The Building Site
Derbyshire - Detail and Character
Chimneys and Gutters (page 45)
Prior to the development of cast iron, timber troughs provided the means of collecting water externally at eaves level. This is still standard practice in the north of the county. The shaped lengths of Russian red deal are stacked, ready for purchase, at Albion Sawmills in Chesterfield. Around Chesterfield it is known as spouting. Further south, around Matlock, they are called launders. In the far north-west, around Glossop and New Mills, they are called trows. What is more surprising than the survival of the timber gutter is the extent of its use. Tens of thousands of cottages and terraced houses still have them and in those regions they are considered nothing out of the ordinary.
