Building record MDR16161 - 3 and 4, William Street, Belper

Grade II listed, early 19th century Cluster Houses, built after 1803 by William Strutt in co-operation with Bage of Shrewsbury. Since Bage's similar houses of the 1790s no longer exist, the Clusters in Belper are believed to be the oldest surviving example of this particular housing type which was subsequently copied in many other parts of the world. The innovative plan is of one block divided north/south and east/west to form four back to back houses. Each block is sited in the centre of a large plot similarly divided, so that the northern two houses in each block are on one street (3 and 4, William Street) and those to the south on another (25 and 26, George Street [SMR40194]). Eight blocks or 'Clusters' were originally envisaged but only five were actually built, the other four located at 1-8 Joseph Street [SMR40133]. They were intended as houses for mill foremen and managerial staff. Built of coursed stone with a slate roof sloped down the hillside, and end and centre chimney-stacks, the houses have two and a half storeys with flanking two-storey one-bay recessed wings. There is one window to each bay and a small ground floor window to the left of the door, and originally skylights and attic windows in the gable ends. The windows are sashes with stone lintels and the doors have voussoirs and cambered arches. The internal plan is of a living room and kitchen separated by an inside coal house and cellar stairs. There are some modifications and additions to several houses. In addition there are coursed stone rubble garden walls. (1)