Marble Hall, Derby

The Marble Hall was built in 1912 and was the site of important decisions made during Rolls-Royce's history as a car and aircraft engine manufacturer.

The Marble Hall was significantly altered in 1938 adding a classical style entrance way clad in Portland stone and a porte-cochère from which customers could collect their finished cars.

The factory closed in 2008, the Marble Hall came into the ownership of Derby City Council and from 2014 was refurbished to provide offices for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Marble Hall is a long structure, rectangular in plan, facing onto Nightingale Road, Osmaston, which runs north-east to south-west.

[3] The Marble Hall was designed by R. Weston and Son and built in 1912 as commercial offices for the factory and opened the following year.

[2][1] Originally quite a plain structure, alterations were made to the designs of Arthur Eaton and Son in 1938, adding the decorative entrance and porte-cochère.

[3][1] During the Second World War German bombers dropped four bombs on the site and nearby streets on 27 July 1942, killing 23 people.

[2] The Marble Hall was granted statutory protection by Historic England on 3 February 2009 when it was designated a grade II listed building.

The organisation cited the building's historic role as offices where key design and production decisions were made as well as its architectural quality and condition.

[1] The rest of the factory was planned for residential development and was demolished by 2014, leaving the Marble Hall as the sole surviving structure.