Vernon Street
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An impressive street lined with fine Georgian houses and at the head stood the new County Gaol which opened in 1827. Designed by Francis Goodwin, the layout of this new gaol signalled a shift in the treatment and punishment of criminals. Huge entrance gates, Martello Towers and 25ft walls. The gaol had 185 cells initially; this number increased to 228 in later years. Designed in the popular wheel layout, the central hub of the gaol was formed by the chapel and governor's house with seven cell wings.

The Gaol was later to become the home of the Derby Greyhound Stadium, after the decline of this, it lay in ruins until it remerged as Vernon Gate. Offices and apartments now adorn the site, the front facade is all that now remains.

Factoids

• John Leedham was the first person to be executed on April 12th 1833 in front of 6,000 people

• The last hanging took place in 1907

• In 1831 following major alterations, it was awarded the best construction for a prison in the United Kingdom

• The popular TV series "Nanny" had scenes filmed on Vernon Street

The front facade is all that remains of the County Gaol. It was later to become the home for Derby Greyhound Stadium. It is now Vernon Gate an office and apartment block

Remember Nanny the 1980s TV series starring Wendy Craig as a nanny in war-torn London? Well, some of it was filmed in Derby, and this very impressive facade on Vernon Street made an appearance quite a few times.

At the other end of Vernon Street on the junction with Friar Gate, stands the Diocesan school which was built in 1841, around 1935 the School changed names to Vernon High School, and more recently it was converted to a social club

A inscription in a stone above the doorway reads "Erected by the Diocesan board of education aided by a benefaction of one thousand pounds from Thomas Cox esquire Anno Domini 1841"