Francis Chantrey (1781-1841) produced a series of drawings of Derbyshire that were engraved by G. Cooke to accompany Ebenezer Rhodes' book "Peak Scenery". As the engraving has the word "Proof" on this it may or may not have been the final version. It was drawn from a very similar position to the earlier Matlock High Torr &C, 1751 and shows High Tor on the left, with the limestone crags towering over the valley floor. The waters of the Derwent seem to be very low as there are numerous rocks showing above the waterline. There is a narrow trackway on the right hand river bank which was the only way into the Dale from the north.

The large rocks on the river bed have often appeared in photographs and some of them were still there until the river was deepened in the late 1970s/early80s(?). They are the remains of the weir and island for the water wheel which was situated on the east side of the river. According to David Palmer Pearson (1858-1932^[1]), this patch of fishing was known as Collingwood's Stream and, some years after the wheel ceased operation, the majority of the stone was removed and used to build Alpine Cottage in Matlock Bath^[2].

Phoebe Bown "lived nearly opposite to the High Tor at Matlock" for a good part of her life and the cottage amongst the trees on the right, shown in the enlargement below, fits that description; we also know that her father Samuel had owned land here which was passed down to Phoebe by Will^[3]. This property would have been Phoebe's home, where she lived with her parents until their deaths and continued to live for a good number of years afterwards. The Land Tax of 1s 4d that Phoebe paid in 1820 would have been the sum due for this cottage^[4]. Just few years afterwards the Bown's home was sold and demolished to make way for Tor Cottage (later the High Tor Guest House/Hotel), which is still in the Dale today^[5]. Phoebe Bown then moved to Matlock where she remained until her death.

Enlargement of the Bown's cottage. It would "probably have been sited immediately south of the main High Tor hotel building, about on the old turning place/sundial area, on the ridge just opposite the suspension bridge"[2].

Chantrey's drawing, without the added colour, can be found on the British Museum web site (external link so will open in a new window).
If the link doesn't work, click on 'Search the collection database' and type in High Tor.

Further reading:
Croston, James 1889, reprint 1974 "Chantrey's Peak Scenery, or Views in Derbyshire", Moorland Reprints, Moreland Publishing Company is a relatively recent publication and features all the engravings from Rhodes' original work.

^[1] Palmer Person was a well-known Derbyshire antiquararian. He was member of the English Place-Names Society, and was one of the leading authorities on Derbyshire place-names. He lived at Heath Bank and later at Hilderstone.
^[2] With grateful thanks to Colin Goodwyn for his help with this and for explaining just how many weirs there were along the river Derwent over the years.
^[3] From research about the purchase of the land by Samuel Bown undertaken by Colin , mentioned on other pages. See Pre-1858 Wills.
^[4] Parish of Matlock Land Tax Assessments, 1820, Derbyshire Record Office, Matlock.
^[5] "Derby Mercury", 3 August 1831. Torr Cottage sale notice. "This elegant dwelling, situate near the banks of the Derwent, ... has been erected within the last three years ...".