the skyline of the inner city changed in 1968 when the inner ring road with its two new crossings of the river derwent was built. the route of the ring road went through the st alkmund's church and its georgian churchyard, the only georgian square in derby. both were demolished to make way for the road, a move still criticised today. thus the editor (elizabeth williamson) of the 2nd edition of pevsner for derbyshire wrote: '...the character and cohesion of the centre has been completely altered by the replacement of a large number of c18 houses in the centre by a multi-lane road. as a traffic scheme this road is said to be a triumph; as townscape it is a disaster.'