City Centre Streets 3
Sadlergate
This street, which takes its name from the leather workers who would have lived and traded here in times gone by, is one of the oldest streets in the city. It is likely that it would have been known to the Vikings who settled here, hence the word gate in its title. It was first recorded in English in 1368, however a Latin recording of it goes back to the middle of the 13th century when it was home to a Lawrence the Saddler and was recorded as vicum sellariorum.
Although today much of the street appears to be Georgian or Victorian a glance at the rear of many of the buildings shows a very different picture. Rather than rebuild whole properties it was often just the façades that were altered leaving the pitched roofs and gables of much older buildings intact. As a result a number of the properties date from the early part of the 17th century. This can be clearly seen in the views from the cathedral tower elsewhere on this site.
Although narrow the width of the street represents the dimensions of a major thoroughfare in the medieval period and remained open to traffic until 1963 when it became the first street in the town to be pedestrianised. today the Street forms part of the Cathedral Quarter and is home to a specialist and boutique shops and cafes.
The Old Bell Hotel, listed Grade II, is one of Derby's very old pubs, it being built in about 1680 century as a coaching inn by the Meynell family. It was later extended by landlord John Campion with the addition of a grand ballroom in 1776 and it also contains one of the finest 17th century staircases surviving in the city. A more detailed description can be found on the Derby Pubs and Inns page
The picture above shows The Shakespeare public house. A pub has stood on this site since the end of the 17th century, originally called the Ostrich the name was changed to the Shakespeare about a century later. The current building is listed Grade II and is thought to date from the first half of the 18th century.
The Strand Arcade was built in 1880 to join Sadlergate to the Strand which had been created following the culverting of the Markeaton Brook two years earlier. Designed by the architect John Somes Story it took as its inspiration the Burlington Arcade in London.
The building above is of interest for two reasons. The first is a sign for Sadlergate Bridge. Prior to the culverting of Markeaton Brook it used to flow along the end of Sadlergate and this was the site of one of the numerous bridges which used to cross it. the second point of interest is the archway to the left of the picture. This is the entrance to George Yard - see below.
George Yard
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 today forms the top half of Friargate.
One of the principle figures in the development of Friargate was renowned architect Joseph Pickford. Born in Warwickshire, Pickford learnt his trade in London before moving to Derby in about 1760 where he established a reputation for designing town and country houses following the fashionable Palladian style. As well as designing a number of the houses along Friargate, in 1770 he also built Number 41 for himself. Designed to be both family home and office, its elegant interiors presented a showcase to prospective clients.
After Pickford’s death the house was sold a number of times and at one point was divided into separate dwellings. In 1980 the local city council purchased the house and carried out extensive restoration. Today it is open to the public as a museum of Georgian life.
Friargate is not entirely Georgian however. A number of buildings survive from a much earlier period.
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 (above) now a hotel
The building in the following pictures is 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.
