Editing Derbyshire (section)

==Economy==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2010}}
[[File:KinderDownfall6435.JPG|left|thumb|200px|The rugged moorland edge of the southern Pennines at Kinder Downfall]]
Derbyshire has a mixture of a rural economy in the west, with a former coal-mining economy in 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.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Derbyshire is rich in natural mineral resources such as lead, iron, [[Pleasley Colliery|coal]], and limestone, which have been exploited over a long period. Lead, for example, has been mined since [[Roman Britain|Roman]] times. The limestone outcrops in the central area led to the establishment of large [[Quarry|quarries]] to supply the industries of surrounding towns with [[Lime (material)|lime]] for building and [[steelmaking]], and latterly in the 20th-century cement manufacture. The Industrial Revolution also increased demand for [[masonry|building stone]], and in the late 19th and early 20th-century, 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#Construction|road building]] and concrete manufacture, and is moved by rail.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

[[File:Magpie mine.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The ruins of the [[Magpie Mine]] near [[Sheldon, Derbyshire|Sheldon]]]]
Derbyshire's relative remoteness in the late 18th century and an abundance of fast-flowing streams led to a proliferation of 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 Mills|Derwent Valley]] has been given [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage status]] in acknowledgement of this historic importance.

Nationally famous companies in Derbyshire include [[Rolls-Royce Holdings|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 Manufacturing UK|Toyota]], who have one of the UK's largest car manufacturing plants at [[Burnaston]]. Ashbourne Water used to be bottled in Buxton by [[Nestlé|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 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".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-56360131 |title=Derbyshire cheese maker upset at £180 post-Brexit Stilton fee |work=BBC News |date=11 March 2021 |access-date=17 April 2021 |quote= |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418014739/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-56360131 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/food-and-drink/the-return-of-hartington-stilton-6503926 |title=The return of Hartington Stilton |website=Great British Life |date=22 December 2014 |access-date=18 April 2021 |quote= |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418135212/https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/food-and-drink/the-return-of-hartington-stilton-6503926 |url-status=live }}</ref>