124-128, CROMFORD HILL

Nos 124-128 on Cromford Hill are two (formerly three) houses built in the 1780s for Richard Arkwright to house workers for his textile mills. The buildings are constructed from coursed rubble with tiled roofs and feature two red and black brick ridge stacks. Nos 124 and 126 are three storeys high and follow the Arkwright phase I design, consisting of a single unit with rear services under a catslide roof. They have side stairs against the end and party walls located behind and to one side of the front entrance. The front elevations are two bays wide, with the entrance bay lacking windows above, while the other bay has 2-light stone mullioned windows. These windows are intact only on the upper floors of No. 126, with the surrounds remaining intact on No. 128 but altered on the ground floor of No. 126. The doorways feature substantial rectangular lintels with crude capitals and bases to the imposts, all of which are well-preserved on all three houses. No. 128 is two storeys tall, with a 2-light mullioned window on the first floor only, and the ground-floor window opening has been altered. Although it shares similar decorative features with the other two houses, No. 128 is later, as indicated by a vertical masonry joint. The casements have been renewed throughout, with glazed 20th-century doors on No. 124 and planked 19th-century doors on the others. Tie rod ends are visible on the fronts of Nos 124 and 126.