| Photographs
of Matlock Bath Today (4) |
| Matlock Bath : Twenty First Century Photographs,
Postcards, Engravings & Etchings |
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1. Matlock Dale, the River Derwent and the Colour Works, September
2008.
The Butterley Company's footbridge to the former Colour Works spans
the river[1].
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2. The second photograph of the former colour works buildings
has been included mostly because it shows the grassed area on the left
hand side of the picture. This was where Tordale Soft Drinks Ltd, begun
by the Whittaker family and owned by them for most of the company was
trading, had their bottling plant. Where the trees are just beyond the
grass is where there was a landslip in the 1960s that destroyed two houses
and resulted in two further properties being demolished[2]. |
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3. The entrance to the High Tor tunnel, taken
from one of the gondolas going up to the Heights of Abraham,
September 2008. The tunnel passed close to the High Tor Grotto
and nineteenth century visitors to the attraction were able to
hear the trains[3].
One of the major obstacles for the engineers when the railway
was extended northwards from Ambergate was the section between
Willersley and Matlock as the route only briefly emerges from
tunnels. In 1847 George Stephenson announced that the main tunnel
at Matlock was "the key to the district"[4].
There don't appear to have been any fatalities whilst the High
Tor tunnel was being constructed but there were some extremely
narrow escapes. In August 1847, for example, Barnard Barton and
Luke Hall were both caught out when they thought a touch paper
they had lit had failed to ignite. As they went to check, there
was a large blast. Just two days later Peter Smedley had to jump
over a burning fuse that he didn't know had been ignited[5]. |
View more about the station by clicking on the
images below:
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Images supplied by and copyright © Andy Andrews.
Information written, researched, provided by and © Ann Andrews.
Intended for personal use only.
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References (coloured links go to transcripts or information elsewhere
on this web site):
[1] Also see High
Tor and the Colour Works for more on both the works and earlier
bridges crossing the Derwent at this point. Croston's "On
Foot Through the Peak", 1868 mentions the colour
works - the "barytes mill".
[2] There
is a photographic record of this in Julie Bunting's "Matlock
and Matlock Bath", (2002) Tempus Publishing Ltd., ISBN
0-7524-2455-6
[3] Bemroses'
Guide to Matlock, about 1869 mentions the tunnel passing
close to the Grotto and there is a vingette engraving of the
tunnel at that time. It is also mentioned in Croston's
"On Foot Through the Peak" of 1868 and Bradbury's
"All About Derbyshire".
[4] "The Derby Mercury",
Wednesday, September 1, 1847. Geo Stephenson's report to the shareholders
of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway
Company. He also said that "this part of the line expected
to open in the spring of 1849".
[5] "The Derby Mercury",
Wednesday, August 18, 1847.
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