Belper - A Little Corner
w/e 28 June 2020
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Kodak DX6490
Most visitors to Belper will head for the busy main
shopping street, the historic Mills or the Riverside Gardens
and with just reason of course, but here we take a look at a
little corner close to the town centre.
We approached the town centre along Nottingham Road part of the
one-way system which becomes The Butts shortly before it changes
to two-way at this road junction. The road on the left is also
The Butts, to the right it changes to Lander Lane and straight
ahead, although there is no through route for traffic, it is
High Pavement.
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Later we'll continue down High Pavement to the Market Place but
first here's a look at a terrace of cottages on the corner of
The Butts and Lander Lane.
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We walked along the path in front of the terrace to this old
Lych Gate at the entrance to St John's Chapel.
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The chapel entrance was beautifully adorned with hanging baskets
and troughs but the gate was closed and a notice related to the
coronavirus explained why.
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The chapel was erected in the thirteenth century and remained
open for worship until the 1970s but now it serves the community
as the St John's Chapel Heritage Centre.
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We left the chapel grounds by another gate and walked down St
John's Road back to The Butts where the large impressive building
on the corner is a former school. The green door was the entrance
for boys whilst that for girls is around the corner in St John's
Road. The building has now been converted into residential apartments.
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Next to the old school are the Matthew Smith Almshouses.
Stonework beneath the coat of arms on the front shows when they
were originally erected in 1713 and also that they were rebuilt
in 1829.
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Leaving The Butts we headed down High Pavement passing The Nag's
Head pub on the way. This has a Grade II listing which states
the the facade dates from the first half of the 19th century
but parts of the building may be older than this.
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At the bottom of High Pavement is the Market Place where the
Drinking Fountain also Grade II listed was erected in 1881 to
mark the paving of the Market Place by G. Strutt..
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The Fountain is a permanent feature in the Market Place and was
decorated with flowers but we ended our look at this little corner
of Belper at a temporary feature close by - this impressive flower
display.
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