Belper is a town in Amber Valley, Derbyshire, England. It is 8 miles north of Derby, on the River Derwent, and has a population of 20,000. Being a relatively small town, it contains a small shopping area around King Street, several primary schools and a secondary school. Belper railway station is situated on the Midland Main Line, and is mainly served by local trains on the Derby-Matlock service.

Belper was known for its cotton mills during the Industrial Revolution. The town was developed by industrialist Jedediah Strutt around his Belper North Mill (built in 1786), which forms part of the Derwent Valley Mills.

Belper was the first place in the UK to get gas lighting, in 1820.

As of 2003, Belper's MP is Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative), the MP for West Derbyshire.

Belper School is notable in that it has no uniform and they call their teachers by their first name. It contains approximately 1300 pupils, and also contains a sixth form. It used to be named "Belper High School" when it was originally built in 1973.

The town's name is probably a corruption of the name Beaurepair (beautiful location), the name given by Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III of England, to his country seat in the 13th century.

The town made international news in 2001 after rejecting a gift of a large fibreglass Mr. Potato Head model from its twinned town - Pawtucket, Rhode Island, as residents complained it was "ugly".

External link

• Belper Town Council
• Belper School
• Belper Rugby Club
• Belper Resaerch Website
• Belper Town Football Club