Sitting at No. 41 Friar Gate in Derby, Pickford’s House Museum occupies one of the finest Georgian town houses in the East Midlands. The building was constructed between 1763 and 1765 by the prominent architect Joseph Pickford, who designed it as his own family residence. It was also a calculated professional statement – Pickford intended the house to demonstrate his abilities and attract new clients. The building holds Grade I listed status, upgraded from Grade II in 1977, and has been open to the public as a museum since 1988.
From Family Home to Derby City Council
After Joseph Pickford died, the house passed to his son, the Reverend Joseph Pickford, who had it extended and divided into two properties in 1812. He left it to his cousin William Pickford in 1836, who mortgaged it shortly afterwards. By 1850 it had been sold to William Evans of Allestree Hall. His son, Sir Thomas William Evans, a politician as well as a landowner, sold it in 1879 to Frederick Ward, who in turn sold it to William Curgenven – the first in a line of surgeons to own the property. Derby City Council purchased the house in 1982, though the council later came under criticism for removing chimneys, floors, and walls without seeking permission in keeping with its Grade I status. Since October 2012, Pickford’s House has been run by Derby Museums Trust.
What the Museum Contains
The ground floor is furnished to reflect how the house might have looked during Pickford’s own lifetime, alongside displays of eighteenth and nineteenth century costume. The family bedroom and dressing room are arranged as they would have appeared in 1815, and visitors can compare these rooms with the much plainer servants’ bedrooms on the upper floor. The kitchens, scullery, and laundry are presented as they might have been in 1830. The cellar has been decorated to represent a 1940s bomb shelter. At the rear of the property, the original builder’s yard is accessible via a driveway to the right of the house. The museum also holds a collection of model toy theatres gathered by Frank Bradley.