Listed Building record MDR11693 - Brook Cottage, Derby Road, Belper

Brook Cottage, Derby Road, Belper, built c1790. 'Brook Cottage was the residence of John Ward and later of Benjamin Ward, owners of the adjacent hosiery warehouse. This practice of using the cottage as a residence for the owners of the warehouse appears to continue when the site was taken over for use as an oil refinery by Dalton & Company. It was later used as an office. The company (later Silkolene, then Fuchs Lubricants) was wound down in 1999, and by 2002 the cottage was empty and boarded up.' (1) A photographic fabric survey of the site in December 2002 included both the interior and exterior of the cottage. (2) From the National Heritage for England: '950/0/10012 17-DEC-01 BELPER Brook Cottage II House. c.1790 or earlier with early C19 additions and later C19 remodelling. Painted coursed gritstone and red brick, with rendered gable and ridge stacks, coped gables and a Welsh slate roof covering. PLAN : T-shaped range with remodelled late C18 part to the west and service wing extending eastwards at the rear. EXTERIOR: FRONT (west ) ELEVATION : Asymmetrical 2 storey front of 5 bays, with 2 over 2 pane sash windows within plain surrounds Undivided upper floor sashes to gabled dormers extend upwards through eaves. Off-centre doorway to right-hand side with 6-paned half-glazed door within late C19 open- fronted glazed porch with flat roof. REAR: Canted bay window with late C19 glazing to right-hand end of frontage range. Service wing with shallow-pitched roof and tripartite glazing bar sash window to upper floor at right-hand end. Below, tall tripartite opening with half glazed door to centre and narrow flanking lights, all with glazing bars. Left hand end with very wide gable stack . INTERIOR: Not inspected. HISTORY: Brook Cottage is listed in the survey undertaken for the Enclosure Award for Duffield of 1791. The site was subsequently absorbed into the textile manufacturing complex developed by the Ward and Brettles families, specialists in hosiery manufacture. The firm of Ward, Brettles and Ward was the largest hosiery manufacturer in the late C19. Brook Cottage became the factory managers dwelling during this time. The association with hosiery manufacture in Belper lasted until the late C20. Listing NGR: SK3474247154' (3)