Planning & Design’s Heritage Consultant Ruth Gray looks back on the recent history of the Eagle Market and The Castle and Falcon pub and discusses Derby City Council’s latest vision for the area comprising the city’s Eastern Gateway.
I remember going to Australia in 2003 and returning to Derby in 2009 to a city that I didn’t recognise as the Derbion (then Australian owned Westfield) had been built. The change was huge and the effect has been dramatic on the city centre. But one part remained familiar and that was the remnants of the Eagle Market and The Castle and Falcon Pub. Cities do move with the times, they have to and Derby is no exception, and things are moving again with what Derby City Council are calling The Eagle Quarter development, part of an overall masterplan for Derby City.
The Eagle Market attached to the Eagle Centre was built in the early 1970s. For decades the footfall in the market was high, however, in recent times the market declined as customers have so many other choices for discounted goods within the city and online. Drinking habits have changed too and although The Castle and Falcon Pub has a loyal clientele (hopefully they will find somewhere else to meet) the buildings are looking tired and do not make for a welcoming entrance into the city when approaching from the bus station.
It’s easy to feel nostalgic when things are about to be demolished but if we take a quick look back, we can see that this part of Derby has a history of change and planning decisions that have been made in the last fifty years have been a bit piecemeal when it comes to this particular patch of land.
Prior to the Eagle Centre being built, the 1951 OS map shows the original Castle and Falcon pub on the corner of Cock Pit Hill next to rows of shops with a mixture of terrace housing and small businesses behind it, all opposite the art deco bus station. The late sixties and early seventies saw a boom for large shopping centres ushering in a new phase for retail and leisure. Derby wasn’t to be left behind and in 1971 The Castle and Falcon and a swathe of land was cleared for the foundations of the Eagle Centre.
Images: Left: The original Castle and Falcon on Cock Pit Hill prior to demolition. 1 Centre: Laying the foundations in 1971 for the Eagle Centre and replacement The Castle and Falcon.2 Right: Historic England – Derbyshire of Yesteryear.3
The original 1970s view of The Castle and Falcon was very different. There was space around it and one could have a drink and look out from the balcony. The original Eagle Market too was light and bright, although the modernist hexagonal design meant customers often found it hard to navigate.
The original hexagonal stall design.4
Consequently, fifty plus years of changes has resulted in being greeted by high brick walls and a street scape that doesn’t feel inviting to walk down especially at night time. To address this Derby City Council have said:
‘The Eastern Gateway, delivered by Derbion and part-funded by the Government’s Future High Streets Fund, will create a new façade and urban garden, transforming the area opposite the bus station and the eastern entrance to the shopping and leisure destination.’
Work will begin this imminently and is due for completion during the first half of 2025.
Key components of the Derbion Masterplan for the Eagle Quarter include:
- To provide new City Centre homes through the introduction of some taller buildings.
- New food and beverage, leisure and other new activities at ground floor
- A Green Heart will be the focal point of the new development. A big green space with an entrance to Derbion.
- A new Green Boulevard is proposed to link the development from Morledge in the north to the Green Heart in the centre of the site.
- New walkable streets will significantly improve accessibility within and around this area of the City Centre including to the River Derwent.
- The masterplan increases the height of new buildings towards the east of the site with a new landmark building proposed in the eastern corner, marking the gateway into the rear.
It will be interesting to see in twenty years’ time how sustainable this latest change will be. If the area created to provide green space can be retained as such the design should stand the test of time but if the maintenance of the green space is subject to future council cuts there is a risk it will be preferable to build on it again. But maybe that is me being pessimistic for now I think it is a great vision for an area that has seen much change.
Ruth Gray, Heritage Consultant, Planning & Design Practice Ltd
Evolution of the Eagle Market – References:
- https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/gallery/you-remember-any-derby-pubs-4160266
- Date flown: 22 October 1971Flight: AFL19711022. Photographer: Aerofilms
- Historic England – Derbyshire of Yesteryear
- https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/you-remember-eagle-centre-market-2339045
