DERBY CITY CENTRE HERITAGE WALK 1
ROUTE I. Derby City Centre Heritage Walk number one sets off from outside the Quad and crosses the north side of Marketplace, where markets were probably held about 900 years ago. A route map is available by clicking here.
1. THE QUAD
The Quad opened in September 2008 and is proving very popular with Derby people and visitors alike. It is an £11 million purpose-built centre for art and film, with a gallery, two cinema screens, a café bar and a workshop that anyone can use.
2. FRANCEY’S HOUSE
Built in 1695 for Alderman William Francey it replaced a previous house built by his uncle 55 years previously. An eight-bay four-storey house, it once had two first-floor rooms with frescoed ceilings by Francis Bassano.
II. Leave the Marketplace and turn right up Iron Gate where an ancient trackway, can still be seen to bisect the city once ran. The road was widened in 1866, when the buildings on the right-hand side, as you look up the street were demolished and replaced.
3. SADLER GATE CORNER
The building on Sadler Gate Corner was at one time occupied by Bemrose, the well-known Derby printing firm. The arrival of the railway in 1839 and the award of the contract to print the timetables and stationery led to them eventually moving to larger premises. Bemrose moved part of his business to Wellington Street, to be near the railway station. By 1855 the number of workers had increased to 57 and in 1871 to 228. The organization continued to grow into the huge Bemrose Corporation, which employed many thousands of workers.
4. BENNETTS
The name lives on but the former Department Store no longer trades. It had been claimed that it was the oldest department store, not only in Derby but in the World. The present store is actually two buildings joined into one, which explains its somewhat unusual shape. This came about in the 1980s when number eight Iron Gate was purchased. At one time this part of the current building had served as a theatre, hence the rather striking staircase and imposing balcon
5. JOSEPH WRIGHT OBELISK
Joseph Wright was the third son of John Wright, attorney and Town Clerk, and his wife Hannah Brooks. He was educated at Derby Free School in St Peter’s Churchyard. After leaving school he became an artist. Today Wright is held in the highest regard both locally and internationally. There is an art gallery devoted to him at Derby Museum and Art Gallery. His paintings hang in the National Gallery in London, and in the Louvre, in Paris.
6. IRON GATE HOUSE
Iron Gate House was built by Samuel Crompton in the early 18th century; his father founded Derby’s first bank in 1685. The ground floor was used as the family bank until 1880. When another bank, the Crompton and Evans Bank was built next door, following the acquisition of the Talbot Inn. Iron Gate House is now occupied by the Thomas Leaper public house. It is named after a former resident whose home was on the same site.
III. There are a number of interesting buildings on the level stretch at the top of Iron Gate. This is one of the prettiest parts of Derby, so take your time. Continue on the right-hand side of the street as far as the corner of the Dolphin Inn.
7. 24 IRON GATE
Twenty-four Iron Gate was the home from 1737, of John Whitehurst, the well-known horologer, scientist and philosopher. However, when he first arrived in Derby he was told he could not set up shop in the town, as he was not a freeman of the town. It was only after he repaired the Guildhall clock for free that this condition was removed. The premises later served as a photographer’s studio for Richard Keene. To provide a studio, the roof was removed and the present glass structure was substituted.
8. DERBY CATHEDRAL
Visible from a considerable distance, Derby Cathedral dominates the skyline with its impressive perpendicular tower. A church was built early in the 16th century, but worship has taken place on this site since the tenth century. It became a Cathedral in 1927. In 1978, the outer part of the Cavendish burial vault was converted into a small Crypt Chapel. The Cathedral houses many interesting features and monuments, including Bess of Hardwick’s Monument, Joseph Wright’s Tombstone, the Bakewell Screen and much more.
IV. Pass the Dolphin Inn and go over the pedestrian crossing. Turn right down Full Street and cross Sowter Road by the side of the Old Silk Mill Public House and continue down to the Silk Mill.
9. THE DOLPHIN
The Dolphin is Derby’s oldest surviving pub, claimed to have been founded in 1530. It is a fine example of a timber-framed building. The dolphin was a well-known Christian symbol in medieval days, which gives credibility to the presumed date of the founding of the pub. The pub’s 18th-century extension at the rear was originally a doctor’s house. Here he dissected bodies, using criminals who had been hung.
10. THE SILK MILL
The Silk Mill with its eye-catching Italian-style tower is a significant landmark in the city. Photographs of it must have appeared in more books and tourist guides about Derby than virtually any other location. Now it forms part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. The Silk Mill was the first factory in England where all the processes were carried out under one roof and utilised one source of power. It is now a museum.
V. Take a look at the Bonnie Pince Charlie Statue before you leave Cathedral Green. Then walk along the footpath between the River Derwent and the Silk Mill, which takes you under the Inner Ring Road and St Mary’s Bridge. (if the water level is high and the path is flooded go back to Sowter Road and follow the road around to St Mary’s Bridge.)
11. BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE STATUE
The bronze equestrian Bonnie Prince Charlie Statue was the first equestrian statue to be created anywhere in Britain since the Second World War and celebrates the 250th Anniversary of ‘the 45’. It was on the 4 December 1745, following the arrival of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite army in Derby that the momentous decision was made to return to Scotland.
12. ST MARY’S BRIDGE
St Mary’s Bridge is an impressive structure of neo-classical design built by Thomas Harrison of Chester, between 1789 and 1794. One of the original bridge piers can be viewed when the water level in the River Derwent is low. The bridge is remembered as the place where the Padley martyrs’ remains were hung outside the chapel, which at that time was serving as a gaol. They had been hung, drawn and quartered after being convicted of treason for their religious beliefs.
VI. Walk up to the road and take a look at St Mary’s Bridge Chapel(limited opening). Then continue in the same direction as you were walking previously for a short distance along Duke Street. Go to the left to climb gently up to Handyside Street. At the top of the street, turn right and then first left and on reaching King Street, turn left and within a few yards cross the road at the pedestrian crossing.
13. ST MARY’S BRIDGE CHAPEL
St Mary’s Bridge Chapel is one of only six bridge chapels left in England. It stands beside the 18th-century bridge, which replaced a medieval bridge to which the chapel was attached. The precise date when the first bridge chapel came into existence is uncertain, but it was probably around the late 13th to the early 14th century, when it was built on the same site as the present chapel.
14. ST HELEN’S HOUSE
St Helen’s House, a designated Grade I listed building, was built in 1766/7, to the design of the Derby-based architect Joseph Pickford, for Alderman John Gisborne, of Yoxall Lodge, Staffordshire. In 1803, it became the home of William Strutt and his son, Edward, and sixty years later of Derby Grammar School. After moving from their original premises in St Peter’s Churchyard. Following substantial refurbishment, it is now occupied by a firm of Accountants.
VII. The Seven Stars Inn stands opposite St Helen’s House. Once on the other side of the road continue down St Helen’s Street.
15. SEVEN STARS INN
The Seven Stars Inn faces St Helen’s House on King Street and dates back to the 1880s. The premises were built in 1680, but there is no record of them acting as a pub until 1775. Beer was brewed on the premises until 1965 when it was drunk out of china tankards rather than glasses, supplied by the old porcelain works which stood nearby.
16. FRIENDS’ MEETING HOUSE
The Quakers, as they were later called, began by holding small meetings in private rooms, until numbers had grown sufficiently for them to acquire their own premises. Derby was one of the first places where the faith was established. In the early 1800s, The Friends Meeting House in St Helen’s Street was built for the Quakers. It is believed to contain masonry of considerable antiquity from the old Hospital of St Helen.
VIII. After Passing Radio Derby continue along the footpath by the Inner Ring Road for a few yards. Then go to the right to walk alongside Markeaton Brook, turning left at the end and then right into Mill Street, past St John’s Church.
At the end of Mill Street, turn left along Brick Street. Use the pedestrian crossings to reach the other side of Friar Gate and go to the right for a few yards. Then walk a short distance up Uttoxeter Old Road and take the first turn on your left.
17. BBC RADIO DERBY
In 1971, two months before it was due to officially start broadcasting Radio Derby went on air to cover the Rolls-Royce crash from a temporary studio at Sutton Coldfield. The bankruptcy of the local aero-engine manufacturer caused consternation in Derby not only among employees and their families but also among Derbyshire Building Society investors who thought their money was at risk. This was not the case as Building Society law did not allow investment in private companies.
18. THE HEADLESS CROSS
At the top end of Friar Gate, a Headless Cross without a shaft and of medieval origin was used during outbreaks of the plague. Foodstuffs were left near the cross by local farmers, who would vigorously chew tobacco while depositing their produce, as this was considered to act as a preventative action against the disease. The hollow in the top of the stone was filled with vinegar, which acted as a form of disinfectant for the coins that were immersed by the starving citizens of Derby, in payment for food.
IX. Turn left in front of the former prison and walk down Vernon Street. At the bottom of the street go to the right along Friar Gate with its collection of fine Georgian houses continuing under Friar Gate Bridge.
19. VERNON STREET PRISON
The prison was built between 1823 and 1827 and designed by Francis Goodwin. At that time, it was claimed to be “One of the most complete prisons in England.” Following the Reform Act riots, it was strengthened and fortified with Martello Towers designed by John Mason of Derby. It was remodelled again in 1880 and changed its name to HM Prison Derby in 1886. In 1919, part of the gaol was demolished, with what was left over used as a military prison. However, in 1928 the prison was completely demolished, leaving only the Curtain Wall and the imposing entrance.
20. PICKFORD’S HOUSE
Number 41, Friar Gate was built by Joseph Pickford between 1769 and 1770 for his own occupation. The façade was designed to impress clients who might well only see the front of the house. For those who entered the premises, they would find the hall richly decorated with ornamental plasterwork and the house’s finest room, the saloon, where they would probably be entertained, was entered by a door opposite the entrance. His builder’s yard and stonemason’s workshops were at the rear of the house. In 1988, the house was converted into a museum and opened to the public.
21. FRIAR GATE BRIDGE
It is actually two bridges side by side, set at a slight angle to each other where the tracks diverged, to embrace the island platform of Derby Friargate Station (in this context ‘Friargate’ was always spelt as one word) on the southern side. As the tracks were above the road, the Great Northern Railway Station was entered from below, and access was gained to the four platforms via a tunnel and steps.
22. FRIARY HOTEL
The Friary Hotel was built on part of the grounds that once belonged to a Dominican Monastery. Here a large friary was erected with approximately 16 acres of parkland featuring fishponds, a chapel and other buildings. In 1731, Samuel Crompton built a fine townhouse on the site where The Friary Hotel, a Grade II * listed building now stands. On his father’s death in 1725, Samuel had taken over the family’s banking business and this provided him with the capital to build the Friary. It was extended in 1760, 1875 and the 1950s.
X. Continue down Friar Gate to the Wardwick and turn left along Cheapside past St Werburgh’s Church. Follow the road around into Bold Lane, crossing where it is safe to do so, and make your way to St Mary’s Gate, once very much the legal quarter of Derby, and still the home of several long-established legal practices.
XI. Once you reach the top of St Mary’s Gate, turn right opposite Derby Cathedral and walk down Iron Gate. At the bottom of the street, turn left into the Market Place and return to the starting point of the walk.
23. MAGISTRATES’ COURT
In the mid-17th century, St Mary’s Gate was selected as a suitable place to build a Shire Hall, which later became known as the County Hall. It was designed by George Eaton of Etwall and completed in 1659. Originally it was used for concerts, plays, and gatherings, as well as courts and assizes. After that, St Mary’s Gate was traditionally known as the legal quarter of Derby. In 1714, when the new Assembly Rooms were built, the buildings became exclusively a Crown Court. An inn was added on one side around 1795 and Judges’ Lodgings on the other side in 1811. After the Crown Court moved to the Morledge the buildings have been converted into the city’s Magistrates’ Court.
24. GUILDHALL, MARKET PLACE
The Guildhall was built in 1730 on the site of the previous hall. In 1825, the Derby Improvement Act required it to be rebuilt and a new Guildhall was built three years later. It was designed by Matthew Habershon and constructed for £7,000 in a Grecian style, and housed the Court of Sessions. On 21 October 1841, it burnt down, leaving only the outside walls. Henry Duesbury, a local man, was commissioned to design a replacement, which included a 103-foot high clock tower that rang out regular time checks every 15 minutes.
At one time the Guildhall was the home of the Council Chamber and police cells. Now the former Council Chamber with its elaborately plastered ceiling is occupied by a small theatre and concert hall. It holds several concerts, plays and recitals. On the ground floor, a regular programme of exhibitions takes place.