Monument record MDR4800 - Waterworks, Alfreton Road, Little Eaton

Derby has an unusual waterworks at Little Eaton. It was established in 1848 to replace the by then inadequate works of Sorocold on the Derwent, and is remarkable not only for the Victorian architecture of the buildings, but also because it takes a part of its water from collecting tunnels of perforated brickwork constructed in the gravels of the Derwent nearby. This method is used in only one or two other places in the country. The surviving Derby Waterworks building of 1848 is in a pseudo-Gothic style. Beam engines of 1875 were removed in 1948. (1) A Victorian building at the Water Treatment Works looks like a church and retains a lot of original ironwork. (2) The original building (1848) of Derby Waterworks, now Severn Trent, is constructed of red brick with stone dressings, in a gothic style. Evidence remains of former filter beds. (3) The 1st edition 25" OS map of c. 1880 shows two basins, one large and one small, together with several buildings and two chimneys, set in tree-planted grounds next to the road, and with a lodge at the entrance to the site. A separate area to the east contained three filter beds and three reservoirs. (4) Some expansion of the site took place in the early 20th century, with further expansion later in the 20th century. (5)