Markeaton Culvert Derby

Derelict Places

Help Support Derelict Places:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

fezzyben

Veteran Member
Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Messages
530
Reaction score
2
Location
Derbyshire
This was my first underground trip. Visited with, Johno23, Timewarp, Dramaqueen, Ashless, Kaputnik, Nobodygirl and her friend (I'm useless with names) Heres my pics

























 
Awesome trip! thanks for the invite! Nice pics there Fezzyben!

Heres a couple of mine!

The team! (Ill send the actual one through to those who want it)
teamphotonofaceszj3.jpg


tunnelingis3.jpg



undergrounddc3.jpg


lightssb6.jpg


laddershaftzl0.jpg


img9928jr5.jpg


hatchnu1.jpg


Another team photograph! (again let me know if you want the real copy :) )

Lovely day! Great to see you all!
team2nofacemb6.jpg
 
Nicely done you pair! :)

Here's one of the bus station where you can pop out halfway along the culvert and have a look around, though there's not much to see anymore.

P1070136.jpg


P1070120.jpg


P1070153.jpg
 
I'm seriously going to have to start shaving my hair off looks like i'm going bald :cry:
 
Nice one. :) Does it go far? The bats are something I have never come across.
 
pics

Great pics mate good one of the bats and the fly as well,nice work
 
Last edited:
some good pics, and many thanks to Johno23 for the tour, and pointing out the historical bits, and what parts of derby we were standing under! top day out:mrgreen:
 
God I wish I didn't work on Sundays!

I like the 'Bus Station' shot, it actually looks better since they knocked down the Bus Station and plonked a big fence around the place! Pity they can't knock down the surrounding area!
 
A few of my pics from the day.

Markeaton culvert runs right through Derby under city centre streets and according to a mini poll recently very few people know of its existence.
It is fed from the large brook which comes down from Markeaton Park and eventually feeds into the river Derwent.It is a favourite explore of mine.Anyway heres a few more pics.
DERBY056.jpg

Weir which feeds the culvert.
DERBY005.jpg

First part of culvert which is of hand built brick construction.
DERBY004.jpg

400 year old Ford Street bridge.
DERBY014.jpg

400 year old Tenant Street bridge.
DERBY036.jpg

Large sewer pipe which is carried within an existing victorian sewer.
DERBY024.jpg

Typical street drain feeding into culvert.
DERBY023.jpg

If you dont like spiders,you wont like it in here:lol:
DERBY038-1.jpg

Fezzyben inspects WW2 fire brigade pumping point.
SIGN2VS.jpg

Above ground marker at same point as previous photo.
DERBY034.jpg

Two of the team inspecting the outfall.
 
Ahh that last picture answers my question of where it runs out too, and there was me thinking it ran into the Derwent by the River Gardens!

The culvert was open until the 19th century, the new street formed was called Victoria and Albert Street, if you look on a map you'll notice its distinctive curve through the city centre.

A couple of years back the City Council was repaving Victoria Street as part of the 'Connecting Derby' scheme, when resurfacing at the main crossroads between the street and St Peters Street the road caved into a water way - Markeaton Culvert. It was fenced off for a few months while essential repair works took place.

It wasn't the first time it'd happened, in the 1930s (I think) a steamroller fell through into the culvert elsewhere in the city (there's a photo somewhere).
It's somewhat well known, largely due to the incident in 2005, as well as its more obvious entrance being in the student quarter (where a lovely mill was demolished last year).

One person had the idea of reopening the culvert, making Victoria and Albert Street resemble something out of Amsterdam, however by this point the Council had turned it into a bus, taxi and cycle lane.
 
As far as Bats are concerned I would appreciate it if people could read the following PDF about Bats and the law. It is illegal to disturb roosting Bats and in Scotland it is actually illegal to photograph them without a license. Using a flash gun around them in particular isn't a great idea as it can disturb their roosting and can wake them out of hibernation which may kill them.

http://www.bats.org.uk/publications_download.php/250/batsunderground.pdf

Noise isn't too much of a problem around roosting bats, but light and changes in temperature are. Even a rise in temperature caused by your own body heat nearby could cause a hibernating bat to wake up early.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top