Part 05 - Field Row to Bridge Street
w/e 02 June 2013
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

Picking up the walk at the Nail Shop on Joseph Street, the route continues into Field Row before doubling back to follow the whole length of Joseph Street to Crown Terrace and Bridge Street.

Field Row

Crossing Green Lane at the top of Joseph Street we paused only to admire the carefully tended garden in front of one of the terraced houses on Field Row before continuing to the rail topped wall at the end of the terrace.
Notice & Plaque

A notice board adorns the gate and a smaller plaque is fixed to the railings at the Field Row Unitarian Chapel.
Chapel History

To Nature plaqueAs well as giving details about the services held each month, the notice board also includes information about the Unitarian Churches both locally and nationally plus a little of the history of this chapel showing that the present building was another that benefited from the industrialist Jedediah Strutt.

The smaller plaque fixed to the railings and funded by the Herbert Strutt Charity is another on Beth's Poetry Trail. We saw another on the Trail in the Riverside Gardens but this one contains a verse by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and is titled "To Nature".
Cantilevered Staircase

Additional information in the leaflet describing the walk reveals that the chapel was extended on both sides early in the nineteenth century and also points out the "fine external, cantilevered staircase" that is the only access to the upper gallery in the chapel. The padlocked gate prevented any closer inspection of the staircase or of the chapel itself which contains several members of the Strutt family in the catacomb below the building.
Joseph Street

Returning down Field Row and across Green Lane the route now continues back into Joseph Street and past the Nail Shop to the alley through to George Street by which we arrived in the previous part.
Bridges

Carrying on past the alley and about two thirds of the way down Joseph Street is another of the eleven bridges in a one mile stretch of the railway that passes through Belper. From it to the north, is the adjacent bridge on George Street beneath which the foot of a third bridge, this one on William Street, can just be seen. Beyond that the rooftops of Long Row are visible where yet another bridge was constructed and which we crossed earlier in this walk.
Railway Cutting

In the other direction to the south, the bridge visible carries Field Lane over the line but looking this way also provides a good view of the actual construction of the stone-lined railway cutting that was built in 1838. I still marvel at the pioneers of the Industrial Revolution who constructed railways and canals without the aid of modern technology and equipment. Their work has really stood the test of time.
Alleys

There's another long narrow alley adjacent to the cutting through to Field Lane (left above) and further down on the opposite side of Joseph Street, a shorter one (right) that leads through to George Street.
Crown Terrace

At the bottom of Joseph Street where it turns to become Cluster Road, a gap in the wall leads through to Crown Terrace which contains Grade II listed cottages in the heart of Belper's conservation area.
Bridge Street

Walking through Crown Terrace gives access to Bridge Street and a right turn will lead back to Strutt's Mills but before we reach there we'll view some more historical buildings in the final part of the walk.
Back to Part 04
 Belper Heritage Walk Index
Continued in Part 06

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