Ripley is another Derbyshire town whose past is steeped in industry. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Ripelie, and is situated about 9 miles outside the city of Derby.
The town had always had close associations with the coal and iron mining industries for many centuries, but it was to be brought greater prosperity in the 18th century through Benjamin Outram and his Butterley Ironworks, supplying cast iron rails to replace wooden tramways throughout the area. The company also supplied St Pancras station with its cast iron roof. Many of the older buildings in Ripley have been pulled down and replaced with new ones, though there are still some fine 19th-century examples standing today, including Butterley Hall. The Hall is now the headquarters of the Derbyshire Police Force. Close by the market place stands the Church of All Saints, erected in 1820-21, and distinctive by its aisles interior and tower. There is a railway museum close to the town, the Midland Railway Centre, which has working steam trains and various displays including model railways.