Riber is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the civil parish of Matlock Town, in the

Derbyshire Dales Derbyshire Dales ( ) is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 71,116. Much of it is in the Peak District, although most of its population lies along the River Derwent. The borough borders ...

district, in the county of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, England. It is situated high on a hill overlooking the town and also Matlock Bath, near to the residential Starkholmes area. Riber is famous for its

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, the dilapidated shell of a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

folly built in a semi-classic, semi-

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style by the wealthy local industrialist John Smedley,About Derbyshire – Riber and Starkholmes
Retrieved 2014-06-29 which is currently in the process of being converted into flats with 20 new houses to be built in the grounds. From the 1960s to September 2000 the castle grounds hosted a wildlife park which closed due to financial loss and criticisms of the way many of the animals were kept. Nearby is the old, possibly-

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

Riber Hall and Manor House, a Grade II* listed building and farm with cottages. The hall was previously run as a hotel and restaurant; as of 2014 it is a private residence offering self-catering accommodation in converted outbuildings. Riber can be accessed from the A615 at

Tansley Tansley is a village on the southern edge of the Derbyshire Peak District, two miles east of Matlock. History Tansley is recorded in the Domesday Book as Taneslege, and its name comes from the combination of the Old English elements ''tān'' a ...

, a village just outside Matlock via the gentle slope of Alders Lane and Carr Lane. From the Matlock Green area of Matlock via Starkholmes Road or from

Cromford Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Do ...

on the

A6 road This is a list of roads designated A6. * A006 road (Argentina), a road connecting Las Cuevas with the Christ the Redeemer monument in the border between Argentina and Chile * ''A6 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A6 (Sydney), a road connec ...

via Willersley Lane then taking White Tor Road and Riber Road – the approaches all involve extremely steep roads and winding lanes. Riber also gives its name to the Beast of Riber, also reported in local press as "The Beast of Lumsdale" – possibly a

phantom cat Phantom cats, also known as Alien Big Cats (ABCs), are large felids such as leopards, jaguars and cougars which allegedly appear in regions outside their indigenous range. Sightings, tracks and predation have been reported in a number of countrie ...

which has been sighted on occasion.Riber Castle
peakdistrictonline. Retrieved 23 December 2019

References

Hamlets in Derbyshire Towns and villages of the Peak District Matlock, Derbyshire {{Derbyshire-geo-stub