The original station at Belper was built on the south side of the town, just before the cutting and was designed by the railway architect Francis Thompson (1808 – 1895) in an Italianate design. Many of the stations designed by him have since closed and / or been demolished; one that survives is Audley End on the West Anglia Main Line, although this (and some others) were were initially credited to Sancton Wood but are now believed to be the work of Thompson.