Morledge
- The Noah's Ark
(Written
by Wayne Anthony & Richard Felix)
One particularly industrious person who used the River Derwent in the
17th century was a gentleman by the name of Noah Bullock, who built an
'ark' and moored it on the Derwent near the Morledge. He lived on it with
his wife, five daughters and four sons whom he named Shem, Ham, Japhet
and Benjamin. His religious devotion ended there, however, as Bullock's
occupation aboard his floating home was the coining of counterfeit money.
In 1676 his crime - a capital offence in those days - was discovered and Bullock appeared before the Recorder of Derby, Sir Simon Degge, whom Noah knew well. The forger promised to end his activities, broke up his ark and sank it in the River Derwent, thus escaping the hangman. Today there is a public house in the Morledge bearing the name of Noah's Ark, a link with a notorious Derby character from the 17th century, who is said to haunt the pub.
Close to the site
where Noah Bullock may have built, moored and eventually sank his ark,
several river ghosts and strange lights which erratically move and twist
in a strange dance have been seen. There is no explanation for these lights,
apart from one medium who claims that they are the lost souls of the dead
seeking a pathway to the next life.
The River Gardens -
River Derwent
