Search

The discharge from most karst springs exhibits a consistent and reasonably predictable response to recharge but a few exhibit short-term ('rhythmic') changes in flow that are commonly attributed to the geometry of feeder conduits and the action of siphons. This paper investigates water flow in a karst system that exhibits rhythmic and episodic changes in discharge due to variations in flow from two phreatic conduits (Main Rising (MR) and Whirlpool Rising (WR)) that pass through Speedwell Cavern en route to the springs. Water tracing experiments indicate that the conduits receive both allogenic and autogenic recharge. Flow dynamics and conduit behaviour were investigated using high-resolution (2-min) water depth data collected from MR and WR between 2012 and 2015 (when MR was dominant) and between 2021 and 2023 (when WR was dominant). Water depths were also logged in a cave at the upstream end of a conduit draining to both MR and WR and at springs. The short-term temporal variability in water depths at both MR and WR is greater than any documented in previous studies. This is attributed to conduit bedrock geometry and changes in conduit permeability due to sediment accumulation in phreatic loops, which together influence the response to recharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe palynological assemblages in the Middle Miocene (Serravallian) Kenslow Member of the Brassington Formation at Bees Nest Pit, near Brassington, Derbyshire, U.K., and infer vegetation types and their palaeoclimate implications. The limited lateral extent of the 1.33 m-thick succession of clay and lignite, and its position surrounding fragments of a large tree trunk, suggests that the succession may have accumulated within a tree throw hole or possibly within a shallow stagnant pond, although aquatic lacustrine palynomorphs have not been identified to confirm this latter hypothesis. The stratigraphical distribution of palynological assemblages, based on 58 samples allows reconstruction of a wetland succession. Two pollen zones were identified using CONISS cluster analysis, and a predominantly warm-temperate and mixed mesophytic forest biome was recognised with Tsuga conifer pollen-types being dominant (<42%) in both pollen zones. Changes in the make-up of this forested wetland were in response to local environmental changes rather than major climatic shifts. Wetland development culminated in the formation of a relatively open shrub and reed-dominated mire which produced the lignite-precursor peat. Applying the Co-existence Approach, Mean Annual Temperature was 15.6–21.7 °C and Mean Annual Precipitation was 703–1682 mm indicating a warm-temperate to subtropical palaeoclimate, and both parameters show no significant change through the section. Findings suggest that, following the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum, the Serravallian climate of the northwestern margin of Europe remained much wetter than Central Europe, where more arid climates have been reconstructed, and this difference may have been due to the influence of the proto-North Atlantic Current. • We present a fossil record using a lignite and clay unit from the Kenslow Member. • We present the first reconstruction of a wetlands in the UK Miocene reconstruction record. • Transition from a Tsuga -dominant mixed mesophytic forest to a wetland occurred. • Palaeoclimate variables varied little and suggested frost-free conditions. • High precipitation reconstructions were caused by the proto-North Atlantic Current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Middle to Late Miocene Brassington Formation from the Peak District in Derbyshire, central UK, has yielded a diverse vegetation assemblage, but until now there have been no reports of fungal remains. Here, we describe three new species of fossil fungal palynomorphs from the Kenslow Member of the Brassington Formation. The taxa have been assigned to the Chaetosphaeriaceae and Pyrenulales, and were most likely saprophytic members of the community. The extant living relatives of the new fossil fungi are commonly found on decaying wood, often submerged in freshwater. A saprobic ecology on submerged decaying wood is consistent with sedimentological evidence that shows the Kenslow Member was deposited in a lacustrine or wetland environment. This is the first reported occurrence of the genus Rhexoampullifera in the fossil record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The species of the brachiopod Gigantoproductus are giants within the Palaeozoic sedentary benthos. This presents a dilemma as living brachiopods have low‐energy lifestyles. Although brachiopod metabolic rates were probably higher during the Palaeozoic than today, the massive size reached by species of Gigantoproductus is nevertheless unusual. By examining the diet of Gigantoproductus species from the Visean (Mississippian, Carboniferous) of Derbyshire (UK), we seek to understand the mechanisms that enabled those low‐metabolism brachiopod species to become giants. Were they suspension feeders, similar to all other brachiopods, or did endosymbiosis provide a lifestyle that allowed them to have higher metabolic rates and become giants? We suggest that the answer to this conundrum may be solved by the identification of the biogeochemical signatures of symbionts, through combined analyses of the carbon and nitrogen‐isotopic compositions of the occluded organic matrix within their calcite shells. The shells are formed of substructured columnar units that are remarkably long and a few hundreds of microns wide, deemed to be mostly pristine based on multiple analyses (petrography, cathodoluminescence (CL), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM)); they contain occluded organic fractions detected by TEM, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) analyses. We conclude that the gigantic size reached by the species of Gigantoproductus is probably the result of a mixotroph lifestyle, by which they could rely on the energy and nutrients derived both from photosymbiotic microbes and from filtered particulate food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies of children have argued that children are suffering from a deficiency in nature experience. Some argue that a lack of experience leads to poor affective relations which for wooded environments may be manifested as fear. This study investigates a geographical knowledge gap in understanding children's relationships with woodland. This interactive qualitative study included 21 junior age children living in a rural setting in Derbyshire, England, UK. Most were found to visit local woodlands regularly, though unsupervised visits were usually limited to woods adjacent to housing. The children demonstrated good levels of practical knowledge though explicit knowledge, such as tree names, was generally poor. The majority of children had positive attitudes towards woodland, especially those with the greatest experience. Adventure, calm and freedom were identified as major themes. Fear was widespread but rarely dominated and was often associated with exhilaration linked to cultural imaginaries such as computer games and films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This examination of a late-Georgian businesswoman, Barbara Ford of Ashbourne in Derbyshire, utilises an extensive but partial and fragmentary range of contemporary sources to demonstrate the significance of a familial network and its commercial undertakings in one woman's enterprise. The activities of Barbara's prosperous family, and its ability to exploit the changing economic circumstances of the age, were not lost on the newly-widowed Mrs Ford. It was not inevitable that she should enter the commercial world but her actions, viewed in the light of her extended familial network, are entirely consistent with their extensive business interests. The research places Barbara Ford in a local and provincial world where commercial success depended as much on interpersonal communication and reputation as it did upon business acumen. Rather than regarding Barbara Ford as an outlier, an atypical woman of middle-rank, forced into a commercial world by economic necessity, the evidence is strongly suggestive that her decision to continue her husband's business was guided by choice. Her reputation in the community was enhanced, not diminished, in consequence. Most of all, the research demonstrates female agency: the strength, skill, and determination of one woman to negotiate her way in an age that placed so many limitations on the lives of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the complications arising from the sale of the property of the dean and chapter of Lichfield after the English Civil War in so far as they involved the Gells of Hopton in Derbyshire, long-standing tenants and collectors for the chapter. It argues that political and administrative change challenged pre-existing social hierarchies as officials gained authority from their relationship to a newly powerful state, and from ideological commitment to parliamentary regimes, and shows how Civil War divisions interacted in complex fashion with tense pre-existing relationships. The power of the Gells was somewhat eclipsed, although their energetic defence of their interests enabled them to survive the strains of the Interregnum and the resurgence of the Episcopal church at the Restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how allotments fitted into the overall context of a range of paternalistic provisions; attempts to identify the extent to which workers' demand for allotments was a factor in their provision, and argues that the provision of allotments played a significant part in the shaping and development of some industrial communities. The review concentrates on five industrial communities in Derbyshire, although comparisons are drawn with similar establishments in other parts of England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The age of Anne saw unprecedented politicisation of society, the expansion of patronage and the election of ten parliaments between 1695 and 1715. If, as has been argued for the second half of the 18th century, such factors facilitated women's political participation, then the prerequisites for women's political involvement, at least at the level of the political elite, existed in the age of Anne. Yet we still know surprisingly little about the shape and extent of women's political participation beyond the dynamics of the Augustan court. This article encourages historians of women and politics to return to the age of Anne and consider women's political participation writ large. Was this period, which has often been seen as a political watershed, also a watershed for women's political involvement? Through an examination of Elizabeth Coke's involvement in the Derbyshire election of 1710, where she served as her brother's political agent, this article calls historians' attention to the activities of one group of politically-active Augustan women – those who served as intermediaries and agents. It argues that politics could be one aspect of a broader familial agency, one which saw women step in and out of family, household, estate and political management, as necessary. Nor, it argues, should these women be seen as mere Swiftian ‘scaffoldings’– as means to an end for politically-ambitious men. As agents and intermediaries, women as well as men played recognized political roles, in similar ways, in campaigns across the country; their involvement requires closer examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the details on the stratigraphy, and pollen changes in the uppermost layers of the peat in several sites in Featherbed Moss, Derbyshire, Great Britain. It analyzes the general topography of the Featherbed Moss, where observations of pennine peats were conducted. The study performed qualitative, and quantitative observations on peat erosion on a 12-month period. The study has concluded that peat erosion could be caused by Moor-burning on Featherbed Moss, and this conclusion was supported by the direct estimate of peat erosion.