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Some of our most popular articles at Bygone Derbyshire are those concerning Derbyshire's public houses. One Derby pub labelled 'under threat' at the time of writing (January 2008) is the Royal Standard on Derwent Street. Here local historian Peter Seddon offers a potted retrospective.

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Any boarded up building presents rather a sorry sight. But a boarded up public house has a particularly forlorn air - much more so than offices, for example - for one knows that as a place of leisure it was once the scene of happy times.

One Derby pub boarded up in January 2007 was the Royal Standard on the corner of Derwent Street and Exeter Place. It is close to the River Gardens and a short hop from the Exeter Arms, another hostelry featured on You and Yesterday.

'The Standard' commands quite a good pitch - close to all those thirsty workers from the Council House. But Derby City Council 'high-ups' choose not to facilitate their employees' extra-curricular drinking needs. They wanted the pub demolished.

The reason was that it 'interfered with' the major redevelopment plans for the Riverside area, more specifically the North Riverside Scheme covering Exeter Street, Exeter Place and Darwin Place.

Quite simply, a modest old pub with a colourful history did not fit with the scheme's generic mission statement:

'To bring an exciting and vibrant mix of apartments, offices and high-class hotels to the banks of the Derwent which the City of Derby and its people of all ages can be truly proud of'.

Naturally the scheme's developers Cityscape agreed with the City Council. Their Chief Executive John Cadwallader dismissed the pub at a stroke: 'Our view is that the building is not worthy of retention. It will be demolished.'

But at least one man didn't agree - the Derby brewer Trevor Harris, who had formerly turned the Brunswick Inn near the railway station into a veritable institution.

In the autumn of 2007 the freehold of the derelict Standard was put up for sale for £250,000 by its owners Marstons Brewery - an act which surely smacked of going through the motions. But Trevor Harris could not resist a punt - after his Derby Brewing Company made a successful bid he said: 'The Royal Standard is a fantastic place with a rich past and we are very pleased to have acquired it as our company's first pub'.

Pause for a collective 'ooo-err' from the City Council and Cityscape. It seemed the battle lines were drawn!

So what is the pub's history?

It was purpose built in the early 1860s and put up for sale 'new' in 1864. Although now standing in splendid isolation it was originally a corner building of a triangular wedge, the pub forming the rounded 'point' where two rows of cottages met. Not unlike The Brunswick in fact - as Trevor Harris probably noted.

The pub was originally tiny, but in the 1890s two of the cottages were incorporated into the building and it was extensively remodelled to fill the entire corner. The expansion was much needed, for after a successful spirit licence application was made in 1874 the business had flourished.

The name and its accompanying inn sign was a patriotic nod to the personal flag of the Sovereign known as the Royal Standard, always flown whenever and wherever the King or Queen is personally present. Although it has not been verified, it is said that on a visit to Derby, Queen Victoria herself drank in the lounge bar of the Royal Standard.

Among the early landlords were three generations of the Parnell family. In the first decade of the twentieth century the pub was run by William Parnell, who was the grandfather of the famous Grand Prix racing driver Reg Parnell (1911-64).

William was followed around 1920 by his daughter Alice, who in 1915 had married George R. Baker, for some reason universally known as 'The Old Scholar'. Alice Baker was a redoubtable landlady who co-founded the Derby Ladies' Licensed Victuallers Association at a time when the male-dominated LVA refused to accept women members.

Finally, when Alice and George moved to the White Horse in The Morledge, the Royal Standard was taken over by their daughter Doreen - by then Mrs. Len Hadfield - who was secretary of the Derby Ladies LVA in 1952.

A couple of quirks from its history:

In the 1930s when George and Alice Baker were mine hosts, they kept pet fish. The pub was then informally known as the 'Aquarium House', and it became something of a ritual at 8.30 each Sunday evening for customers to gather for the treat of seeing them fed.

Half a century later the incumbent landlord laid on exotic entertainment of a different kind - it would be around the 1970s or 1980s when The Standard's 'topless barmaids' were suddenly thrust upon the drinking men of Derby, presumably because business was flat.

All the obvious jokes were made about how the beer would be served - not in 'large pitchers' but something akin - and countless beer buffs gave The Standard a try 'purely out of curiosity', as this was a rare innovation for Derby.

Yet the 'pack 'em in' ruse was short-lived, since most of the customers scurried off to The Exeter after downing their first pint, unable to muster the rare combination of fortitude and feigned disinterest required to make a return visit to the bar.

Somehow it didn't seem 'quite right', all too incongruous, especially on a dark, dank night with the rain beating on the windows, and under the banner of the Sovereign too. Derwent Street wasn't Copocabana Beach - and never will be.

Thereafter the pub survived without ever really thriving, until finally the shutters went up at the start of 2007.

So what will it be? A pint of 'Parnell's Grand Prix' or 'Victoria's Tipple' brewed under the watchful eye of Trevor Harris? Or a 'state-of-the-art development that Derby can be proud of'?

Of course the two options should not be mutually exclusive. The Royal Standard lies on the fringe of the development area - so why not room for both?

Arguably because that would mean 'compromise' by both the developers and the City Council - a quality neither breed is particularly well-known for.

As of now it is a 'watch this space' scenario. Only time will tell whether the flag will ever fly again at the Royal Standard.

+++++ Some feedback comments have been posted as a result of this article. Read them by clicking on the 'discussion' link at the top of the page. +++++

Do you have a view on the future of the Royal Standard, or perhaps some memories of it? If so, you can enter your comments via the 'discussion' link at the top of the page, or click on 'edit' and start writing below.

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I would love to think that the pub could be fitted into the overall development concept and I am sure that is Trevor Harris's genuine intention - but I very much fear that this will merely turn out to have been a rather astute piece of property speculation on his part. Paul Linford.

It was with great sadness that I happened to look across at The Royal Standard on Derwent Street and saw that it was boarded up, my first thought was I hope they are not going to knock it down. Being a bit short of money with four young children to look after my nieghbour told me that the landlady at the time was looking for someone to help her for a few hours a week so with much apprehension I went to see her. I had never served behind a bar before and dident know what to expect but as soon as I met her I felt I would be very happy working for her and I was, I stayed with her untill the day she retired from the trade, her name was Jan I can't remember her surname at the moment but she was a much loved and respected lady who has sadly since passed away. It was always a busy pub with a really friendly atmosphere and I became friends with a lot of regulars who used to meet there. I always remember one day in winter the pub was quite and I was looking out of the window at the [River Derwent] the banks were covered in snow and it was a scene I have never forgot it was so tranquil and I wondered how many other barmaids had stood here looking at that same scene before me in the years that had passed. I can't remember the exact date I worked there but know it was when a British Midland plane crashed at Kegworth as there were a few doctors and nurses in the pub at the time and they left their drinks and went straite back to work, and yes it was the time when dare I say it Topless Barmaids were working on a Tuesday night I used to wait until they arrived and then make a quick exit out of the door much to the amusement of the regulars. I was told that the ghost of a young boy who was run over outside the door that had been boarded up on the corner haunted the bar but fortunatly I never saw him. I really hope the powers that be don't knock down this piece of Derby's history with the right landlord I am sure it can be built up to the thriving buisness that it once was. They were very happy times and I would love to hear any comments from any of the regulars who remember them. Belinda Pell

The writer of the original piece replies: Thanks for those first-hand memories Belinda, which is great, just the sort of response we hope for from an article like this one. What will happen to The Standard we can only guess at.

Romance blossomed in Standard

My wife and I are very pleased that Trevor Harris is reopening the Standard. We first met in the pub over 40 years ago and recently celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary.

At the time the Standard was the place to be seen in, I have many intersting tales. When I was 18 my father owned a Mark 7 Jaguar. I would park it over the entrance. The landlord would then shout for the owner of the Jaguar, and I would stand up as the proud owner to attract the girls. It was rare for anyone to have a car in those days.

Posted by Councillor Kevin Miller.

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