Brook House

Brook House is a residential care home, originally built in 1899 as a convalescent home. It was designed by Hunter and Woodhouse, architects, for George Herbert Strutt to commemorate his wife, Dame Adela Strutt, and was funded by the Derby Infirmary. The building is constructed of regularly-coursed squared gritstone with ashlar gritstone dressings, and features imitation half-timbered detailing. It has tall side-wall and off-ridge chimneys and a Welsh slate roof.

The building follows a T-shaped plan with ancillary buildings attached to the rear. The front elevation is symmetrical, arranged over two storeys with nine bays. It features a central entrance porch and tower, with advanced end crosswings. The main doorway has a half-glazed door with flanking lights and a multi-pane overlight, set below a moulded segmental arch with hoodmould. A shallow parapet has a central gablet bearing the inscription 'DERBYSHIRE ROYAL INFIRMARY 1899', with a carved panel within the gablet that reads 'CONVALESCENT HOME'. Recessed from the porch, a transomed two-light mullion window is situated below a gablet flanked by miniature pilasters, which enclose a carved panel displaying 'IN MEMORIAM EDITH ADELA STRUTT'. Above this sits a roughly textured clock tower with clerestory windows, surmounted by a shallow pyramidal roof and tall metal weathervane. Sash windows are arranged in a 1:2:1 pattern within three-bay ranges, with advanced end gables containing four-light transomed mullion windows on the ground floor and three-light windows on the first floor, set within roughcast walling. Gables feature mock half-timbering and bargeboards. Arcades with shallow lean-to roofs, supported by moulded columns, link the entrance and the crosswings. The rear elevation incorporates multiple contemporary ancillary wings, mostly single-storeyed, some with glazed lanterns which housed service facilities.

The interior has not been inspected, but is believed to retain features of interest including mosaic floors laid by Italian craftsmen.

The convalescent home was built to replace an earlier home, although initial plans included an expansion of the existing building. Designed to house 32 patients, it was officially opened on 13th November 1899. The building is a largely unaltered, purpose-built convalescent home, constructed to commemorate the wife of its patron, George Herbert Strutt. The Strutt family developed mill communities in Belper and Milford, and were known for their innovative provision for the housing, health, and education of their workforce and their families.