Derby Lace Works And S And T Barnstaple

The Derby Lace Works, located on Vicarage Street in Barnstaple, is a lace factory built in 1825, now used for storage. It was constructed for John Boden and underwent additions in 1874 and later. The building suffered fire damage in 1972. It features painted English bond brick and a slate roof behind a parapet. The large rectangular structure is part of an industrial complex, originally designed with four storeys but reduced to three after the fire. The front has a regular 12-bay layout, with the left three bays remaining four storeys high.

The windows are segmental-headed and fitted with three-light 20th-century casements. On the ground floor to the right, there is a round-headed doorway with an architrave featuring three orders, a keyblock, and pilastered jambs. A second doorway, likely converted from a window, is located in the fourth and fifth bays from the right. The four-storey section on the left includes one ground-floor and one first-floor doorway, along with a second-floor loft doorway that has been converted from a window. This section also has an external iron staircase supported by decorative cast-iron brackets and a stack with a cylindrical shaft at the left end.

Inside, the factory has fireproof construction with cast-iron columns and shallow brick vaulting arches. Historically, the factory was illuminated by a cupola before the 1972 fire. The Derby Lace Works opened in 1825 and was notable for employing 1,000 people by 1830, leading to the construction of surrounding terraced housing for workers. The building is included for its historic interest as a central feature of the 19th-century development in this area of Barnstaple, despite the fire damage.