The property is part of a designated heritage asset that has been identified as at-risk nationally or locally
Nos. 3, 4 & 5 The Strand Arcade
This small parade of shops is located within the Strand Arcade, which connects The Strand to Sadler Gate. The Arcade was constructed between 1874 and 1878 by Sir Abraham Woodiwiss, and designed by John S Story. It was the first arcade to be built in Derby. The arcade itself is not listed, however the entrance in the Strand is Grade II, as part of the wider street group.
The roof of the arcade had recently been repaired in 2006 during the Townscape Heritage Initiative, however a number of the retail units had been altered during modern times and suffered from years of neglect, resulting in missing stone pilasters and capitals. Using surviving historic details from nearby units as a reference and details which were uncovered beneath later alterations, new shop fronts and a lost pilaster were reinstated to return the units to their previous grandeur. Although the units had been vacant prior to the works, they were soon occupied by a mix of new retailers.
No. 29 Sadler Gate
No 29 Sadler Gate is situated at the western end of the street, close to the site of Sadler Gater Bridge. Though unlisted, the property appears to date to the late-eighteenth/early nineteenth century, and is surrounded by buildings of similar historic value. The shop front retained a number of historic details, with a number of twentieth century alterations and changes. This was also the case at first-floor level, where a large window which extended the width of the building, had been installed in the 1920s, replacing the earlier sashes.
Through the PSiCA, the traditional shop front was reinstated, based upon historic evidence. The historic shop surround was repaired, with any decayed timber spliced with new hardwood. At first floor level, the picture window was removed and three sash windows were reinstated, based upon the historic layout. The property was not vacant at the time of the work, but continued in the same use following its completion.
No. 40 Curzon Street
No. 40 Curzon Street is a public house, known as the Crown Inn. The building is unlisted and appears to date to the nineteenth century. The building was in dire need of repair, with the frontage cracking in the upper floors and missing in parts, including missing stone lintels. The roof of the property was also leaking. A number of stonework repairs and reinstatements were undertaken to rectify the issues, as well as repairs to ensure the water-tightness of the roof. The property has continued in use as a public house since the completion of the works.
No. 22 Iron Gate
This timber frame of this property in Iron Gate may date to the sixteenth century, though it features a number of additions from later centuries. The property is Grade II-listed, and at the time of the grant had had its original lead pipe stolen and was suffering from deterioration of its building fabric. A small grant was offered through the PSiCA to reinstate the lost lead pipe and to conduct urgent repairs to the visible cracks in the render, in order to halt any further deterioration of the structure.
The Royal Building, Victoria Street/Cornmarket
The Royal Building is a Grade II-listed landmark property, located at the corner of Cornmarket and Victoria Street. It was designed between 1837-9 by Robert Wallace, to be constructed after the culverting of Markeaton Brook, which previously flowed along the route of Victoria Street. The building was functioned as a hotel, known as the Royal Hotel, until 1951. It was also the meeting place of the Athenaeum Club, which occupied much of the Victoria Street elevation, and as a post office.
The building, required a multitude of repairs at the time of the grant, and had been subject to numerous inappropriate modern alterations. The repair schedule include works to the timber windows in the upper floors and the restoration of the building fabric, including stonework. The works also included the reinstatement of some of the 1930s-style timber shop fronts to replace the inappropriate modern frontages that had been installed in their place. The property was vacant prior to the works being undertaken, but is now occupied by a national restaurant chain at first floor level. A number of additional shop front reinstatements have been undertaken along the Victoria Street elevation as part of the Townscape Heritage scheme.
No. 1-7 St. James Street
The upper floors of this incredible, unlisted building had been neglected for decades. The roof had leaked extensively, causing damage to the building fabric, and many windows were deteriorating significantly. The causes of the damage were identified and the necessary repairs were undertaken to remedy any problems which were uncovered. This included repairs to many of the windows, with rotten timber being spliced with new hardwood.
Trinity Baptist Church, Green Lane
Located at the top of Green Lane, the Trinity Baptist Church is an unlisted chapel, dating to 1879. It was designed by Lawrence Bright of Nottingham in the Romanesque style and is constructed in brick, with some stone and polychrome brickwork detailing. Prior to the grant, the property showed signs of deterioration and damage in the building fabric. The main window was in a poor state of repair, the masonry needed repointing and the access door was also deteriorating.
The damage to the primary window was repaired and the entire elevation was repointed. The damage which had occurred to the entrance doors was also addressed. The church continues to function as a religious building, following the completion of the works.
Nos. 10-32 The Strand
This stunning parade of Grade II-listed shops was constructed in 1881 by Sir Abraham Woodiwiss, as part of the redevelopment of this area of Derby, following the culverting of Markeaton Brook. When originally constructed, each shop had followed a consistent typology of matching frontages. Over time this had gradually degraded through alterations and been lost. The upper floors of the property and some of the stonework detailing had also fallen into disrepair, with some features also being lost.
Some works had been undertaken through a prior THI scheme. The PSiCA sought to extend the regeneration work to more of the units in order to realise the lost consistency of the parade and create a vibrant and attractive shopping precinct. In order to achieve this, a number of shop fronts were reinstated, based upon their historic designs, featuring awnings and blind boxes. Stonework repair and reinstatement was also undertaken to remedy the damage which had occurred to a number of decorative features in the lower and upper floors of the building. Following works conducted through the PSiCA scheme, vacancy in the Strand and Strand Arcade dropped from 9 units to 0.
No. 19 Iron Gate
This Grade II-listed building dates to the late-eighteenth/early-nineteenth century. Although it had retained its historic shopfront, a number of repairs and remedial works were required to ensure its longevity. A ground floor sash window had also previously been removed on the St Mary’s Gate elevation, replaced by a modern casement which was covered with signage.
Through the grant, the cement render was removed from the stall riser and plinth, and repairs were then made to the underlying stonework, including the introduction of ventilation holes. Localised repairs were made to the shop front, which was then repainted. In the St Mary’s Gate elevation, the signage and later casement window were removed and a sliding sash was reinstated, using the profiles of the surrounding windows. The property continued in the same retail use once the works were completed.
No. 9 Iron Gate
No. 9 is a four-storey, Grade II-listed property located in Iron Gate, constructed in yellow brick with polychrome details. The property dates to the late-nineteenth century, and connects to a 1960’s extension, forming a department store. An inappropriate modern shop front had previously been installed and the decision was made to reinstate the shop front based upon photographic evidence from the 1930s. While this was not contemporaneous with the age of the property, it did reflect the Art Deco interior of the store and other similar shop fronts in the surrounding area of the same period.
The modern shop front was removed and a new black granite surround was installed, along with a hardwood frame with bronze finish. Separate works were also undertaken to improve the frontage of the neighbouring 1960s property.