Who remembers when elephants once walked city streets?
Outdoor baths, an elevated walkway and police officers diverting traffic in the Cornmarket were all once part of everyday life in Derby. Zena Hawley looks at 16 things we have loved and lost
NOTHING stays the same is probably an appropriate phrase to use when thinking about how much has changed in Derby over the years. Buildings, shops, churches, transport systems and sporting venues have come and gone - never to return.
With the recent demolition of shops and a church in Victoria Street and the possibility the Market Place will lose the Assembly Rooms, we thought it was time to dip into the archive once again.
Bygones has come up with 16 images of places, which will never be seen again but at the time were wellused, popular and seemed to be set to be around forever.
And if you don’t remember them - parents or grandparents will probably recognise the sights that have disappeared over time - take time to wallow in a little nostalgia.
A POLICEMAN DIRECTING TRAFFIC IN THE CORNMARKET
It has been a long time since regular traffic was allowed along St James Street into the Cornmarket and round the Market Place.
But amazingly in the 1950s and 1960s, One Point - at the junction of the Cornmarket and St James’s Street - was the busiest and most important spot in the town.
Traffic travelling north and south and east and west all passed through it, in both directions, and the police officers who manned it always had to have their wits about them. For they not only controlled the traffic but helped pedestrians cross the busy streets.
PC Arnie Grace served with Derby Borough Police from 1948 to the early 1970s and he became an iconic figure on point duty on the streets of Derby.
The Cornmarket and St Peter’s Street were paved over and pedestrianised in 1993, providing a traffic-free and less polluted environment for shoppers.
ELEPHANTS ON THE STREETS OF DERBY
No kidding – elephants walking along Derby’s streets were quite a common sight at one time but unlikely to be ever be witnessed again.
Everytime the circus came to town - in the days before animals were banned from them - the elephants always arrived by train at Derby station and then walked to wherever the circus was appearing, which quite often was on The Meadows, off Nottingham Road, or the Big Top could be erected on Bass’ Recreation Ground. It could be a Billy Smart’s or Chipperfield’s circus in town.
This photo is likely to be of Chipperfield’s elephants, complete with police escort.
Sometimes, although not in this photo taken in 1962 in London Road, they were ridden by girls in exotic
The smoking room and cafe at Boots costumes to the delight of the crowds which gathered to see them.
But it is also on record that elephants were also the star turn at places such as the Grand Theatre in Babington Lane and these would also come to Derby by train, walk to the old Castle and Falcon pub in the Morledge and be stabled there.
FIRST CAME THE TRAMS AND THEN THE TROLLEY BUSES
Derby’s trolleybus system opened on January 10, 1932, and gradually replaced the existing tram network. which had started in the 1880s and finally ended in 1934.
Trolleybuses - with their strange looking poles on top picking up the overhead electricity supply - were destined to transport the public around Derby and out to the suburbs until the system closed in September 1967.
There were 11 trolleybus routes in Derby altogether and a maximum fleet of 73 vehicles. The end was signalled when proposed extensions to the network were blocked by objections to the additional poles and cabling that would be required.
Never say never again though because although the city now has buses running out to its suburbs, plans have been put forward to run a ‘bendy’ tram from one end of the city to the other taking in the Market Place and the railway station but not including the streets in this photo.
OUTDOOR FREE BATHS IN THE CENTRE OF DERBY
For almost 70 years Derby amazingly had a free outdoor swimming pool anyone could use on Bass’ Recreation Ground. Recollections from people who used them in the 1930s say they were tiled in white and filled with what appeared to be tap water, although it may have been disinfected. It often had leaves in it from nearby trees in the open-air setting.
The changing cubicles were placed around the edge in the form of horse stalls. They were made of iron and this was taken for use at the outbreak of war in 1939.
But the good news ended there for the water was icy cold and only attractive on the hottest day.
The baths were given to the town by MP Michael Thomas Bass in 1873 but closed in 1940.
FIRST INDOOR SLIPPER BATHS
Full Street baths were opened in June 1858. There were two pools, both with balconies and cubicles for changing down one side and they cost £4,000.
The baths had eight slipper baths – which were named because they were shaped like slippers – and no filtration plant.
Instead, they were emptied every Saturday night and refilled from the town mains. The water was cold until the power station was built nearby and warm water was piped from there to the baths.
People paid to use the baths, which was probably trying to have a bath at home in those days.
The baths closed in July 1932 with the opening of Queen Street baths, which are still in existence.
POWER STATION IN THE TOWN CENTRE
Hard to imagine that planning permission would be given today for a power station to be built in the centre of a city or town.
But in 1893 Derby power station,
run by Derby Corporation, began generating electricity from a venue just off Full Street and Sowter Road.
Belching out smoke from its four tall chimneys, the power station was extended in the 1920s and 1940s but eventually closed in 1969 and was demolished, although a substation remains behind tall walls on the site.
This unusual view is looking down Full Street from its junction with Queens Street with the power station at the end of the road.
The rebuilt Silk Mill Pub can be seen down the street on the left in this photo from the 1930’s.
OUTDOOR MARKET IN THE MORLEDGE
There was a time when Derby’s skyline was dominated by tall chimneys, including the famous Shot Tower, and it was a hive of industrial activity.
The 180ft Shot Tower was demolished to make way for Derby’s 1932 Central Improvement Plan but it had provided employment for thousands of people during its 130year history.
It was part of Cox & Poyser’s lead mills in the Morledge and was part of the lead shot manufacturing process.
Molten lead was poured through sieves at the top of the tower, creating tiny drops of metal. As these fell through the air, they became
rounded in shape and were collected in a reservoir of water at the bottom. Also in the foreground of this 1900s picture is an early outdoor market off the Morledge.
QUEUES AND CROWDS AT DERBY’S OUTDOOR MARKET
This is the outdoor market in the Morledge pictured in about 1934, with open ground in the background where eventually the current Council House would be built.
The popular new market was built in 1933, at the same time as the bus station and there also use to be a big fairground there on Saturday nights.
The Morledge market consisted of 240 stalls and 18 stands. These comprised of 36 florists, 60 fruiterers and greengrocers, 144 general merchandise stalls and 18 stands for crockery and pitching.
Derby now has two indoor markets and no outdoor market, following its closure in 1975. The only other outdoor market is at Allenton.
BIG SCREEN IN THE MARKET PLACE
Believe it or not, it is only 14 years ago when people in Derby first had the chance to watch films and television programmes communally in the Market Place.
The seven by five-metre screen was sited next to the Tourist
Information Office after a deal was struck between the BBC, University of Derby and Derby City Council.
But it only lasted for six years before being taken down in 2013 to save the council about £30,000 a year. A variety of sporting events such as the World Cup and Olympic Games were watched but time and alcohol restrictions put many people off coming into the city centre to watch the screen.
Bad weather and uncomfortable seating also played their part in people deciding to stay away. Over one weekend during the 2012 games, 600 people sat and watched the screen at various times.
Our photo shows local schoolchildren being led in an attempt to break a world record held to celebrate the Olympic flame arriving in the UK in 2012.
The pupils joined thousands of youngsters across the UK and 20 other countries in dancing the same five-minute routine at exactly the same time. Crowds gathered to watch the children from seven local schools take part in the Schools Pledge dance.
ELEVATED ROUTE ACROSS THE MORLEDGE
In the 1970s, it was thought to be a good idea to link Derby’s new Eagle Centre with a covered pedestrian
bridge across the Morledge to the bus station.
It was both ugly and largely impractical, as it took more time to locate either end to access it, than to try to cross the road and consequently was little used.
Eventually, it was demolished in 1997-98 to make way for the developments at the Cock Pit island, including the new multi-storey Riverside car park and new bus station.
DERBYSHIRE ROYAL INFIRMARY (DRI)
Used as a hospital site since the 19th century, the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary was re-designed later in the same century following recommendations by the most famous nurse of all, Florence Nightingale, who also lived in Derbyshire at one stage.
But a decision to rebuild Derby City Hospital as the city’s main hospital called the Royal Derby Hospital, led to the London Road hospital being reclassified as London Road Community Hospital and large parts of it were demolished.
That is with the exception of the two towers, which have become known as the pepper pots, and can be seen on the left of this photo.
They will become part of the £150 million Nightingale Quarter
development currently under way on the site and which will see 800 new homes built.
Covering 18 acres, the development aims to create a “green oasis” for residents, with cycle routes, an open-air gym and fitness area, children’s play areas and planting throughout the site.
Residents having access to numerous facilities including a café, gym, exhibition space and meeting rooms.
BOOTS CHEMIST SMOKING ROOM AND CAFé
For years, Boots the Chemist occupied the elegant building on the corner of East Street and St Peter’s Street.
But as well as selling medicines originally, the store branched out over the years into a whole host of goods and even had a thriving cafe, where customers were attended by silver service waitresses.
Bizarrely, and certainly something you would never see again, the cafe had a smoke room.
This photo of the cafe was taken in the 1920s.
A VISIT TO WOOLWORTHS ON SATURDAY WAS A TREAT
The first Woolworths store in Derby – famed for its pick-n-mix selection – was in Victoria Street where it was on two floors and was one of the most popular shops in Derby.
Eventually, it relocated into the new Eagle Centre but in 1982 announced the store would also be closing, following nationwide store reductions.
In the end, that store did close but happily Derby had a Woolworths shop for a few more years, after it took over a smaller unit on the outside of the centre near to The Spot.
This photo was taken in November 1987 capturing early Christmas shoppers. The shop was to remain open for another 23 years before the chain disappeared from high streets altogether in 2009.
WHEN THE MARKET PLACE ACTUALLY HELD A MARKET
Derby City Council may come up with a variety of ideas for the Market Place over the years, including Christmas present decorations, an ice rink and eateries, but one thing unlikely to return is a big outdoor market, with the exception of farmers markets.
Our photo shows the Market Place before the removal of the wholesale market to the Holmes area of the town in 1925.
It was a thriving centre with a variety of shops selling both food and household goods along either side of the Market Place.
Since it was pedestrianised, the Market Place has struggled to find an identity and the growth of what is now the Derbion shopping centre has attracted custom away from the area.
DEBENHAMS - A RECENT LOSS
A recent victim of progress is the 1960s former Ranbys and then renamed Debenhams building in Victoria Street.
Debenhams moved out in 2007 to relocate to what was then named the Westfield Shopping Centre, more recently Derbion, and the building remained empty until 2019 when demolition began.
The store has been razed to the ground, along with the adjoining Central; Reformed Church, to make way for redevelopment of the Becketwell and Duckworth Square area, which will include, a public square, apartments and new performance venue.
Sadly, Debenhams across the country is also now closing down.
THE BASEBALL GROUND
Rams fans of a certain age will recall going to the Baseball Ground until 1997 when Pride Park Stadium was built and opened.
This photo from 1945 shows typical match days scenes from the era when thousands of fans would descend on the Baseball Ground for home matches.
Afterwards they would swarm down Normanton Road heading to the bus and railway stations for transport home.