14-16 St John Street

▪ Grade II listed part of former Blackmoor’s or Black’s Head Inn (14-20 St John St)

▪ Probably dates to mid-18th century

▪ Inn proprietors can be traced from 1762

▪ Ceased to be an inn in 1825 then split into two properties, 14-16 & 18-20

▪ 14-16 then occupied by:

➢ The Wood family until 1857

➢ Marple’s drapery c1860-c1930

▪ Since 1930 has had various occupants

▪ Converted to two shop units and offices in 1981

14-16 St John St was built as one building with numbers 18-20 St John St. It is on the south side of the street between the Horse &Jockey yard (on the left/east side) and Hood’s Yard (on the right/west side).

The Building

The Grade 2 listings suggests that it is late-18^thcentury but the Blackmoor’s (Black’s) Head Inn, as a name, goes back to the early 18^th century. Built with bricks of similar size to the GreenMan, the Blackmoor’s (Black’s) Head Inn was probably rebuilt no later than the mid-18^th century.

14-16 St John St is stuccoed with moulded plaster eaves. It is three storeys high with four flat headed windows with boxed frames, sashes with glazing bars on the first and second floors. The ground floor shop fronts are late 19^thcentury or early 20^th century. The central doorway is arched Roman style with moulded pilasters/architraves and glazed cobweb fanlight (see below).

The History of its Occupation and Use

The earliest mention of the Blackmoor’s Head thus far found dates to 1727 when Mr Mellor was the proprietor (see below left). A continuous series of proprietors can be traced from 1762 to 1817 with Charles Houghton and his wife Ann being the longest standing (1775-95). The last proprietor, from 1822-25, was John Thompson and he advertised that it “has undergone thorough repair and newly furnished” (see below right) which perhaps explains why nomention of the inn has been found 1818-21.

In June 1825 John Thompson announced that he was leaving the Black’s Head Inn and moving to the Royal Oak in Cheadle (see below left) and, because that was furnished, a sale by auction of the furniture (plus glass,china, horses etc) from the Black’s Head was arranged 5-9^th July 1825 (see below right).

During the period when it was the Blackmoor’s/Black’s Head, it was a regular venue for auctions advertised in the Derby Mercury and it also hosted meetings of the trustees of two turnpike (toll) roads:

1)    Derby to Ashbourne to Hurdloe House: 1784-1813. Derby to Ashbourne is the present day A52 and Ashbourne to Hurdloe House, now known as the Bull i’ t’ Thorn, is the A515.

2)    Ashbourne to Belper Openwood Gate & Belper to Ripley: 1790-1823. Ashbourne to Belper is the present day A517.

The history of occupation of 14-16 St John St after John Thompson’s departure from the Black’s Head in 1825 is as follows:

1826?-32: John Wood, proprietor of the Green Man

1833?-57: William Hurd Wood and his wife. William Hurd was the son-in-law of John Wood and became known as William Hurd Wood after he inherited from John Wood. He was a director of the Staffordshire & North Midland Junction Railway which formed in 1845 to build a railway Uttoxeter-Rocester-Ashbourne-Wirksworth-Cromford-Matlock-Chesterfield. Had this railway line ever been built the future of Ashbourne could have been quite different. Ashbourne would have to wait for its rail connection until 1852 when the North Staffordshire Railway completed its Rocester-Ashbourne branch line.

c1860-c1930:Marple’s, drapers and mercers

After Marple’s finished, Mrs Spencer/Barker opened a boarding house, named MiltonHouse, until c1955. Following her departure, Derby Co-operative Society Ltd opened their Drapery Department. When this closed in 1981, 14-16 St John St was converted into two shop units and offices. Occupants of 14 St John St have been Tracks Records (1980s-2000s) and Costa Coffee (2006-24). Occupants of 16 St John St have been Desboroughs, garden machinery (1980s-early 1990s?), Ashbourne House,china and crystal (1993-2000s), and the British Heart Foundation (2007-24).