New Belper Trail

Town walk starting at the Derwent Valley Visitor Centre, Belper North Mill

Jedediah Strutt built water-powered cotton spinning mills in Belper from 1776. North Mill was re-built in 1804 after fire destroyed the original mill. William Strutt designed this as a fireproof building; it was an important development in the building of multi storey structures. This building is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

The Weir and sluice gates were built in 1797 to replace an earlier weir and gain better control of the River Derwent to power the mills.

Take the path by the weir, which runs alongside the river to The River Gardens. This is where the willow was grown to make baskets for transportation of good at the mills. George Herbert Strutt agreed to a landing stage being built for a boating association here. This idea developed into the River Gardens where band concerts are held and boats may be taken out on the river.

Across the road from the entrance to the River Gardens on Matlock Road is "The Old Nick" this was Belper's Police station; built in 1847. For two years it served as the headquarters of the Derbyshire Constabulary when it was first formed in 1857. Later three Police houses were built alongside in 1877. Cross at the lights towards these houses and turn right.

On the right, across the road from Long Row is Christ Church and vicarage, built in 1850.

Turn left up Long Row. Long Row School was built about 1810; it was later rebuilt and enlarged. Some houses were demolished to accommodate the larger school building.

Long Row is the second phase of workers housing built about 1790 by the Strutt family who owned the cotton spinning mills. The rows of houses on the left and at the bottom right have a continuous roofline with an extra storey; built of gritstone and interlock around the staircase. Houses on the right are brick and ascend in stepped pairs. All these houses have extensive gardens.

On the right by the railway bridge is a walled area, which was known as the dirt hole and here people emptied their ashes to be collected by the ash cart.

The North Midland Railway came through Belper between 1838 and 1840 as part of the Derby to Leeds line, 1300 men were employed on this stretch of line. There are 11 bridges in the one-mile that it runs through Belper. Four or five houses in each row had to be demolished for the cutting to go through.

Turn right into Green Lane. On your left there are four short rows of cottages, these were the first phase of Strutt housing, about 1780. Mill Street has since been extended and the houses on the right lost their gardens. Housing in the Strutt estate was well maintained.

Turn right into William Street, at the first lamp post on the left, turn left and pass through the channel or alley into George Street, The more modern George Street houses were built from 1840 onwards and there has been some infilling with later houses in this area. Cross the road and through another channel into Joseph Street. Look at the house on the right. Cluster buildings are blocks of four houses, semi-detached and back-to-back, each of these houses had a pigsty. The cluster roads were the third phase of workers housing about 1818-1820. They were named in 1896 after Jedediah's sons.

Turn up Joseph Street and on the left there is a Nail Shop, built in the early 19th century. Most of the workers in the mills were women and children. Various workshops were built within the housing complex to provide employment for men.

At the top of Joseph Street, cross the road into Field Row, on the left is the Unitarian Chapel, built 1788. The chapel was extended early in the 19th Century on both sides and the Chapel is therefore three times the size it was originally. It is a good example of nonconformist architecture. There is a fine external, cantilevered staircase, which gives the only access to the upper gallery. Several members of the Strutt family remains are contained in the catacomb below the Chapel.

Back to Green Lane, turn left. The Congregational Church on the left was built in 1872. A modern church has been built at the rear of this building.

Church Lane where the parish church of St. Peter's was completed by 1824 to accommodate the growing congregation, as the town became a thriving industrial community.

Turn left and continue up Church Lane or you may continue along Green Lane to King Street missing out numbers 16 to 22.

Across the road, the cottages at the junction of Shortlands and Chesterfield Road with a date 1808 in the gable end was once a public house called the Horse and Trumpet.

Cross the road, continue along Shortlands and turn left up High Street as far as the rail at the edge of the pavement, cross the road and there is a short pathway leading through to Lander Lane. The row of cottages along Lander Lane were built in the 1820's as nailers cottages and at the end of the row is a yard with garages, these buildings were originally nail shops where the nailers made nails for the nail masters. Nail making was Belper's earliest industry.

Turn Left and walk up through the lychgate to St. John's Chapel, the oldest building in Belper, built about 1250. Belper was part of the Duffield Frith or forest at that time. The chapel enabled the people working in the frith to worship regularly. It served as a parish church until St. Peter's was built. This building now serves as a Town Council Office and Heritage Centre.

Back to the junction with Lander Lane. The shop and houses at the junction of High Pavement and Lander Lane is Belper's only Georgian style Terrace.

Cross the road and walk down High Pavement to the Market Place, where there were nine public houses at one time. This area was The Green until 1810 and the original market place was at the top of King Street. Belper's first market was held in 1739.

Walk through into The Coppice car park, which overlooks the ancient Lady Park. This park was the smallest of the 6 enclosed deer parks of the Duffield Frith.

Back to the Market Place, cross the road at lights and walk down King Street. On the left, before the memorial Gardens is The Public Hall, built in 1882, it became the Ritz cinema in the 1926 and is now a bingo hall.

Turn right onto Green Lane. Robey's Heating is the building by the car park; this was built in 1721 as a Unitarian Chapel. After it was replaces by the chapel in Field Row it served as the Unitarian Sunday School.

Back to the junction with King Street. The Memorial Gardens seen across the road were given to the town by the Strutt family after WWI. This had been the paddock to Green Hall, built by Jedediah Strutt II in 1810. Green Hall stood on the site of green lane car park.

Amber Valley Borough Council office, half way down King Street on the right was built as the Crompton and Evans Bank in 1881 and presented to the town by George Herbert Strutt as a headquarters for the newly formed Council in 1895.

At the bottom of King Street turn right onto Bridge Street. Across from the Lion petrol station Unity Mill can be seen in Derwent Street. This was one of the largest steam driven flourmills in the country. The Lion Hotel was an early coaching inn.

There are various styles of Strutt built houses along Bridge Street, at Chevin View, Devonshire Terrace and Crown Terrace.

The alley by the Rifleman's public house is called Baptist Chapel Yard and you can see the original Baptist Chapel at the top, across the road is the present Baptist Chapel. As you walk along Bridge Street, note the alleys leading to rows of cottages behind the main street.

The old Savings Bank opposite the George and Dragon. The ornate stonework front was added in 1910. William Strutt was a founder and trustee of the Savings Bank, founded in 1818, it moved to these premises in 1851, later becoming a branch of the TSB.

The George and Dragon was a main coaching inn and served as an early post office.

Cross at the lights and follow the signs for the Derwent Valley Visitor Centre. Strutt mills became part of the English Sewing Cotton Co. in 1896. The big East Mill was built in 1912.

In the mill yard the engine house and the remaining stump of the mill chimney can be seen, these were built in 1854 when the mills began using steam power. The engine house was later re-built. The chimney was erected in 13 weeks and stood 180 feet it was demolished in 1990.

The stone arch over the road is called the gangway built in 1795 to connect the West and North Mills. In 1810 two holes were made on the south side and one on the north side where muskets could be fired at any troublemakers or Luddites.

Return to the Derwent Valley Visitor Centre in the North Mill.