"Matlock Bath is delightfully situated in a beautiful and picturesque valley on the west bank of the River Derwent, formed by rocks and mountains which rise abruptly from the water's edge. The handsome Gothic church is built on a limestone rock, on considerable elevation^[1]." It was erected on a narrow strip above the road - an "elevated plateau" according to Benjamin Bryan^[2]. The land on the far side of the A6 drops steeply down the the Derwent Gardens and the river. It is also a prominent landmark and it can be seen on many historic images of the village, mostly becasue of its tower and tall spire.

The first two images of Holy Trinity Church show the west and south sides of the church, photographed from the field next to Clifton Road (it is housing today). The spire is, unusually, on the north side because of the limitations of the site.

In August 1902 two people were arrested for breaking and entering the church, as well as stealing the communion wine. Having locked the church as he left the previous evening John Henry Stafford, a member of the church choir, returned the next morning and noticed a scythe standing against a pew - the point of the scythe was broken and it was clearly not where it was normally stored. He and Samuel Shimwell later went back into the church to investigate further. They discovered that the north window, around 8 feet by 4 feet, had a hole in it large enough for a man to get through. Both the collecting box and the wine chest holding communion wine in the vestry had been broken open and there was a corkscrew on the table. A damask table cloth was also missing. This was later found in the possession of a female who also had part of a black cassock with her which seems to have been used to wrap up the bottles! The woman, who was said to have been the look-out, had been found lying "hopelessly drunk" in Crown Square and the thief was with her. He had a tell-tale bottle of wine sticking out of his pocket^[4]. The woman was eventually discharged but the crime was considered very serious and the male was sentenced to seven years penal servitude^[5].

The church is set against the backdrop of woods and limestone crags on the far side of the river.
The Royal Hotel was close by and the back of the hotel can also be seen.

A year before the second card was posted a Lieut.-Col. Newnham-Davis had published an article in the Pall Mall Gazette; he had been visiting Matlock Bath on a beautiful summer day and was full of compliments about the village and its scenery. Describing the view from where he was sitting, high up on a terrace overlooking Matlock Bath, he wrote that: "behind me are the three grey gables of the Royal Hotel : to the right, almost blotted out from view by the splendour of a great copper beech, is the amber coloured spire of the church"^[3]. The card's sender was also enjoying himself, "spending a delightful holiday here : the scenery is grand" although he made no specific comment about the church.

The incumbent was the Reverend Charles Baker who, in 1912^[6], was to preach a Sunday evening sermon denouncing some of the villagers for greed, claiming they had set up gods of their own. One of these "gods" was the making of money, honestly and morally if they could, but, above all, making it. "They" spent their time catering for the lowest instincts of the human mind; they catered for Sunday outings, and they were guilty of a great folly^[7]. One can only presume that the money makers who so offended their parson were not in the congregation.

Looking up to the tower and crocketed spire. This is the east side of Holy Trinity from the
riverbank opposite the Derwent Gardens and was taken at a similar time.
It is an enlargement of a section of a postcard.
See: Matlock Bath: Derwent Gardens from the River Derwent

Holy Trinity is Grade 2 listed today.

Holy Trinity Church, Matlock Bath - Memorial Inscriptions in the Church
Holy Trinity Church, Matlock Bath - Memorial Inscriptions in the Churchyard
Finding the Churchyard Inscriptions
Matlock Bath Burials, 1845 - 1866
Matlock Bath Holy Trinity Banns, from 1846

Some related images

Holy Trinity Church, 19th century

Holy Trinity Church, 1905

Holy Trinity, 1940s & 50s

Holy Trinity & the Switchback

Holy Trinity Interior, 1907

Brunswood Road, the First Vicarage

View from Starkholmes, 1908

References (coloured links lead to more on site information):

^[1] "Matlock Visiting List", 19 December 1900.

^[2] Bryan, Benjamin (1903) "History of Matlock - Matlock, Manor and Parish" London by Bemrose & Sons, Limited.

^[3] Reported in the "Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser", 27 July 1906 and also in the "Guide to Matlock and Matlock Bath" (ca. 1907) Printed and published by Geo. Hodgkinson, Matlock Printing Works.

^[4] "Derbyshire Times", 9 August 1902. Sacrilege at Matlock Bath Parish Church.

^[5] "Derbyshire Times", 3 December 1902.

^[6] Charles Baker had been Matlock Bath's vicar since 1883. See: the 1891 census | the 1901 census | his MI | Kelly's 1908 Directory. His name is also on one of two wooden boards in the church.

^[7] "Derby Daily Telegraph", 9 Dec 1912.