Six Streets Derby

Parkfields House: at the heart of Six Streets
Typical of houses in the area, these two houses were used from 1901 to the 1950s as childrens' homes - part of the Scattered Homes system

The Six streets Local  History Network is part of the Six Streets Derby group which is a community group based in 6 streets just to the north of Derby city centre.  The group formed in 2009 to nurture community spirit.

The area comprises of a dense development of Edwardian terraces, built between 1901 and about 1906, with some later infill in the 1920s and 1960s.  Hidden away is the 1820s suburban villa which once stood at the heart of a sizeable estate, supporting agriculture and horticulture.  The land was sold as building plots in 1901, following the break-up of the estate on the death of the owner, George Wheeldon.

The History network group was set up in 2010 and we aim to encourage local people to engage in historical research and share it with the local community.

Our first project as a group was to look at the 1911 census; the first national census in which most of the houses in the area feature.  But to add a contemporary dimension we conducted our own mini-census to coincide with the official census of 2011.  We wanted to have an idea of who lived in the area now and compare it with 1911. An amazing 52% of local residents responded to our request for information.  They were invited to participate by providing us with information on who lived in their house (no names or relationships), ages, occupations and place of birth.  In return we offered them details of the 1911 occupants of their house.

This information was used to compare population by gender, household size, birthplaces, occupations and education and the conclusions are available as a booklet:  Past and Present : 1911 and 2011: A Century of change?

 We are one of a number of different groups in the area, including 3 book groups and a walking group.  Other activities in the locality include celebration parties (eg Christmas parties, Easter Egg hunts) and community help – the Snow Patrol  and “A Friend in Deed” scheme which aim to help older and vulnerable people feel less isolated in this community.

As part of linking with the community we organised a history trail as part of an Arts Trail held in June 2012, holding an exhibition in a garage, adjacent to an air raid shelter which was equipped from the time and had an ARP “warden” on duty.  During the weekend we attracted over 500 visitors, distributed 100 copies of the trail leaflet and took 35 people on a guided tour of the area.

This archive entry was last updated on 08/07/2019. Information incorrect or out-of-date?
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