Derby [key], city and unitary authority, central England, on the Derwent River. It was formerly county seat of Derbyshire but became administratively independent of the county in 1997. Manufactures include automobiles and airplane engines, pottery (see Derby ware), synthetic textiles, beer, machinery, and chemicals. The city is also an important rail center. Derby was a Roman settlement and, in the 9th cent., one of the Five Boroughs of the Danes. England's first silk mill was built there in 1718. Derby is the birthplace of the philosopher Herbert Spencer. Noteworthy are the Cathedral of All Saints, with its Perpendicular tower (1509–27), the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary (designed by A. W. Pugin in 1838), the arboretum, the chapel of St. Mary of the Bridge, and a grammar school founded in 1160. The Univ. of Derby and a teacher-training college are also located in Derby.
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