TRAIL 1 – AROUND ST HELEN’S HOUSE

River Derwent

There is much of interest, together with many fine buildings on the northwestern side of the Inner Ring Road bounded by the A6 and the River Derwent. St Mary’s Bridge Chapel is one of only a small number of bridge chapels remaining in this country. St Alkmund’s Well is one of the very few holy wells still in existence in Britain. St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church has been described as ‘Pugin’s Masterpiece’ and the Georgian Group, of London, referred to St Helen’s House as ‘one of the finest and largest 18th-century townhouses to survive in any provincial city.’

River DerwentIn 1803, William Strutt, the eldest son of Jedediah Strutt, purchased St Helen’s House and the adjoining land from Thomas Gisborne. The Strutts eventually started to dispose of the majority of the land, in the form of building plots. North Parade was built on land off Darley Lane, a row of stone-faced houses with classical doorcases, which are Grade II listed. Most of the development to the rear of St Helen’s House was known as Derwent Park Estate. Edward Street was built in the 1840s; North Street and Henry Street in the 1850s; Belper Road, Ruskin Road and Chevin Road were laid out in 1879 but not actually built until the 1890s. Also, St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church was built on land sold by the Strutt family.

The Derwent rises at Swains Greave between Bleaklow and Howden Moors in North Derbyshire. It flows south through Derbyshire for its entire journey before merging with the River Trent near Shardlow. More than any other river its waters have played a vital part in driving mill machinery, placing Derbyshire at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. In December 2001, the 15-mile stretch of the Derwent Valley from Matlock Bath to Derby was designated by UNESCO as a cultural World Heritage Site. Apart from the historical importance of the stretch of the river from Darley Abbey to the Silk Mill, it also provides an important wildlife corridor.

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 the acquisition of the house for educational purposes, additional rooms were provided to commemorate the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Also, in 1893, a chapel had been added and the school playing fields were extended. Games were played at Parker’s Piece, a small ground on the banks of the River Derwent and there was a boathouse for the rowing club. The school was evacuated at the beginning of the Second World War, moving first to Overton Hall at Ashover and then on its completion to Amber Valley Camp on Woolley Moor about five miles away. After the war was over the school moved back to Derby, but a few years later was re-sited to Moorway Lane, Littleover.

The house was used for a time as an Art School and then for Adult Education. Unfortunately, the steady deterioration of the building eventually led to its closure and it remained in the hands of Derby City Council for several years. In November 2006 it was sold to Richard Blunt, a developer with a good reputation as a restorer of threatened historic buildings. On completion, the developer was presented with the George Rennie Award for outstanding conservation work. Further awards came from the Georgian Architectural Group and the Derby Civic Society. Smith Cooper Accountants now occupy the property.

St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church

The foundation stone for St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church was laid on 4 July 1838, Queen Victoria’s Coronation Day. It was built on land that once formed part of the grounds of St Helen’s House before it was sold off in building plots. The church itself was actually built in less than 18 months without the aid of modern-day construction techniques and was completed by 9th October 1839.

It was the first major church designed by Augustus W.N. Pugin, his rise to prominence largely come about from five books he had published on ecclesiastical architecture. He expertly put theory into practice and the church became known as ‘Pugin’s Masterpiece’. At the official opening Doctor Wiseman (later Cardinal), said that: “St Mary’s, without exception, was the most magnificent thing that Catholics have yet done in modern times in this country.” Unusually, the church has been built on a north/south axis and not the traditional east/west axis. This was due to the shape of the land and Pugin was careful to point this out in a book he wrote in 1843. He also informed those who criticised him that there was no alternative.

The addition of a Lady Chapel in 1853, which was said at the time to be the largest Lady Chapel in England has been the only major structural alteration since the church was built. However, there was a major alarm in 1927, when it was found that unless urgent repairs were carried out the tower was likely to collapse. Some of the stone slabs had been originally cut incorrectly and as, a result, the weather had penetrated the mortar pointing and the stone had deteriorated. The further major interior and exterior renovation took place in the late 1980s, the result of 150 years of wear and tear.

Bridge Chapel House

Bridge Chapel House is the permanent home of the Derbyshire Family History Society, a registered charity. It has around 2,000 members worldwide and acquired a lease on the house in February 1996. 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.

St Mary’s Bridge Chapel (described in a previous Trail).

The 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. At the time when the chapel was built, travel was a dangerous occupation with robbery and murder not uncommon and the bridge chapel offered spiritual reassurance to travellers.

The chapel also served as a collection point for tolls levied on traffic entering Derby. It was the only crossing point of the River Derwent into Derby and it was the resident hermit’s responsibility to collect the tolls on people and livestock crossing the bridge. The hagioscope, or squint, on the north wall would have been used by the hermit to monitor traffic. It also could be used by passers-by to see the light indicating the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. The chapel is open to the public for several days every year.

Rivermead House/Furnace Inn

Rivermead House, an eleven-storey tower block is Derby’s only high-rise block of flats. It was built in 1963, close to the River Derwent with the rising ground at the rear. This enabled it to blend in with its surroundings far more comfortably than many similar blocks in other towns and cities. It was opened a week earlier than planned to fit in with the schedules of two busy Derby MPs. An interesting story is told of how the workmen’s offices had to be hurriedly dismantled. When the telephone and its large outside bell were left lying on the ground, they were quickly covered with a drum by the site foreman to avoid attention. Unfortunately, during the opening proceedings, the telephone rang inside the drum, creating a terrible amount of noise. An enterprising workman quickly removed the drum and gave the telephone an almighty kick and silence once again prevailed.

On the opposite side of Duke Street from Rivermead House is the Furnace Inn. It took over its present premises at the end of the 19th century, which was once part of Andrew Handysides, Britannia Foundry. In 1914, it was named winner of  Derby CAMRA’S competition for ‘Pub of the Year.’