The Council House is a municipal building in Corporation Street,

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. It is the headquarters of

Derby City Council Derby City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire in the East Midlands region of England. Derby has had a council from medieval ...

and it is a locally listed building.

History

The facility was commissioned to replace the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

in the Market Place. The site chosen for the new building was previously occupied by riverside wharves and industrial premises. Work started on the new building, which was designed by Charles Aslin, in the Neo-Georgian style, in 1938 and the part-built facility was then requisitioned by the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The original plan had involved an oval council chamber to the south of the main building as well as a clock tower but both these aspects of the proposals were abandoned. Conversely proposals for a large

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

incorporating four Palmyrene columns and a pediment above were retained. The design of the Mayor's Chamber incorporated oak panelling recovered from Derwent Hall before it was demolished to make way for the Ladybower Reservoir in 1942. The construction work was completed after the war and the building was officially opened by Princess Elizabeth and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

in 1949. Following a fire in the old Assembly Rooms in 1963, while the facade of the gutted building was dismantled and installed at the National Tramway Museum at

Crich Crich is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire. Besides the village of Crich, the civil parish includes the nearby villages of Fritchley, Whatstandwell and Wheatcroft, Derbyshire, Wheatcroft. The population of the civi ...

, the

chandelier A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...

s were recovered at installed in the mayor's reception suite at the Council House. After Derby was awarded city status on 7 June 1977, the Queen presented a "charter scroll" or "letters patent" to the mayor on the steps of the Council House on 28 July 1977. An extensive refurbishment of the building, to a design by Corstorphine and Wright, and undertaken by Royal BAM Group at a cost of £34 million, was completed in 2015. The refurbishment involved changing the building to an open plan layout so that 2,000 employees could be accommodated rather than 500 employees as previously. The scheme also involved moving the council chamber to the centre of the building with a new

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

and other public space forming an arc round the council chamber and introduced energy efficiency measures such as a

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

and photo-voltaic panels. A room in the refurbished civic suite was designated the Jacob Rivers VC Room in memory of Private Jacob Rivers who was born at Bridgegate in Derby and was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1949 City and town halls in Derbyshire Buildings and structures in Derby