Month: August 2023

A lovely day out in the Bath

On By SteveIn PlacesLeave a comment

Today Matlock Bath rarely seems short of visitors; even in winter there will be customers for ice cream, and car parks fill up by mid-day. But in the past, especially before the railway arrived in 1849, and when road access was challenging, the village had to work harder to attract travellers. Early fame depended on the waters, of course, but wallowing in a lukewarm bath had limited appeal, yet the spectacular landscape of High Tor to one side and Masson Hill opposite was the subject of many paintings, helping spread its reputation. Local entrepreneurs began adding to the natural beauty, starting with Lovers’ Walks, on the east side of the Derwent, and originally only accessed by ferry or from Willersley. The Walks are first mentioned in 1742, making them possibly the earliest public ‘park’ in the country. Paths were created by the river and up the hillside, with seats, shelters and ornaments provided to enhance the views.

View of Matlock Bath from the Heights of Abraham c. 1840s

Presumably eighteenth-century visitors were more energetic than modern holidaymakers, since before the cable cars were installed reaching the Heights involved a steep-ish walk. Opened in 1787, the rather quirky name derives from the supposed similarity to the Heights of Abraham in Quebec, where General Wolfe died in 1759. These gardens offered views over the valley, improved by building the viewing platform of the Victoria Tower in 1844. Clearly, hillside walks were a limited attraction, so the old lead workings in Masson were opened up to visitors, now named Masson Cavern and Rutland Cavern, both continuing to offer some spectacular sights.

The Switchback Railway, Derwent Gardens c. 1910

About 1887 a craze for ‘switchback’ railways, a basic kind of gravity operated roller coaster, swept the country. The Buxton family bought and ran Matlock’s version, which had been built on the site of Derwent Gardens, and it continued operating until about 1930. Judging from the photos it would have never passed Health and Safety inspections, but was apparently extremely popular!

Matlock Bath Illuminations, or Venetian Nights, dates back to 1897, when it was an attempt to prolong the holiday season into the autumn by offering a spectacular display of illuminated boats, accompanied by fireworks. These have continued up to the present, with breaks for wars, floods and, of course, Covid-19. Especially in the 1920s and 30s there was strong competition for the prize for the best boat, and some of the remarkable winners can be seen on the Andrews pages at:

https://www.andrewsgen.com/matlock/pix/matlockbath_illuminations_boats.htm

Completing fishermen

On By SteveIn People, Places, Rivers and bridges2 Comments
The elegant Mr Cotton

Charles Cotton (1630-1687) was the owner of (the now demolished) Beresford Hall in Beresford Dale, on the upper reaches of the River Dove. As a Royalist sympathiser he found it prudent to live quietly in the country after the Parliamentary victory, but he was also a notable writer who wrote poetry in praise of the Peak District, as well as a best-selling handbook on games. But today he is mainly remembered as a fishing enthusiast who built a fishing ‘temple’ in his grounds on the Staffordshire side of the river. This still stands, on private land but visible from the footpath on the Derbyshire side. Over the doorway the initials CC and IW are intertwined, commemorating his friendship with Izaak Walton.

The fishing temple

Walton (1593-1683) was born into an innkeeper’s family in Stafford but seems to have been socially mobile, moving to open a linen draper’s business in London and becoming friendly with the local vicar, John Donne. But he was also a committed Royalist, and retired to Staffordshire after the War, where he bought land. His political leanings may have cemented his friendship with Cotton, but angling was probably the main tie, and Walton’s most famous work was The Compleat Angler (1653), to which Cotton later added some chapters. This book has gone through scores of editions in the past 370 years, yet is frankly almost unreadable today. Walton, who was 37 years older than Cotton, must have been good company, for he spent the last half of his long life staying with friends, and in some cases writing their biographies, including George Herbert and Richard Hooker.

Izaak on the job

In Cotton’s part of The Compleat Angler he describes a journey from Asbourne north to Milldale, in the form of a dialogue between a traveller (Viator) and a fisherman (Piscator), which emphasises the horrors of Derbyshire roads – this is the descent into the Dale:

Viator: It is as steep as a penthouse.

Piscator: To look down from hence it appears so, but the path winds and turns, and will not be found so troublesome.

Viator: Theses stones are so slippery I cannot stand. What’s here, a bridge? Do you travel in wheelbarrows in this country? This bridge was made for nothing else – ’tis not two fingers broad.

Piscator: I have rid over the bridge many a dark night.

Today the bridge at Milldale is still called Viator’s Bridge.