The Derby Assembly Rooms was an events venue in the English city of

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

. There have been three iterations of the Derby Assembly Rooms, with the last two on the same site. The first was opened in 1714 in Full Street, but soon proved inadequate. The second was built in 1763 on Market Place and was used until it was damaged by a fire in 1963. The third was built in 1977 and used until it too was damaged in a fire in 2014. Both of the last two buildings still exist, at least in part. The façade of the 1763 building was dismantled and rebuilt as part of the vintage street scene at the

National Tramway Museum The National Tramway Museum, operating under the name Crich Tramway Village, is a transport museum located at Crich (), in the Peak District of the English county of Derbyshire. The museum's collection of trams is officially designated as being ...

Crich Crich is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire. Besides the village of Crich, the civil parish includes the nearby villages of Fritchley, Whatstandwell and Wheatcroft, Derbyshire, Wheatcroft. The population of the civi ...

, Derbyshire. The 1977 building still stands, albeit unused since 2014, but has an uncertain future. As of March 2025, there were no firm plans and the adjacent car park was closed since 2024 in anticipation of demolition, but the council hope to have a better overview by the summer.

The first Assembly Rooms

The first

assembly rooms In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done at home and there wer ...

in Derby were opened in 1714 in Full Street. However, the premises used were rather small and not of particularly striking appearance, so it was not long before they were considered unsuitable for the assemblies. Later the building was converted into a permanent theatre, which became known as the ''Little Theatre in Full Street''.

The 1763 Assembly Rooms

As a replacement for the first premises, the 1763 building was created by architect

Joseph Pickford Joseph Pickford (bap. 6 October 1734 – 13 July 1782) was an English architect that mostly worked within the English county of Derbyshire, and was one of the leading provincial architects in the reign of George III. The house he designed for h ...

on a site gifted by the

Duke of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...

and using funds raised by

public subscription Subscription refers to the process of investors signing up and committing to invest in a financial instrument, before the actual closing of the purchase. The term comes from the Latin word ''subscribere''. Historical Praenumeration An early form ...

. It was managed by a

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

and contained various rooms, including a

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

, with space for 400 people and a supper room. Usage involved balls, auctions, banquets, and private functions. In the 1920s, Derby Corporation wanted to compulsorily purchase the Assembly Rooms, but this was opposed by the trustees. After negotiations, the building was acquired by the Corporation for £8167. It was agreed that the façade would be re-erected elsewhere, and that an alternative venue would be provided. Despite this agreement, the building remained standing and in use until it was damaged in a fire in 1963. Because of the 40-year-old agreement, the façade was then dismantled and re-erected at the

in the Derbyshire village of

, which is north of its original site. Here a modern building behind the re-erected façade houses the museum's small-exhibits collection and library. The re-erected building was opened by the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester ( ) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curre ...

in 1976.

The 1977 Assembly Rooms

The 1977 building was designed by

Hugh Casson Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British architect, also active as an interior designer, an artist, and a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for the 1951 Fest ...

and Neville Conder in the

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

style. The venue has seen performances by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

, the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

and

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

. It is also notable as the original home of Bloodstock Festival which began there as a one-day indoor event. The building has been closed since a 2014 fire in the plant room of an adjacent multi-storey car park damaged the Assembly Rooms' ventilation system.

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

issued a

Certificate of Immunity from Listing In England a Certificate of Immunity from Listing, generally known as a Certificate of Immunity (COI), is a document which guarantees that a building will not be statutorily listed (added to the National Heritage List for England (NHLE)) or be se ...

in April 2023, guaranteeing that the building would not be statutorily listed within the next five years. In October 2023, a council-led investigation was announced into why the complex had lain unused for 10 years. A council leader commented that £20 million levelling up funding awarded from April 2023 was insufficient to cover demolition and replacement with a new theatre.

References

{{reflist, 30em Assembly rooms Brutalist architecture in England Buildings and structures in Derby Culture in Derby Unused buildings in the United Kingdom A Burned buildings and structures in the United Kingdom Music venues in England