Stanley Clough would only have had to step a few feet out of his garage forecourt to take this picture of Holy Trinity Church and pick his moment when Derby Road was deserted. On the right, opposite the entrance to both Clifton Road and the New Bath Road, is a small cabin where tickets for the Royal Cumberland Cavern could be purchased. Rock, sweets and refreshments were also sold there^[1]. Clifton Cabin was run by Mrs. Jessie Edmonds of Portland House, whose husband ran the cavern, and amongst the things she sold were dolls and walking sticks.

For many years this had been a spar shop, with a petrifying well at the rear. Its water was supplied from the same source as the Portland House fountain (see both Derwent Gardens from the River Derwent and Winter Scenes, 1947. It is the only building on this side of the road for some distance in either direction. The cabin fell into disrepair, but was renovated some years ago.

As for the Church, during the early hours of the morning on Monday 20 January 1941 the roof was damaged during high winds. One the tower's pinnacles became dislodged and crashed on to the roof. Some of the masonry penetrated the roof, making a hole 3-4 feet square, and then fell into the porch below. As nothing inside the church was damaged, services were able to continue following the roof repair^[2]. Fortunately, nobody was in the vicinity^[3]. The incumbent at the time was Rev. Arthur Phibbs (1877-1954) who lived at the vicarage in Brunswood Road. He left the parish in 1944, after serving as Matlock Bath's vicar for about ten years.

The somewhat ragged fir trees and the broken wall on the left disappeared with the road widening of the 1960s and early 1970s, when the road behind it that led to the New Bath was narrowed to a footpath. However, the section of Derby Road on the far side of the Clifton Road junction to just past the Temple Road turning was unable to be widened^[4]!

Clough's photograph was also printed in the Matlock Guides of the early 1950s.

Holy Trinity Church and the Heights of Abraham.

The second photograph, of Matlock Bath's Parish Church with the Heights of Abraham in the background, was taken about 1950 from Bath Terrace. The large window behind the altar faces south, as the church could not be built on the traditional east / west alignment. Portland House, at the bottom of Clifton Road, is the large property on the left.

The Rev. N. B. Johnston was inducted Vicar of Holy Trinity in 1950^[5]. The next incumbent was the Rev. L. E Waghorn, of St. Peter Drayton, Oxfordshire, and formerly of Coventry; he accepted the living in 1955. This was in the gift of the Church Trust Fund Society and his appointment meant that the Church had succeeded in remaining independent, so not to be unified with the parishes of Bonsall and/or Cromford^[6].

The Parochial Church Council had been saying for some time that they needed £2000 to repair the church and Parochial Hall. Mrs. Bernice Stoddart wrote to the Venetian Fete Committee to ask if they would permit a model of the church to be placed on Lovers' Walks to assist in the appeal for funds for the restoration^[7]. In 1958 Rev. H. E. Brown stated that delay would mean serious deterioration and the task would then be beyond them^[8]. The church fundraisers were still hoping to find £274 for work on the steeple in 1963, which needed money spent to keep it in good condition^[9].

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 Holy Trinity Church related images

Holy Trinity Church, 19th century

Holy Trinity Church, 1905

Holy Trinity Church, 1907

Holy Trinity & the Switchback

Holy Trinity Interior, 1907

Brunswood Road, the First Vicarage

Winter, 1947

References:

^[1] Recollections of the late Mr. Frank Clay, from private papers and notes owned by Mrs. Doreen Buxton, some of which were written in 1992 and are still within copyright.

^[2] "Derbyshire Times", 24 January 1941. Church Damaged. Matlock Bath Pinnacle Crashes Onto Roof. In the 1960s this was reported to have been caused by a barrage balloon but no mention was made of this at the time.

^[3] "Derby Daily Telegraphs", 23 January 1941.

^[4] Although the church is not mentioned on the Road Widening scheme, it caused a good deal of disruption and many changes to other parts of Matlock Bath.

^[5] "Derbyshire Times", 2 June 1950. Induction of Matlock Bath vicar.

^[6] "Belper News", 17 June 1955.

^[7] "ibid", 10 June 1955.

^[8] "Derby Daily Telegraph", 22 October 1958./p>

^[9] "Matlock Mercury", 23 November 1963. Hoping for good response.