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Inner ring road bridge was under construction

This fascinating view showing the construction of part of Derby’s inner ring road was taken almost 50 years ago.

It shows just how much this area of Derby city centre has changed in the last five decades.

It was sent to Bygones some years ago by Allestree resident Stan Humphreys, who explained that he had taken the view from the top of Derby Cathedral tower after gaining permission to capture the changing face of the then town from this unique vantage point.

The photograph shows the construction of a new crossing for the River Derwent, the Holmes Bridge, and the Darwin Place car park in 1970.

In the foreground can be seen the distinctive building which formerly housed the Royal Standard pub (now the Tap), at the junction of Exeter Place and Derwent Street.

Immediately behind is the Exeter House flats development. The Trent bus depot is in the left middle ground, while the Smithfield pub (formerly the Cattle Market Hotel) is on the other side of Meadow Road. Just in front of the pub building is the old Cattle Market Bridge spanning the River Derwent. The rest of the buildings further along Meadow Road have long since been demolished to be replaced by the former Derby Telegraph offices. Much of the area bounded by the two sets of railway lines was to be developed as the West Meadows Industrial Estate. The timber yard in the left foreground has long since gone, too. Credit for this article goes to Derbyshire Live. We Are Derbyshire is a small and growing organisation that aims to become the hub for all Derbyshire goings on, we would love it if you visited our Homepage, which you can do by clicking HERE.