a brief history of matlock

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MATLOCK
By June Lait – Matlock Civic Association
Until the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign, Matlock was a hamlet whose
principal activity was farming with lead mining and quarrying as subsidiary
activities. Historians now question whether the Romans mined lead here, but
Derbyshire lead mining is undoubtedly of great antiquity. For centuries it provided
work for those enterprising enough to stake claims and strong enough to tunnel
into the hostile earth. In the Great Masson Cavern dramatic illustrations of the
hardship and danger miners encountered can still be seen, and the whole of
Masson hillside and much of Starkholmes is riddled with evidence of their efforts.
Most of the mines have been safely capped, but it is prudent to keep exploratory
dogs on leads and to supervise adventurous children.
In the late eighteenth century Sir Richard Arkwright’s mould breaking
experiments at Cromford provided factory jobs for a few Matlock people, but it
was not until the 1840’s that Matlock began its spectacular growth as a Spa
Town.
John Smedley was not the first to recognise and exploit the effects of water
treatment on various illnesses. Matlock Bath, endowed with natural thermal
water, was a Spa Town of some elegance two centuries before he was born in
1803, but it was Smedley whose conviction and enterprise established
Hydrotherapy firmly in Matlock, and for a century made it one of the most
celebrated centres of the “water cure”. By the outbreak of war in 1939, Smedley’s
Hydro was world famous, its guests having included Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir
Thomas Beecham, Ivor Novello, Jimmy Wilde and Gilbert Jessop, to name but a
few. The building that still dominates Matlock Bank was completed in 1886 on the
core of Smedley’s more modest establishment, founded in 1853. Riber Hillside is
crowed by the castle that Smedley built as his private residence in 1862. It is said
to have been “planned, reared, finished and occupied in four months and one
week”. If correct, this is a stunning achievement, given the need to transport
huge blocks of stone up a one in five gradient on roads little more than farm
tracks. Sadly derelict now, Riber housed a wildlife centre, having been a school,
and during the war a food store. Planning Permission now exists for its
conversion to apartments.
Hydropathy was given a boost by the arrival of the railway in Matlock, in 1849,
enabling patients to travel from London in speed and comfort. By 1867 the line
It was not long before an enterprising ancestor of the present writer, who had
been to San Francisco and seen the steep tramway there, had the idea of a tram
to take the visitors to the Bank Road hydros, of which there were now a large
number. On leaving school aged 10, in 1852; Job Smith became a bath attendant
at Smedley’s Hydro. Smedley appears to have encouraged his employees to set
up on their own, and Malvern House on Smith Road was the Hydro built by Job
Smith after he went gold prospecting in America. Oldham House on Wellington
Street and Rockside towering spectacularly above it are examples of large
hydros that complemented, but never seriously rivalled, Smedley’s. Both are now
converted into flats enjoying impressive views over the town.
Below them in Rutland Street, and used for various industrial purposes, is the
tram house, all that remains of the machines which for 34 years from 1893
carried people from Crown Square to the top of Rutland Street. The tram shelter
at the head of the park originally stood in Crown Square and was presented to
Matlock by Robert Wildgoose. Job Smith first thought of the tram in the 1860’s.
By the time finance was raised, principally through Sir George Newnes,
newspaper proprietor, the tram was being upstaged by the motor car.
Nevertheless, it is etched into the folklore of Matlock, and many would like to see
it restored.
The hydros brought visitors with money to spend, and shops opened to cater for
them. Dale Road was once one of the most elegant shopping streets in the East
Midlands. Evans the Jewellers with its astonishingly high standards remind us of
that era, and fortunately many of the Victorian and early Edwardian buildings
remain largely unaltered. Smedley Street had several shops catering for visitors,
Tinker Wright’s ironmonger being a remarkable survivor from the time when the
main trade was in elaborate baths and shower accessories for the many
treatments, but it sadly closed in 2006. Alcohol was strictly forbidden at
Smedley’s, but it is thought that many sent out for it from the local pubs and
liquor stores.
Smedley was a highly religious man and a large purpose built church was an
important part of the hydro complex. The austere religion on offer was not to
everyone’s taste, and All Saints Church was built to accommodate those of more
liberal inclination. On Bank Road several fine Non-conformist churches were
built. St Joseph’s Catholic Church also dates from the period.
Between the two World Wars, Matlock prospered uneventfully. The slump of the
1930’ affected heavy industry, although the hydropathic business seems to have
been less seriously affected. During the war many of the hydros were
requisitioned, Smedley’s being used as an Intelligence Centre and Military
Hospital. It opened again after the war, but the inception of the NHS in 1947
doomed hydropathy. Its more fanciful treatments never had the approval of the
medical profession, and were not prescribed under the NHS. Even the very rich
saw little reason to pay large sums of money for treatment of unproven worth,
when expert attention was available free. Smedley’s closed in 1955 and became
the headquarters of Derbyshire County Council.
What of the future? It is difficult, though not impossible, to see hydropathy being
revived here. Leisure activities of one kind or another are well suited to this
beautiful place and we are already an important administrative centre. If we could
solve our intractable traffic problems, Matlock could surely flourish as vigorously
as it did in Victorian times. The sitting of a supermarket on derelict land at
Cawdor Quarry, combined with a new road, offers some hope of this.
HIGH TOR
By John Collins
High Tor, as its name suggests, is
dominated by a great limestone
outcrop
which
towers
almost
vertically, some 400 feet above the
River Derwent on the A6 between
Matlock
and
Matlock
Bath.
Throughout the mid and late 18th
century it was a popular subject for
artists seeking to capture “the
picturesque scenery”. In the 19th
century, the geological and botanical
interest of the Tor became an
additional attraction.
By the 1830’s a show cave at the
foot of the rock, the “High Tor Grotto”
was opened to the paying public,
approached via a newly erected
wooden
bridge.
(This
was
subsequently
replaced
by
a
suspension bridge, now dismantled).
During the mid 19th century, a network of paths was “at such labour and
expense” constructed up the hillsides and across the summit of the Tor to enable
visitors to experience the spectacular panoramic views. This was the work of
Richard Arkwright, later Sir Richard, world renowned industrialist and
entrepreneur of nearby Cromford. His descendant, Peter Arkwright, continued
the work by constructing the “Grand Walk”, a cobbled roadway from Pic Tor to
the summit, around 1857. By 1865 a further attraction, the Fern Cave was
opened to the public.
From the 1870’s, the site now known as “the High Tor Pleasure Grounds” was
held under lease from the Arkwright family. In the last years of the century the
lessees were "the High Tor Grounds Recreation Company”. They were
responsible for creating the tennis courts and quoit grounds, (the remnants of
which are still discernible adjacent to the cable car base station) and a cricket
ground near the summit, which survives as an open grassed area. The company
also created the spectacular “Giddy Edge” walk around the cliff top which visitors
with a stout heart and a good head for heights can still experience today.
In 1924, the grounds were purchased from Captain R A Arkwright by the Matlock
Urban District Council, still subject to the High Tor Recreation Company’s lease
which expired in 1975. From 1975 to 1994, the site was managed by a tenant,
resident at the summit bungalow and café. Under resourced and inadequately
maintained for over 30 years, the grounds had deteriorated to such an extent that
Derbyshire Dales District Council (the successor owners) resolved to take on
direct responsibility for the restoration and management of the grounds.
Working with English Nature, the
Countryside
Commission,
the
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, BTCV and
local people, much has been done to
repair and restore the paths and to
make the site safe and attractive
once more for visitors. In 1995, the
café and bungalow buildings were
lost in a fire.
Access to the site is now free and at
peak periods a Ranger Service
operates to manage the site and to
give advice and assistance to
visitors. The woodland beneath the
Tor has been designated a Site of
Special Scientific Interest. In 1993, in
recognition of their historical
importance, the High Tor Grounds
were listed as Grade II* on the