In the late 1920s Albert Graves and his wife were still running
the Albion[1],
which is the first restaurant on the left of the picture.
Mrs. Eliza Hardstaff, the wife of Joseph (a builder) ran
the Parade View Restaurant next door in the inter war years[2].
When he was a young boy the late Frank Clay used to write
Mrs. Hardstaff's menus on a blackboard, and was rewarded
with a piece of salmon at the end of the season[3].
He added that Ernest Henry Bailey used to take boys there
for coffee after they had been swimming at the Fountain Baths
and the boys from Riber school also went there[3].
On the right is a photo of the Hardstaff family taken in garden
of Parade View whilst the family were in mourning for the
death of the youngest member of the family, Ina Winifred
Hardstaff, in 1908.
In the back row, from the left, are:
Lucy (later Mrs. W. H. Moore), their mother Elizabeth, née
Ball, and Dick who was a
casualty in WW1.
In the front row, from the left are:
Charles Randolph, Bernice Lydia (later Mrs. G. W. Stoddart)
and Eric James. |
|
 |
Outside the next block is a pillar box and the first business in
this block was Matlock Post Bath office. It was originally more
important than Matlock, but lack of space and parking meant it
was unable to expand: the sorting was transferred to Matlock
and the Matlock Bath office moved further along the Parade[3].
The postman William James Knight ran a boarding house above the
Post Office[4]. Before
the First War he had lived on Temple Walk with his large family.
He served in the Army during the War and his son died of wounds
in that war[5]. He
was later awarded the Imperial Service Medal for his postal work[6].
When the Post Office moved out the premises became a fish shop.
Next door was Miss Bagshawe's antique shop[7] with
the chemist's of her brother in law, Mr. Frank Slawson, next door.
The sun awnings for both shops can be seen shading the windows
on the left of the photo below. They had arrived in Matlock Bath
some time between 1908 and 1911[8].
 |
The man from the AA (Automobile Association),
1920s. He is on a motor bike, with a side car attached.
This was his tool box. He would have also carried
some spare parts and probably
small quantities of oil, water and fuel. Motorcycle
combinations like this, as quick ways of getting to a problem,
lasted for many years. |
The motor cyclist, above, was photographed outside the former
post office. Behind him on the left are railings along the bottom
of the steps of the Wesleyan Chapel. Look carefully at the top
postcard and you can see the AA bike; it is facing in the opposite
direction but is parked just behind the lamp post.
 |
The promenade, photographed from the balcony
of the Parade View restaurant, 1920s.
The vehicle on the left is reminiscent of a bullnose 1920s
lorry with what looks like an
AA badge mounted between the headlights (that are affixed on
a metal bar) in the centre of
the radiator grill. The three men may have been cyclists; there
is a bike propped
against the hedge next to them. One of the prom's rustic kiosks
can be seen near the lorry
(also see River
Derwent and Promenade). |
The trees on the Promenade that borders the road had been recently
pollarded in the top picture, something that was done regularly
until they were removed when the road through Matlock Bath was
widened. We can also see one of the entrances onto the promenade;
it is just above the cyclist's side-car.
|
1. "North Parade, Matlock Bath". No publisher. Posted 15
Aug 1929. Postcard in the collection of, provided by and © Susan
Tomlinson.
2. Hardstaff family photo, 1908.
3. Photo of the man from the AA, 1920s.
4. Hardstaff/Stoddart family photo taken from the balcony of their
home.
Images 2., 3. and 4. © Bernice Stoddart collection.
Researched, written by and © Ann Andrews.
Intended for personal use only
|
References (coloured
links go to on site transcripts):
[1] See
Matlock Bath: Albion Hotel Restaurant, North Parade for more
information
[2] Joseph and Elizabeth Hardstaff's MI
is on this web site. They are also in
the 1901 census. Although Elizabeth died at Whitworth Hospital
on 9 Apr 1948, probate records show that her address was still
Parade View. Information about their son, Dick Hardstaff, who
was killed in WW1 can be found on Names
on Matlock Bath's War Memorial.
[3] Recollections of the late Mr. Frank
Clay, from notes taken by Mrs. Doreen Buxton.
[4] He advertised in Kelly's Directories
of 1922, 1925, 1928 and 1932.
[5] His son is commemorated on the War
Memorial. See Names on
Matlock Bath's War Memorial and MIs
for some of the family.
[6] "London Gazette", 30
June 1933. Award announced at Whitehall on June 16, 1933.
[7] Miss Ann Bagshawe was listed as an
antique dealer in Kelly's 1932 Directory.
[8] Mr. and Mrs. Slawson were listed
in the 1911 census as living on North Parade, with several of
their Bagshawe relations. The MI for the Slawsons includes one
for Miss Bagshawe. See Holy
Trinity MIs.
|