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County Hall, Derby

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Coordinates: 52°55′29″N 1°28′51″W / 52.9246°N 1.4808°W / 52.9246; -1.4808
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County Hall, Derby
LocationDerby, Derbyshire
Coordinates52°55′29″N 1°28′51″W / 52.9246°N 1.4808°W / 52.9246; -1.4808
Built1660
ArchitectGeorge Eaton
Architectural style(s)Classical style
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated20 June 1952
Reference no.1279174
County Hall, Derby is located in Derbyshire
County Hall, Derby
Location of County Hall, Derby in Derbyshire

County Hall, Derby is a municipal building in St Mary's Gate in Derby, England. The building, which was the headquarters of Derbyshire County Council from 1889 to 1955, is a Grade I listed building.[1]

History

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The building, which was designed George Eaton of Etwall in the classical style as a shire hall, was completed in 1660.[2] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays at the back of a Cour d'honneur facing onto St Mary's Gate; there were three large round-headed windows and two doorways on the ground floor (one door for the crown judge and one door for the nisi prius judge) and there were Tuscan order columns at the corners.[3]

The complex was expanded by the completion of judges' lodgings: the lodgings, which were built to a design by John Welch with seven bays on the east side of the Cour d'honneur, were completed in 1811.[4] The courtroom was the setting for the trial of Betty Sorrel in the novel Adam Bede by George Eliot published in 1859.[1][5] The building continued to be used as a facility for dispensing justice but, following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888, which established county councils in every county, it also became the meeting place of Derbyshire County Council.[6] In the early 20th century, the county council commissioned additional accommodation at No. 16 on the north side of St Mary's Gate (now the Cathedral Quarter Hotel)[7] and at No. 29 on the south side (now Middleton House).[8][9]

The complex was further expanded by the addition of an early 18th century former public house bearing the coat of arms of George III[10] and known as the "King's Arms and County Hotel":[11] the building, which was converted into a library to a design by George Henry Widdows with seven bays on the west side of the Cour d'honneur, was completed in 1934.[12][13][14]

After the County Council moved out to Smedley's Hydro in 1955, the County Hall in Derby operated solely as a courts complex.[2] Following the implementation of the Courts Act 1971, the assizes and the quarter sessions were superseded by crown court hearings on 1 January 1972.[15] After the crown court moved to the new Derby Combined Court Centre on Morledge in 1989, the County Hall operated as Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court.[16]

After attending the Royal Maundy Service at Derby Cathedral and distributing the Maundy Money,[17] Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, toured the area and had lunch at the Cathedral Quarter Hotel on 1 April 2010.[18][19]

  • No. 16 St Mary's Gate (now the Cathedral Quarter Hotel)
    No. 16 St Mary's Gate (now the Cathedral Quarter Hotel)
  • No. 29 St Mary's Gate (now Middleton House)
    No. 29 St Mary's Gate (now Middleton House)

References

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  1. ^ a b Historic England. "County Hall, Derby (1279174)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Magistrates Court, St Mary's Gate, Derby". Heritage Gateway. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  3. ^ Girouard, Mark (1990). The English Town: A History of Urban Life. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300046359.
  4. ^ Historic England. "18, St Marys Gate (1229220)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  5. ^ Eliot, George (1859). "Adam Bede". John Blackwood.
  6. ^ "Local Government Act 1888". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  7. ^ Historic England. "Former Rural District Council Offices (1229219)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  8. ^ Historic England. "Former Technical College Annex (1229222)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Will the lure of money over-rule heritage value in the development of Derby's historic Middleton House?". Derby News. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  10. ^ "The Derby Heritage Walk". Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  11. ^ "No. 20322". The London Gazette. 5 March 1844. p. 817.
  12. ^ "County Hotel". Derbyshire County Record Office. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Postcard: The King's Arms Hotel, Derby". 1926. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Newsletter" (PDF). Derby Civic Society. 1 January 2014. p. 30. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  15. ^ Courts Act 1971 (Commencement) Order 1971 (SI 1971/1151)
  16. ^ Tonder, Gerry van (2016). Derby in 50 Buildings. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445658162.
  17. ^ "The Queen visits Derby Cathedral and the Royal Derby". 1 April 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Royal Visit". Cathedral Quarter Hotel. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  19. ^ "Derby hotel goes from one-star to five-star food hygiene rating in nine months". Derby Telegraph. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
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