Pickford's House Museum

Joseph Pickford (1734-1782), one of the eighteenth century's most celebrated provincial architects, trained in London and then moved to Derby around 1760. Here, he quickly established a reputation for building houses in the popular Palladian style for clients including Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795). In 1770, following his marriage to Mary Wilkins, the daughter of a previous client, he set about designing his own family home in the heart of Derby, at No. 41 Friar Gate. The resulting building, an elegant Georgian townhouse, functioned both as a private domestic space and a showcase for his work, demonstrating the architect's skill and taste to passers-by.

After Pickford's death the house passed to relatives, and then to private individuals until, in 1982, it was purchased by Derby City Council. Today it displays the interiors in the Georgian style Pickford would have known, alongside displays of contemporaneous costumes and theatre.