Derbyshire Makes at Cromford Mill
Derbyshire Makes is a new, three year programme of cultural activity across the county of Derbyshire, an inspiring celebrating of making in all its forms. It opens with the free Derbyshire Makes Festival, an annual event taking place each spring across six distinct local hubs.
Adverse Camber was commissioned by The Arkwright Society to work with local young people in the Matlock, Cromford and Wirksworth area and a team of artists to make and share stories with roots in local folklore. They shared the performances at Cromford’s festival weekend, on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 April 2025.
We’ve taken as our inspiration the Derbyshire folktale Crooker – a tale of a journey in the dead of night from Lea and Holloway to Cromford, with a mysterious figure, an ash tree, the moon, a bridge, magical women in green, and a rising river.
Young people from Level Centre in Rowsley and Anthony Gell School in Wirksworth helped us reimagine the story in the lead up to the weekend. They worked with spoken word artist and BBC Radio presenter Sile Sibanda to create a new poem, and a new song, composed by musician Ann Jones, and made different versions of the story to be shared over the weekend by storytellers Cath Heinemeyer, Rachel Murray and Pyn Stockman.
Many thanks to Arkwright Society and the Institute for Social Justice at York St John University for their support for this project.
Ann Jones
Pyn Stockman
Sile Sibanda
Rachel Murray
Cath Heinemeyer