Derbyshire Misc - 2024
Been a busy year for exploring new local stuff, most of it fairly underwhelming as often seems to be the case. File this lot under ‘local stuff for local people’.
St Helen’s Street Marble Works, Derby
A place I’ve always wanted to see inside and one I always had high hopes for. Some of the buildings date back to 1802 which I think makes it the oldest surviving industrial building in Derby??
The works were originally inhabited by Richard Brown who manufactured high quality ornaments, chimney pieces and clock-cases out of Peak District spar, Chellaston alabaster and limestone - and also more expensive pieces from Blue John and Ashford Black Marble.
By the 1830s part of the site had been leased out to William Haslam as a forge with the middle house (#12) being rebuilt in 1885 as the forge showroom. Between the sites’ time as a forge and the present day it was also owned by some familiar Derby names including Royal Crown, Batterby & Hefford and Smiths of clock-making fame. Despite this the site has been mostly disused since 1993.
Anyway, it’s been derp for as long as I can remember. Turns out it’s completely empty and shit inside unfortunately. The works themselves were very underwhelming, with the insides having had the weed grow treatment at some point.
Pretty much the only thing to see were these stained glass windows which date from 1885.
Ada Belfield Care Home, Belper
A mid-century care home near the centre of Belper which closed after the opening of the new Ada Belfield Centre which was constructed on the former Thorntons site.
Pump House, Milton
Drive past this occasionally and noticed someone had ragged the doors open - a little 1930s borehole pump house built by the Swadlincote & Ashby Joint Water Committee. I know absolutely nothing about pump houses so that’s about it.
Crich Chase Tunnel, Fritchley
A short tunnel which was formerly part of the Clay Cross Company tramway that ran between Cliff Quarry at Crich and the limekilns in Ambergate. The line and accompanying tunnels date from 1841 and were constructed for George Stephenson who was both an engineer for the line and one of the partners of the operators - The Clay Cross Company.
Stephenson superintended construction of the line which was built to a 1 metre gauge and included 2 tunnels and 2 self-acting inclines.
The line was eventually closed in 1957.
Amberleigh Manor Care Home, Blackwell
A former Victorian manor house which was originally called ‘Pendean’ and was inhabited by John T Todd who was the general manager of the nearby Blackwell Colliery Company.
White Lady Springs Culvert, Swadlincote
Just a small culvert near a long-disused reservoir I found while out walking
Friargate Arches, Derby
These arches were the last unexplored part of the Great Northern Railway Warehouse / Friargate Bridge site for me and were vacated to allow redevelopment of the site to begin. Proposals for the site seem quite good, it’ll be interesting to see how they take shape. The arches at the other end of Friargate Bridge were demolished in the late 80s. I think all of them were originally used by the Derby Tramways Company as storage and stables, in later years the arches were used as car garages and the like.
Cottage Nursery, Hilton
Drove by this and stopped off after Google Maps took me on a ridiculous detour to avoid some roadworks. Thought it was an old pub but turned out to be a late Victorian house which was more recently been used as a children’s day nursery until closure in early 2023.
High Peak Borough Council Offices, Buxton
Pair of former Victorian townhouses along Market Street in Buxton which were last used by the local council as offices and a storage depot.
Stanton Hall, Stanton-by-Dale
A large manor house constructed at the end of the 1700s - most notably lived in by Benjamin Smith who was the man behind the Stanton Ironworks Company.
Aside from some stained glass hiding away behind the wooden boarding up the main staircase and a nice conservatory dating to 1900, there wasn’t a great deal to see.
Some better quality Derbyshire stuff will be along shortly...
Been a busy year for exploring new local stuff, most of it fairly underwhelming as often seems to be the case. File this lot under ‘local stuff for local people’.
St Helen’s Street Marble Works, Derby
A place I’ve always wanted to see inside and one I always had high hopes for. Some of the buildings date back to 1802 which I think makes it the oldest surviving industrial building in Derby??
The works were originally inhabited by Richard Brown who manufactured high quality ornaments, chimney pieces and clock-cases out of Peak District spar, Chellaston alabaster and limestone - and also more expensive pieces from Blue John and Ashford Black Marble.
By the 1830s part of the site had been leased out to William Haslam as a forge with the middle house (#12) being rebuilt in 1885 as the forge showroom. Between the sites’ time as a forge and the present day it was also owned by some familiar Derby names including Royal Crown, Batterby & Hefford and Smiths of clock-making fame. Despite this the site has been mostly disused since 1993.
Anyway, it’s been derp for as long as I can remember. Turns out it’s completely empty and shit inside unfortunately. The works themselves were very underwhelming, with the insides having had the weed grow treatment at some point.
Pretty much the only thing to see were these stained glass windows which date from 1885.
Ada Belfield Care Home, Belper
A mid-century care home near the centre of Belper which closed after the opening of the new Ada Belfield Centre which was constructed on the former Thorntons site.
Pump House, Milton
Drive past this occasionally and noticed someone had ragged the doors open - a little 1930s borehole pump house built by the Swadlincote & Ashby Joint Water Committee. I know absolutely nothing about pump houses so that’s about it.
Crich Chase Tunnel, Fritchley
A short tunnel which was formerly part of the Clay Cross Company tramway that ran between Cliff Quarry at Crich and the limekilns in Ambergate. The line and accompanying tunnels date from 1841 and were constructed for George Stephenson who was both an engineer for the line and one of the partners of the operators - The Clay Cross Company.
Stephenson superintended construction of the line which was built to a 1 metre gauge and included 2 tunnels and 2 self-acting inclines.
The line was eventually closed in 1957.
Amberleigh Manor Care Home, Blackwell
A former Victorian manor house which was originally called ‘Pendean’ and was inhabited by John T Todd who was the general manager of the nearby Blackwell Colliery Company.
White Lady Springs Culvert, Swadlincote
Just a small culvert near a long-disused reservoir I found while out walking
Friargate Arches, Derby
These arches were the last unexplored part of the Great Northern Railway Warehouse / Friargate Bridge site for me and were vacated to allow redevelopment of the site to begin. Proposals for the site seem quite good, it’ll be interesting to see how they take shape. The arches at the other end of Friargate Bridge were demolished in the late 80s. I think all of them were originally used by the Derby Tramways Company as storage and stables, in later years the arches were used as car garages and the like.
Cottage Nursery, Hilton
Drove by this and stopped off after Google Maps took me on a ridiculous detour to avoid some roadworks. Thought it was an old pub but turned out to be a late Victorian house which was more recently been used as a children’s day nursery until closure in early 2023.
High Peak Borough Council Offices, Buxton
Pair of former Victorian townhouses along Market Street in Buxton which were last used by the local council as offices and a storage depot.
Stanton Hall, Stanton-by-Dale
A large manor house constructed at the end of the 1700s - most notably lived in by Benjamin Smith who was the man behind the Stanton Ironworks Company.
Aside from some stained glass hiding away behind the wooden boarding up the main staircase and a nice conservatory dating to 1900, there wasn’t a great deal to see.
Some better quality Derbyshire stuff will be along shortly...
