Note to admin/mods - please correct if this is the wrong section.
I was kindly offered the opportunity to photograph the interior of Derby Council House today, as work has just begun on a major internal redevelopment which will make the building better suited to modern needs as well as repair the sinking foundations.
Derby Council House was the flagship 'component' of the Derby Central Improvement Scheme, which included the previously reported Magistrates Court/Police Station, Exeter Bridge and flats, the riverside gardens, a more car friendly road system, and the now demolished bus station and markets. This was all designed by Charles Herbert Aslin
Original drawings showed the building known as the 'Central Municipal Offices' with a tall square clock tower above the portico entrance, and with the Roman numerals MCMXXXVII (1937) on the portico. This was later put to MCMXLI (1941) due to delays. The foundation stone was laid in June 1939 by Mayor Alderman David Butler
Sadly World War 2 broke out and work was halted in September 1939, the building was opened by (then) Princess Elizabeth II in 1949. The building was "extended" within the internal courtyard in the 1960s, and modernised in 1990. Sadly many of Charles Aslin's designed features for the building were not realised, or have been lost to progress - that said it remains interesting in parts and bears many similarities with other examples of Aslin's work in Derby.
These photographs are a bit rushed due to only having 90 minutes to do this, plus train delays had made my day an unpleasant one....
The Portico entrance
The central staircase, looking up and down
Opening plaque, Derby wasn't a city until 1977
Sadly many cutbacks were made, for example the skylights are far less impressive then the magistrates court.
One thing which interested me personally was the art and photographs on the walls - from past mayors, to Rolls Royce and even the local shopping centre adorn the walls.
Here's pride park around 1997. The Stadium is under construction - note the gasometers and Roundhouse to the bottom of the picture...
Original proposed design for the portico entrance - with the never built clock tower.... shame.
The mayors office
Council meeting room
The curving corridors were a nice feature in themselves
The kind fellow who was giving me the 'tour' then mentioned that beautiful word - rooftop!
Well when I say rooftop the flat roofs only offered uninspiring views of the central courtyard of the building, however its possible to get photos from the top of the portico via a tiny door which I could poke my head and D40 through....
The white object is the base of the flagpole, the magistrates court is in the background
My final excursion was underground, fairly unexciting except for some boilers and 1950s vintage electrics.
And finally the bit anyone can see... the reception elevator
I was kindly offered the opportunity to photograph the interior of Derby Council House today, as work has just begun on a major internal redevelopment which will make the building better suited to modern needs as well as repair the sinking foundations.
Derby Council House was the flagship 'component' of the Derby Central Improvement Scheme, which included the previously reported Magistrates Court/Police Station, Exeter Bridge and flats, the riverside gardens, a more car friendly road system, and the now demolished bus station and markets. This was all designed by Charles Herbert Aslin
Original drawings showed the building known as the 'Central Municipal Offices' with a tall square clock tower above the portico entrance, and with the Roman numerals MCMXXXVII (1937) on the portico. This was later put to MCMXLI (1941) due to delays. The foundation stone was laid in June 1939 by Mayor Alderman David Butler
Sadly World War 2 broke out and work was halted in September 1939, the building was opened by (then) Princess Elizabeth II in 1949. The building was "extended" within the internal courtyard in the 1960s, and modernised in 1990. Sadly many of Charles Aslin's designed features for the building were not realised, or have been lost to progress - that said it remains interesting in parts and bears many similarities with other examples of Aslin's work in Derby.
These photographs are a bit rushed due to only having 90 minutes to do this, plus train delays had made my day an unpleasant one....
The Portico entrance
The central staircase, looking up and down
Opening plaque, Derby wasn't a city until 1977
Sadly many cutbacks were made, for example the skylights are far less impressive then the magistrates court.
One thing which interested me personally was the art and photographs on the walls - from past mayors, to Rolls Royce and even the local shopping centre adorn the walls.
Here's pride park around 1997. The Stadium is under construction - note the gasometers and Roundhouse to the bottom of the picture...
Original proposed design for the portico entrance - with the never built clock tower.... shame.
The mayors office
Council meeting room
The curving corridors were a nice feature in themselves
The kind fellow who was giving me the 'tour' then mentioned that beautiful word - rooftop!
Well when I say rooftop the flat roofs only offered uninspiring views of the central courtyard of the building, however its possible to get photos from the top of the portico via a tiny door which I could poke my head and D40 through....
The white object is the base of the flagpole, the magistrates court is in the background
My final excursion was underground, fairly unexciting except for some boilers and 1950s vintage electrics.
And finally the bit anyone can see... the reception elevator
