Made in Derby stars unveiled!

Published: 16 September 2019

Ten new stars have joined the second phase of the popular Made in Derby interactive walk. The new mosaic plaques were unveiled in the Market Place and Iron Gate on Saturday morning (14th September).

The stars we’re unveiled by Mayor of the City of Derby, Councillor Frank Harwood and the family and friends of the honoured Derbeians.

Karam Singh, British break dancing World Champion, was the first person announced as part of the project. He provided entertainment on the morning with his Derby based dance troop, the Trinity Warriors, who we’re featured on Sky 1’s Got to Dance.

The stars are a partnership between Derby City Council, with funding from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and support from the Cathedral Quarter BID and the Derby Telegraph.

They make a trail across the city and are a collection of mosaic and cast iron plaques that celebrate the lives of people who have had a huge impact on the city. Each plaque can be brought to life via augmented reality, by using the “Made in Derby” app on a smartphone. The plaques were designed and created by artist Tim Clapcott with the augmented reality designed and created by Arnold Pollock.

The newest additions to the Made in Derby project are:

• Adam Peaty, Olympic champion breaststroke swimmer who won the Gold medal at the Olympic Games at Rio in 2016, which earned him the Freedom of the City of Derby later that year
• Marion Adnams, English painter, printmaker and draughtswoman, best known for her surrealist paintings
• Bird Brothers – Frank, Thomas and Reginald, Derby born bakers, founders of the Bird’s Bakery chain
• Karam Singh, Solo world champion break dancer from Normanton
• Jack O’Connell, British TV and film actor well known for his roles in Skins and Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut Unbroken
• Lara Croft, Archaeologist video game and film heroine created in Derby
• Liam Sharp, Marvel and DC comic book artist, famous for drawing Spiderman and Wonder Women comics
• John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, who prepared of a 3,000-star catalogue, Catalogus Britannicus
• Steve Bloomer, Derby County football legend who signed to the club as a professional footballer in April 1892
• Florence Nightingale, heroine of the Crimean War and the major founder of the modern profession of nursing

The stars have joined the original ten plaques that are situated on Albion Street and Exchange Street in Derby city centre.

The first phase of Made in Derby was launched in May 2018 to honour some of the city’s most outstanding citizens and to celebrate the city’s heritage.

The first ten Derby stars to have their names etched into the stars in the city were:

• Alice Wheeldon Derby’s most famous suffragist and a fervent anti-First World War campaigner
• Bess of Hardwick, England’s richest Elizabethan woman after Queen Elizabeth I used her considerable wealth to help Derby poor and needy
• Brian Clough and Peter Taylor the top management duo that took Derby football from obscurity to national fame
• Sir John Hurt in recognition of his sterling contribution to the arts as an accomplished actor
• Joseph Wright globally recognised English landscape and portrait painter and the first to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution
• Louis Martin, the Jamaican-born sportsman who became Britain’s greatest-ever Olympic weightlifter
• Philip Noel-Baker, a former MP for Derby, credited with saving the 1948 Olympic Games for Britain
• Charles Rolls the pioneer aviator and Henry Royce the engineer and designer who formed Rolls-Royce which sets the global standard for excellence in automotive and aviation technology

Councillor Matthew Holmes, Deputy Leader of Derby City Council, said:

We’re delighted to announce the ten new stars who’ve each made an impact to the history of our city.

Made in Derby is a fantastic scheme and we’re thrilled to honour some well-known faces from the world of entertainment, industry, science and sport, with all having made a significant contribution in their chosen fields. The stars add something really special to our streets and the unique concept of using augmented reality is a great way to engage with our citizens and visitors in the city centre.

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