Pickford's House in Derby (Dar be)

 

In 1769 British architect Joseph Pickford purchased land in Derby to build a townhouse for his family and working spaces for his professional needs. 

Now open as a museum of Georgian living and costume, inside the house you will discover a ground floor dining room, drawing room and morning room as they might have been kept at the time. A Georgian bedroom and dressing room have been recreated on the first floor, while on the top floor there is a servant’s bedroom – a contrast to the finery on display downstairs.
The house also has a kitchen, laundry and scullery as it may have been in 1830. There’s also a formal garden in back and a basement air raid shelter, recreated in a 1940s style – not to mention a fully-working Edwardian bathroom which is one of the museum’s toilet facility for visitors, the other being in the style of the 1930s.

 


 The front facade of Pickford's House.



                                                                                                       The back formal garden.





 A room in the servants' area used for the making and repair of clothing and other textiles.




 A servant's bedroom, shared with another servant, containing the bed, a chair and a dresser.  The furniture quite often was cast off items from the downstairs.


 

 The bell board in the servants' area.  A bell sounded calling a servant to a specific room of the house when needed.




 The Edwardian bathroom, added to the house at a later date using space on the staircase landing.
 A detailed look at the Edwardian tile and the rod iron bracket holding up the sink.





 A view of the withdrawing or drawing room, showcasing some of the fine china of the family and a woman's dress of the time period.




A partial view of the dining room with a mannequin dressed to show male costume of the era.



 The servants' scullery.  The two wooden tubs were used to wash and rinse dishes and the rack on the right was where plates, platters, etc. were put after being washed.  Note the handled water pump, a work saving improvement over having to draw water directly from the well when needed.
 The "laundry room" area of the scullery,
where undergarments, shirts, etc. would be cleaned.  Outer garments, usually of wool, were not able to be laundered and would be spot cleaned as needed.  As was noted, nothing could really be done about the persistent odors the fabric accumulated.




Currently decorated in the style of a morning room, this room was used as Mr. Pickford's office before his death and was where he would meet with clients and potential clients.

 The master bedroom  The bed curtains were pulled at night to enclose the bed so as to avoid drafts and hold in the heat


The dressing room off the master bedroom. 



 
 Although not of the same time period, but also of historical interest is the WII air raid shelter, converted from a former storage cellar.  The family, a mother and her children, would have spent many a night here.