Listed Building record MDR11387 - Magistrate's Court, Derwent Street, Derby

Council House and Riverside Gardens. In 1931 Herbert Aslin, the City Architect, was asked to design the Council House and the space around it to provide Derby with its first public riverside space. The Civic buildings (Council House and Magistrate's Court), structures, parapet walls and street furniture which front the river were designed and landscaped together as a set piece, with the construction of Exeter Bridge. These include some very typical 1930s art deco designs, details and shapes. The Magistrate's Court (1932-4) by C H Aslin on Derwent Street was listed grade II in January 2000. Very few 20th century buildings are listed and this reflects national recognition of the importance of the building and its setting. (1) The Magistrates Court and Central Police Station, with attached boundary walls were built between 1932 and 34, by CH Aslin, Borough Architect from red brick with ashlar dressings and hipped Westmorland slate roofs in a Georgian Revival style. It is 2 and 3 storeys high and is hollow square in plan with a corner entrance, and a central 2-storey range comprising cells and courts set diagonally within. Outside there is a pair of bronze standard lamps on plinths linked to the boundary wall which has dice and square piers topped with flat urns. The ground floor entrance hall has a dentillated cornice and a swept double stair with elaborate bronze balustrades, there is a shell ceiling and a skylight to the stairwell. The main stairwell and first floor waiting area have polished stone panelling and moulded cornices. The cell block is largely original, with white glazed brick lining throughout. This building is an important element of a major municipal redevelopment scheme, carried out between 1932 and 1949. (2) The former Magistrates' Courts were completed in 1934 and incorporate a police station to the north. This Neo-Classical building with its bravura angled entrance and best façade to the river, was just one element in a projected re-build of the entire riverside area. Other completed elements include the bus station, council house, open market and riverside gardens. (3)