County Hall, Derby is a municipal building in St Mary's Gate in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, England. The building, which was the headquarters of

Derbyshire County Council Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is ba ...

from 1889 to 1955, is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

building.

History

The building, which was designed George Eaton of Etwall in the

classical style Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De architectura'' (c. 10 AD) by the Roman architect Vitruvius. Va ...

as a shire hall, was completed in 1660. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays at the back of a

Cour d'honneur A court of honor ( ; ) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block ('' corps de logis''), sometimes with a fourth side, co ...

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 ''Nisi prius'' () (Latin: "unless before") is a historical term in English law. In the 19th century, it came to be used to denote generally all legal actions tried before judges of the King's Bench Division and in the early twentieth century for a ...

'' judge) and there were

Tuscan order The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but wit ...

columns at the corners. 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. The courtroom was the setting for the trial of Betty Sorrel in the novel ''

Adam Bede ''Adam Bede'' was the first novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in 1859. It was published pseudonymously, even though Evans was a well-published and highly respected scholar of her time. The novel ...

'' by

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

published in 1859. The building continued to be used as a facility for dispensing justice but, following the implementation of the

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

, which established county councils in every county, it also became the meeting place of

. 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) and at No. 29 on the south side (now Middleton House). The complex was further expanded by the addition of an early 18th century former public house bearing the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and known as the "King's Arms and County Hotel": 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. After the County Council moved out to

Smedley's Hydro The County Hall is a municipal building in Matlock, Derbyshire, England. The building, which was originally a hydropathic establishment but is now the headquarters of Derbyshire County Council, is a Grade II listed building. History While on ...

in 1955, the County Hall in Derby operated solely as a courts complex. Following the implementation of the

Courts Act 1971 The Courts Act 1971The citation of this act by this short title is authorised bsection 59(1)of this act. (c. 23) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the purpose of which was to reform and modernise the courts system of England and ...

, the

assizes The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

and the

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

were superseded by crown court hearings on 1 January 1972. 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. After attending the Royal Maundy Service at

Derby Cathedral The Cathedral Church of All Saints, Derby, better known as Derby Cathedral, is a cathedral church in the city of Derby, England. In 1927, it was promoted from parish church status to that of a cathedral, creating a seat for the Bishop of ...

and distributing the Maundy Money,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, accompanied by the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

, toured the area and had lunch at the Cathedral Quarter Hotel on 1 April 2010. File:16 St Marys Gate, Derby (geograph 4178072).jpg, No. 16 St Mary's Gate (now the Cathedral Quarter Hotel) File:29 St Marys Gate, Derby (geograph 4181891).jpg, No. 29 St Mary's Gate (now Middleton House)

References

{{reflist D Grade I listed buildings in Derbyshire Buildings and structures completed in 1660 Government buildings completed in the 17th century