Wirksworth Conservation Area

At the heart of the town it includes the Church of St. Mary, Church Walk, St. Mary’s Gate, Blind Lane, the Market Place and Crown Yard. The main arterial routes through the town on a north-south axis are Cromford Road, Harrison Drive, The Market Place and St. John’s Street. The northern boundary of the Conservation Area includes the juncture of Cromford Road with the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway and is contiguous with the southern boundary of Bolehill Conservation Area. The eastern boundary follows Oakerthorpe Road and the collection of buildings further south around the junction of Wirksworth Moor and continues along Wash Green and St. Helens Lane until it reaches Gorsey Bank. The most southerly boundary of the Conservation Area is contiguous with the northern boundary of Gorsey Bank Conservation Area. Part of the southern boundary includes the playing fields to Anthony Gell School and properties and land around Warmbrook. Further west, the Meadows and land and buildings around West End and The Dale are included. The western part of the Conservation Area also included properties along Cromford Road.

The original designation of Wirksworth Conservation Area was in August 1970. It was further extended in January 1976. There have been no further amendments to the boundary although a Character Appraisal was carried out in April 2001. It currently comprises of 169.65 hectares.

Historic Assets

Within Wirksworth Conservation Area there are 991 buildings, of which 90 are listed entries. Of the listed entries St. Mary’s Church is listed Grade I. Babington House, 35 Green Hill; 15 Market Place; The Gate House, Gate House Drive; 1 Coldwell Street; The Red Lion Hotel, Market Place and the Former Grammar School on Church Street are all listed Grade II*. The remainder are all listed Grade II. The listed buildings in Wirksworth range from commercial premises to town houses, from manor houses to chapels and from milestones to bollards. All are recognised for the contribution they make both individually and to the street-scene.

Wirksworth Conservation Area contains one Scheduled Ancient Monument - the Standing Cross in the Churchyard of St. Mary’s Church

Conservation Area Character Appraisal

In April 2001 a comprehensive Conservation Area Character Appraisal was approved, which assessed the special qualities of the character and appearance of Wirksworth Conservation Area, both in terms of its buildings and the relationship of its spaces alongside those buildings.  It assessed the archaeology; origins and development of the area; the architectural and historic quality; the setting and landscape of the area; an analysis of the character and considered the negative and neutral factors which impact on the Conservation Area. It did not make any recommendations for amendment to the boundary.

Buildings at Risk

Four of the listed buildings within the Wirksworth Conservation Area are recognised by the District Council as being ‘at risk’ – 12-14 Coldwell Street (Grade II), the Coach House and Stables rear of Dale House (Grade II); 11 Market Place (Grade II); the Gate Piers, Gate House, The Causeway (Grade II).

Article 4 Direction

Where Article 4 Directions are in place in the District they remove specified ‘permitted development ‘rights from a property, which means that planning permission will be required for the works as specified in the Direction. In March/ April 1992 Article 4 Directions were established in Wirksworth for many of the commercial and residential buildings within the Conservation Area. The Direction is pending review and once this Review is in a draft format it will be available on the web-site for consultation purposes. For more information on the Article 4 Direction in Wirksworth please contact Planning and Development Services.