Site Heritage
The site of the new Westfield Derby has a chequered and colourful history.
Once part of the Castlefield Estate and home to the Castlefield Mill, the site that Westfield Derby sits on today has always been an important part of the Derbyshire economy.
One of the regions most influential businesses of its time, the Boden Lace Factory (as it was also known) presented local people with employment and opportunity as the industrial revolution flourished around them. The then owners, the Boden family, built the original mill in 1821.
The Boden family had great prominence in Derby and their legacy remains to this day. Elsewhere in the city centre a plaque, which prominently displays the family crest, can be found at the site on which Boden’s Pleasaunce was once located.
The Pleasaunce was one of the few recreation areas in the town centre, and of great importance to the local community.
In more recent times, the site also housed the Castlefield’s Main Centre and the Coliseum Car Park. Taking its name from the original estate, the Castlefield Main Centre was a retail development made up of a series of external stores that in recent times had become rundown and unloved.
The Eagle Centre, Westfield Derby’s predecessor, opened on 20 November 1975. To facilitate the building of the centre, several rows of terraced housing built in the early 1820’s were cleared.
Following the launch of The Eagle Centre in 1975, the development underwent a series of refurbishments. These included the building of the 938 space multi-storey Cock Pitt Car Park in 1998, adjacent to the centre. This car park has since been renamed the Riverside Car Park due to the recognition of its location, highlighting Derby’s great riverside setting to both local people and visitors alike.
A major refurbishment was completed in 2001. The building works undertaken during this period included new glazing, the reconfiguration of several large stores and the relocation of a supermarket.
Construction of Westfield Derby started in 2004 with the new centre opening on 9 October 2007.
You can find a display of site heritage photos,some of which you can see to the right hand side, in our subway entrance.