Industrial history and Pride and Prejudice

Unassuming Derby's rich past includes stately homes and centuries-old pubs

Snug in England's midsection, just under a 90-minute train ride away from London, sits the unassuming city of Derby (pronounced DAHR'-bee). It may lack the name recognition of other British tourist magnets (in fact, it only officially became a city in 1977), but Derby's past helped shape the modern world. Derbyshire - the county in which Derby sits - gave birth to the Industrial Revolution with the opening of its Silk Mill, the first modern factory. It thrived in the Age of Enlightenment and elements of its rich past have been carefully preserved in small museums, enormous stately homes and even centuries-old pubs.

Land of Pride and Prejudice