City Centre Streets
This section will look at some the main thoroughfares in the city today. As well as showing pictures of the streets and some of the prominent buildings an overview of the history and development of the streets, which often date back many centuries, will also be given.
The city of Derby can trace its history back at least as far as the Romans who founded a settlement, Derventio, at what is now Chester Green. However with the disintegration of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century the Roman fort was largely abandoned and the incoming Saxons, who named the town Northworthy, moved their settlement into the area now occupied by the town, particularly the area around the Wardwick. With the invasion of the Vikings in the latter half of the 1st millennium the town became part of the Danelaw and acquired its current name of Derby. The influence of this Viking past can still be seen in the names of some of the streets – the term gate is Norse for street.
St Peter's Street
This street, which bisects the town and could be considered the main street, approximately follows the prehistoric north-south trackway. The street takes its name from the ancient church of St Peter's which was founded by at least 1086. Despite it's great age, the street has few buildings of any great age surviving, although some fine buildings have been erected in the past 150 years - a tribute to it's ongoing importance as a centre for commerce within the town.
This Grade 2 listed building was erected in 1912 by the Boots company on the corner of St Peter's Street and East Street. Venetian windows, Stuccoed gables and niches containing statues of Derby worthies including Florence Nightingale and William Hutton, give the building a very elegant appearance.
Designed in 1930 by R Lutyens, son of the renowned architect Sir Edwin, this grand Art Deco style building was built for Marks and Spencers, who occupied it until moving to larger premises in 2007.
St Peter's Churchyard
One of Derby's ancient thoroughfares, St Peter's Churchyard runs alongside the oldest of the cities many churches. Parts of this building date from at least 1350 (this can be seen in the churches section of this website). A number of fine buildings also grace this street today.
Thurman & Malin was once Derby's finest department store, opening in 1879 and closing in 1970. It's main premises were on St Peters Street with the building, left, being an extension added in about 1900
This fine Grade 2 listed building, built in the late 19th Century of red brick and terracotta, was once the combined home for the County Court and the Inland Revenue. In 1992 it was converted into offices, a function it maintains today.
East Street/Exchange Street
East Street is another of Derby's ancient streets and was, for many years known as Bag Lane. The street first recorded as long ago as 1220 in a charter of the Abbey of Darley and at this time it was known as Baggelon, which can be interpreted as 'beggar lane' an area of poor housing and squalor. This description appears to have remained valid until at least the 19th century and it is thought that the plague began here in 1635. Little appears to have been done to improve the street until it was realigned and metalled in 1789 and drains were laid in 1795. Widened at the end of the 19th century, it acquired its current, unimaginative, name sometime around 1891. Today the street is lined with retail premises and entrances to the Westfield Shopping Centre and the Eagle covered Market.
Exchange Street, which runs at right angles to East Street, came into existence sometime between 1874 and 1878. It takes its name from the Corn Exchange building which stands at its junction with Albert Street.
Right and below are two views of the old Co-operative Society building on the corner of East Street and Exchange Street.
The Derby Co-operative Society was established in 1850, making it only the second such group in the country, after the Rochdale Pioneers. The success of the Derby group led to them opening the first department store in the city, later moving to the two premises shown here.
The imposing and ornate building (left and above) was erected in 1913 to the designs of Alexander Macpherson.
The building is no longer occupied by the co-op, instead providing premises for a number of other smaller retail units on the ground floor. The Co-op department store continues to occupy their later building on the opposite corner of the street.
Looking down Albion Street
towards the entrance to the
Victorian Market Hall.
The 1913 Co-op building can
be seen on the right of the picture
with the current, 1928, premises
on the left.
The large white building with the green dome is the Corn Exchange building.
Queen Street
Although this street follows a direct line from Irongate to the ancient King Street, it did not in fact become a seperate entity unil sometime around the middle of the 18th century, first appearing in 1767 on a map by Peter Perez Burdett.It is not known for definite who the street was named after, although Maxwell Craven in his book 'Street by Street Derby' puts forward the idea that it was most likely Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III.
Today the street is home to a number of interesting buildings including the Cathedral, the swimming baths and the cities oldest pub.
This building, once a house, dates from about 1660 and can be found on Queen Street, almost opposite the Cathedral.
Reputedly the cities oldest public house, the Dolphin was first licensed in 1530 as a coaching inn, possibly serving as a stopping off point for highwaymen. The corridor running through the ground floor was once a Derby street. Numerous ghosts are said to occupy the building and it features in the local city ghost walks
Iron Gate
Iron Gate is another of Derby's ancient roads, also following the line of the north-south trackway, and it's suffix probably indicates a link to the towns period under the Danelaw. It is likely that the street was laid out about 1100 and it's name took its present form about 1483 and simply meant 'street of the iron workers'. Originally a narrow medieval road it was widened in the 1860's and 70's when it's East side was demolished and new buildings created.
This picture shows Irongate as seen from the Market Place, looking towards the Cathedral. The buildings on the right were erected following the widening of the road.
This unusual looking building can be found on Irongate. Now an estate agents, it was once the home of celebrated 19th century photographer and printer, Richard Keene. The extensively glazed upper floor indicates that this served as his photographic studio. Keene was an early convert to photography and had established his own portrait studio by 1859. An associate of Fox Talbot, winner of numerous awards and a founding member of the Derby Photographic Society, Keene was also responsible for many of the 19th Century photographs of Derby and its surroundings.
The memorial to the cities most famous artist - Joseph Wright of Derby. Placed near to the site where he was born in 1734, the sculpture is representative of the subject featured in his most famous work - A Philosopher Lecturing On The Orrery, which can be seen in Derby Museum along with a large number of his works
Ornate detailing on the roof of the Standing Order Public House. This grand building was originally erected in 1870 for the Crompton and Evans Union Bank, later becoming a branch of the Nat West.
The building is listed Grade II and, despite now being a pub it retains many of its period features and grandeur.
One of the few remaining original shop fronts in the city, however the council is currently running a wonderful scheme to encourage shop owners to remove modern shopfronts and reinstate historically accurate copies of the original frontages. Those that have been done so far look extremely impressive.
Victoria Street/Albert Street/The Strand
Up until the early part of the 19th century the Markeaton Brook had remained an open waterway through the middle of Derby, however this, along with the still extant medieval street plan and narrow streets was restricting the growth of the town. The solution was to culvert the brook beginning with Victoria Street in 1839, and Albert Street in 1848. The scheme was eventually extended to incorporate the area subsequently known as the Strand in 1878. The creation of these new streets enabled the building of some extremely fine buildings.
Originally the offices of the Derby tramway Company, this building on the North side of Victoria Street was designed in 1903 by Alexander MacPherson and built by Messrs Ford & Co. After the demise of the tram company the building had a number of uses, including offices for a bus company and is today Derby's Post office.
This large building, part stone and part stucco was put up in 1839 to the designs of R Wallace and was originally the Royal Hotel and the Atheneum Rooms. No longer a hotel, the building provides retail and office space as well as a newly opened nightclub, appropriately named The Royal.
This building on the corner of Victoria Street and St James Street was erected in 1869, in the renaissance style and for over a century functioned as the towns General Post Office. Closed in the 1990s it has since been converted into a Coyote Wild pub.
This gracefully curving building was built for Debenhams in the 1960s to the designs of Evans, Cartwright &Woollatt on the site of the old Ranbys Department Store. Currently standingempty it awaits a sympathetic buyer.
The Wardwick
The Wardwick is arguably one of the oldest street names in the city possibly dating back over 1000 years to a Saxon farmer named Walda.
Soon after arriving in the area the Saxons established a settlement by the side of the Markeaton Brook at what is now the site of St Werburghs Church. Nearby, a settler named Walda established a dairy farm, known as a Wick in the language of the day. Over time Wanda's Wick was corrupted, being recorded as Walwick Street in 1085 and eventually becoming todays Wardwick.
This lovely building, listed Grade II, stands on the corner of Wardwick and the Strand. It was for many years the home of the Refuge Assurance company, however it is now the Revolution Vodka Bar
The picture on right shows the tower of the Central Library and the corner of the Mechanics Institute.
The library, also shown below, was built in 1879 to the designs of the architect R K Freeman of Bolton in a red brick Gothic style. It was extended on its left side in 1915 in a similar style and again some years later. This latter addition forms what is today Derby Museum and Art Gallery which holds the worlds largest collection of Joseph Wright Paintings.
The Mechanics Institute was formed in 1825 by, amongst others, the industrialist Joseph Strutt, with the aim of promoting the spread of knowledge among the people of Derby through a range of activities including lectures, concerts, and displays and was particularly aimed at the working classes of the town. Their first exhibiton was held in 1839 and they also had regular guest speakers including a visit by Charles Dickens. The Institute moved to new purpose built premises in 1881 and it is this grand building that can be seen in the picture to the right. Sadly the building has now been converted into a pub although the design does show the grandeur of the interior quite well.
Statue of Michael Thomas Bass of the famous Burton Brewing family and Member of Parliament for Derby 1848-83. A philanthropist in the great Victorian tradition Bass contributed to the building of the library and his statue now stands in Museum Square next to the building he helped to create. The statue is made of bronze and was created in 1885 by the sculptor J. E. Boehm and stands on a stone plinth.
Sadlergate
St Mary's Gate
Friargate
The current Friargate is, historically, made up of two streets, Nuns green and Friargate, although the latter was originally known as Markeaton Lane. Nuns Green was originally land owned by the nunnery of St Mary De Pratis and included meadows, mills as well as the convent buildings themselves. Friargate takes its name from the friary which had been established there sometime in the 13th century by Augustinian monks.
At the dissolution in the 16th century the area around the Friary was sold off and redeveloped with some of the cities oldest surviving buildings to be found there. Nuns Green, on the other hand, was used variously as common land, quarries for brick making, a pinfold and beast markets. In 1768, an act was passed for parts of the land to be sold off to raise money for town improvements such as street lighting. It was this sale that gave us the wonderful Georgian street that forms the top half of Friargate.
Sculptural piece on Friargate representing the 1821 Reform Bill riots and the crowds that gathered in the town. Designed by Timothy Clapcott and installed in 2000 as part of the Sustrans cycle network development.
Green Lane
College Chambers, now a hotel
The building to the left and the following three pictures show the Derby College of Art. This beautiful example of Victorian Gothic architecture dates from 1876 with additions of 1899, and was designed by the company of F W Waller of Waller and Son. Sadly the building is now closed and awaiting a buyer.
