Learning outside the classroom - Belper
The town of Belper and its associated mills, the River Derwent, road and rail transport and mill workers housing lie in the heart of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
Recognised as of international importance and of universal value to humanity by UNESCO the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site stretches from Masson Mills at Matlock Bath through Arkwright's Mills at Cromford down through Belper and Strutt's Mills and down to the Silk Mill in Derby. The cradle of the factory system and the start of the industrial revolution this fascinating area is an ideal base for a fieldwork visit on a wide variety of themes and curriculum areas.
We recommend that you combine any visit to Belper town centre with a visit to the mills in Belper. Strutt's North Mill in Belper has an exhibition and museum area and offer a range of led learning opportunities and tours for all ages of students and pupils. These can easily be combined with the activities in the town offered below to make a rich day visit to the area or even a residential experience.
Belper town learning activities
The activities devised below are designed to be used by teachers and adult leaders who are not experts on the area. If you are intending to self lead your visit please ensure you visit the town beforehand and carry out a risk assessment of the proposed activities for your group. If required, one of Derbyshire County Council's Environmental Studies Service can lead the activities tailored to your particular needs. To discuss your requirements, email environmentalstudies@derbyshire.gov.uk or call 01629 533439.
Using Early 1900s photos of Belper - comparison trails circuits 1 and 2
These two circuits provide activities to lead your pupils around the town developing geographical and historical key skills. Locating precise points in the town pupils stand and view the points where photographs from the early 1900s were taken from and then compare the present day features with the historic photos to identify what has changed and what has stayed the same and why. Question and answer prompt are given for discussion as well as a worksheet for more formal recording. A 'Victorian Building Detectives' activity is also available to help pupils identify key architectural features from the Victorian period which still survive in Belper
What is Belper like today?
This activity provides a mapped trail around Belper with a series of photographs and information to help you discover more about the landmark buildings and interesting facts about Belper.
Related documents
The following documents are in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download the PDF software for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)
- Using early 1900s photos of Belper - comparisson trail circuit 1 (2870KB)
- Using early 1900s photos of Belper - comparisson trail circuit 2 (2717KB)
- What is Belper like today? (2045KB)