conservation and limited alteration scheme, known as "Let the Light In", from the Heritage Lottery Fund and was raising funds from individuals for the final £3 million required. This more conservation-orientated approach has also included joining with the National Trust to make the centre's 1960s buildings' contribution to
8568-455: The seat of Derbyshire Dales , a Conservative safe seat that had not been won by Labour since the 1945 election . Shown below are the vote and seat count at the 2019 election compared to the 2024 election: Derbyshire has a three-tier local government since the local government reorganisation in 1974. It has a county council based in Matlock and eight district councils and since 1997,
8670-403: The seats was measured and tested in a laboratory to enable more exacting design. Careful consideration of external noise problems was undertaken. Following the opening of the hall, there was some criticism of certain aspects of the acoustics. This was partially attributable to the fact that some of the original specifications for room surfaces determined by the acoustic consultants were ignored in
8772-448: The southern and more lowland half of Derbyshire contains much softer rocks, mainly mudstones and sandstones of Permo-Triassic age, which create gentler, more rolling landscapes with few rock outcrops. Across both regions can be found drift deposits of Quaternary age – mainly terrace and river gravel deposits and boulder clays. Landslip features are found on unstable layers of sandstones and shales, with Mam Tor and Alport Castles being
8874-646: The southern end of the Pennines , most of which are part of the Peak District National Park . They include Kinder Scout , at 636 m (2,087 ft) the highest point in the county. The River Derwent is the longest in the county, at 66 miles (106 km), and flows south until it meets the River Trent just south of Derby. Church Flatts Farm at Coton in the Elms , near Swadlincote, is
8976-407: The stage platform. These allow the stage layout to be reconfigured in many ways to suit the nature of the performance taking place. The choir benches can now be wheeled out to provide a level floor for staged and dance performances. The space between seat rows has been extended by 75mm by rebuilding the concrete floor of the stalls, with a loss of only 118 seats. Cooling has been introduced by reversing
9078-483: The third largest organ in Great Britain by number of pipes, with 7,866 pipes and 103 speaking stops.. The organ sounds uncomfortably constrained in the hall acoustic and is seldom played, either for recitals or to accompany orchestral concerts. 51°30′21.01″N 00°07′00.44″W / 51.5058361°N 0.1167889°W / 51.5058361; -0.1167889 Southbank Centre Southbank Centre
9180-521: The undercroft area was a key commercial and financing feature of the Festival Wing new building proposal and the scheme could not proceed in its proposed form without the commercial development or substitute funding which was not available in the amounts required. Arts Council England awarded a £16m grant towards a two-year programme of repairs and conservation work on the Queen Elizabeth Hall , Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery in May 2014 and
9282-682: The use of hydropower at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution , following the mills pioneered by Richard Arkwright . Derbyshire has been said to be the home of the Industrial Revolution, and part of the Derwent Valley has been given World Heritage status in acknowledgement of this historic importance. Nationally famous companies in Derbyshire include Rolls-Royce , one of the world's leading aerospace companies, based since before World War I in Derby, Thorntons just south of Alfreton and Toyota , who have one of
9384-473: The walkway between the hall and Hungerford Bridge approach viaduct. Originally made in glass-fibre it was repeatedly vandalised until re-cast in bronze. The complex's variety of open spaces and foyers are popular for social or work-related meetings. The closest tube stations are Waterloo and, across the river via the Jubilee Bridges, Embankment and Charing Cross . The Festival Hall project
9486-701: The walkways. Following abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986, the South Bank Board was formed to take over operational control of the concert halls. The following year, the South Bank Board took over the administrative running of the Hayward from the Arts Council . Collectively, the arts venues, along with Jubilee Gardens, became the South Bank Centre, responsible to Arts Council England as an independent arts institution (after transitional arrangements). The walkway on
9588-590: The whole county to the east of the River Derwent from the reign of Henry II to that of Edward I . The terrain of Derbyshire mostly consists of uplands to the north and centre of the county, and lowlands to the south and east. The southern foothills and uplands of the Pennines extend from the north of the Trent Valley throughout the Peak District and into the north of the county, reaching
9690-404: Was extracted from the river water using a heat pump. The compressors were driven by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, adapted to run on town gas . It was highly successful, providing both heating and cooling for the Hall, but over-sized, and was sold off after the Festival of Britain . As a structure, the new Festival Hall was technically stretched, and maintenance was soon required. The building
9792-464: Was led by London County Council 's then chief architect, Robert Matthew , who gathered around him a young team of talented designers including Leslie Martin , who was eventually to lead the project with Edwin Williams and Peter Moro , along with the furniture designer Robin Day and his wife, the textile designer Lucienne Day . The acoustical consultant was Hope Bagenal , working with members of
9894-622: Was marketing within the UK but also exporting to the US, EU and Canada. The company director told the BBC that they had "a surge in interest and consumer sales from the US". The county is divided into eleven constituencies for the election of members of parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons . In the 2024 United Kingdom general election , all seats in Derbyshire were won by the Labour Party, including
9996-434: Was much compromised by these changes and the later additions of raised concrete walkways around the building to serve the neighbouring Queen Elizabeth Hall , Purcell Room and The Hayward, built in 1967/8. Leo Beranek , an American acoustics engineer who had undertaken measurements of all of the world's leading concert halls , had identified that the interior treatment of the auditorium was absorbing too much sound. By 1962
10098-405: Was reconfigured to provide more space for performers, and the arrangement of walls around the stage was altered significantly. The original Robin Day designed seats were restored and reupholstered to make them more comfortable, and more acoustically appropriate. The major refurbishment presented an opportunity to add to the infrastructure of the venue to make the process of 'get-in' and 'get-out' in
10200-493: Was substantially altered in 1964 by adding the foyers and terraces to the river side of the building, extending the footprint by 30 ft, and more dressing rooms to the rear. Alterations to the façades overlooking the river removed the decorative tiles, altering the Scandinavian Modernism of the building's primary public face in favour of a plainer and hard-edged style. The building's original entrance sequence
10302-475: Was switched off in 1998, which returned the acoustics to their poor state, so bad that they make performers who play in it "lose the will to live", according to Sir Simon Rattle. The building underwent a substantial renovation between 2005 and 2007 aimed at improving the poor acoustics and building layout, led by architect Diane Haigh of Allies and Morrison with consulting engineer firms Max Fordham LLP (M&E) and Price & Myers (structural). The interior of
10404-488: Was transferred in 1967. However, Derbyshire gained part of the Longdendale valley and Tintwistle from Cheshire in 1974. The current area of the geographic/ceremonial county of Derbyshire is only 4.7 square kilometres less than it was over 100 years ago. At the third tier are the parish councils , which do not cover all areas. The eight district councils in Derbyshire and the unitary authority of Derby are shown in
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