Milford, Derbyshire

Milford is a village in Derbyshire, England, on the River Derwent, between Duffield and Belper on the A6 trunk road.

Until the end of the 18th century it was no more than a few houses near the point, about a quarter of a mile further south, where a Roman road from the Wirksworth lead mines forded the river. The road still exists as it passes across the Chevin hill and descends into the village by what is now Sunny Hill. It is thought to have then proceeded along the east bank of the river to the Roman garrison of Derventio, in what is now Derby where it connected with Rykneld Street.

However, next to it was Makeney where, in 1554, Burchard Kranich built the first Smeltmill for extracting lead from its ore. Then, in 1581 Sir John Zouch of Codnor Castle set up a wire drawing works This followed the opening of a works in Hathersage in 1566 where Christopher Schutz, a German immigrant, had invented a process for drawing wire. Hathersage became a centre for wire drawing and, later, needle making

Of Makeney, it was written in 1817, Makeney, a hamlet of [the parish of Duffield], (Machenie), is described in the Domesday Survey as one of the manors of Henry de Ferrars. It is now considered as parcel of the manor of Duffield.
About 700 hands are employed by Messrs. Strutt in the spinning and bleaching of cotton, at Millford, a populous manufacturing village in this parish.
There is a Unitarian chapel at Millford, supported by Mr. Strutt; who supports also a Lancasterian school, in which the numbers are about 300: a room to accommodate about 400 is now building at Millford. The girls in this school, and that at Belper, are taught to sew, cut out, &c. as well as to read and write. A chapel has lately been erected here for the Wesleyan Methodists.

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