LITTLE CHESTER
INFORMATION
Where is it? – Little Chester is to be found alongside Mansfield Road to the north of Derby City Centre from where it is easily accessible on foot.
What to do? – Visit the excellent Little Chester Heritage Centre, which is housed in St Paul’s Church facing Chester Green, run entirely by volunteers. It is normally open on the first Sunday of the month from April to the end of October from 2-4 pm, for further information visit – www.littlechesterhistoryderby.btck.co.uk; walk around Little Chester and read the information boards to obtain more details of the Roman occupation and ensure you visit the Roman Well in Marcus Street; take a walk to Darley Abbey on the other side of the river and stroll through Darley Park, you can cross the river either by Handysides Bridge or by walking along the road through Darley Abbey Mills (when the new footbridge is in place).
Where to eat? –The Coach and Horses situated on Mansfield Road provide food and refreshment. Try something different and visit the Little Chester Ale House, a micro-pub on the corner of Chester Green Road and Mansfield Road; Darley Park Tearooms are delightfully situated overlooking flowerbeds and Darley Abbey Park, with distant views of Derby Cathedral. There is plenty of seating outside.
Other places to visit – Derby City Museum and Art Gallery houses the prestigious Joseph Wright collection of paintings. A programme of special exhibitions supports permanent displays relating to the city’s archaeology, history, wildlife and local regiments. The brand-new Ceramics Gallery provides an additional attraction in an award-winning café; Kedleston Hall is one of the best surviving examples anywhere of the work of Robert Adam and is now in the hands of the National Trust. It is lavishly decorated with fine collections of paintings, furniture and sculptures. The marble hall has been described as ‘one of the most magnificent apartments of the 18th century in England’; Derby Cathedral’s interior has been recently restored and now looks glorious. Light and spacious inside, the iron screen by Robert Bakewell is an inspirational masterpiece in this proud and beautiful building. Across the road, the Cathedral Centre houses a collection of the cathedral’s treasures.
PROFILE
Little Chester, or Chester Green as it is more commonly known, was once the site of a Roman town. It may well have been inhabited before the Romans arrived as fragments of Iron Age pottery have been found in the area. As Derby’s oldest suburb, some of its thoroughfares are also almost 2,000 years old. Today, Little Chester continues to flourish and became a conservation area in 1993. It includes Derby Racecourse and all the land up to Beaufort Street and Old Mansfield Road in the east, Nottingham Road in the south, the Derwent on the west and Darley and Little Eaton in the north. Highly regarded as an excellent place to live, it is within easy walking distance of Derby City Centre and is well endowed with open spaces and leisure facilities.
Derventio
The Romans set up a fort in AD50 at Strutt’s Park, to protect the river crossing on the western side of the Derwent. Originally it was thought they remained there for about 30 years before establishing a large new fortified settlement, across the river at Little Chester, which they called Derventio. In light of recent finds, historians have revised their estimate and think the Romans probably remained at Strutt’s Park for a much longer period. Derventio was established in the latter part of the first century by the Romans, the purely military role of this vital river-crossing was diminished as a prosperous small town emerged. By the beginning of the fifth century, commercial activity appears to have stopped. But it is unclear how long the walls remained, giving protection to the native Romano-British population. Eventually, the settlement was probably abandoned for a time but was refortified in 874 by the Norsemen.
Parker’s Piece
Little remains today of Little Chester, apart from the two Roman Wells. However, a series of excavations including one in 2016, have established both the importance and prosperity of Derventio. The most significant discovery came in 1924 when the Council dug out foundations for a replacement sports pavilion at Parker’s Piece. When a Roman hypocaust, an under-floor heating system, was identified by Charles Sherwin, the Borough Surveyor in charge of the work on the site. The hypocaust was covered, and a wooden shed was built over the site to mark its position. Unfortunately, the shed deteriorated and was pulled down and the site was grassed over leaving its precise location uncertain. When Derby School was based at St Helen’s House, games were played at Parker’s Piece.
St Paul’s Church
As the population of Little Chester grew, St Paul’s Church was built in 1850 to meet the need. It was constructed mainly of stone from Little Eaton Quarry and is now officially a Grade II listed building along with the War Memorial which is classed as an ancient monument. Little Chester Heritage Centre, which opened in September 2001, is located at the church.
Mansfield Street Methodist Chapel
The chapel celebrated its 100th birthday on 25 October 1987. Arthur Thomas Barlow was a particularly notable member of the congregation. After he had undergone treatment at the Derby Royal Infirmary. He was so appreciative of the care he had received, that he worked tirelessly for the rest of his life arranging concerts to raise funds for the hospital. Gracie Fields was featured in one concert and he even persuaded a member of the Royal family to act as a Patron. The chapel is now closed.
Haslam’s Foundry
In 1868, Alfred Seale Haslam (later Sir) bought the ‘Union’ foundry on City Road. At first, he employed only 20 men, but despite a fire in 1873, he was always looking to expand. After experimentation and expansion, he started the production of dry-air refrigeration equipment. In 1880, the first refrigeration system was designed at the foundry, which made it possible to import frozen food from Australia and South America. It was not long after the first ground-breaking journeys that fruit and vegetables were being transported in refrigeration ships and cold storage plants installed at dockyards and major markets. Haslam also built a large number of good-quality houses for his workforce over 40 years, some set around the medieval common, which was established as a public park in the 1880s. He became a very important figure locally and in 1890/1 he was elected Mayor of Derby. He also laid on an impressive reception for Queen Victoria, when she made her only state visit to Derby in 1891, to lay the foundation stone at the Derbyshire Infirmary. At the time of her visit, she knighted Alfred Seale Haslam at Derby Railway Station.
Film Studio
It was announced in 2022 that the former Aida Bliss factory, once home to Haslam’s foundry is scheduled to be used for “film-making purposes” for nine months. Long-term plans have been approved by city councillors to turn the derelict City Road building into a new film studio and “Europe’s first stunt and film academy.” At the time of writing, this is subject to planning permission.
St Mary’s Wharf
The arrival of the railway had a considerable impact on Little Chester. On the eastern side of Mansfield Road and bounded by Fox Street, the Midland Railway erected a huge complex of sidings and warehouses at St Mary’s Wharf. The Great Northern Railway, Ilkeston to Derby (Friar Gate) line severed the north and western parts of the suburb. In 1968 the line and embankment were removed, but Andrew Handysides bridge over the Derwent remained.
Stone House Prebend
Stone House Prebend stands at the eastern end of Parker’s Piece and was formerly a timber-framed building. The income from the farm supported the canons of the College of All Saints until 1549. It is now constructed of brick with medieval chimneys. Derwent House is a 17th-century brick building at the heart of Little Chester’s numerous sporting facilities.
Handysides Bridge
Handysides Bridge is a fine bowstring bridge built by Andrew Handyside in 1877, which carried the Great Northern Railway across the Derwent. The bridge remained in use until closed by Dr Beeching. There was a public footway along the near side of the structure originally, but this was later removed when the listed bridge was renovated. Since then, pedestrians have used the main span, walking where the tracks were once laid. Handyside established his Britannia heavy engineering works and iron foundry in 1848 and although he originally produced ornamental and architectural ironwork, he later became involved with railway architecture.
