A Carte de Visite (CDV) of Brunswood Terrace on the road towards Matlock, taken by the Matlock Bath photographer William Potter. This picture was taken to Canada by John Allen Potter when he emigrated in 1913 and is part of a collection of photos of both his birthplace and relatives. John was born at the "Mill House", Darley Bridge. His grandson, Denis, who has very kindly sent the image, thinks this card may not have been looked at for almost 100 years. The trees have grown up in the meantime and the road is not quite so peaceful. It must have been taken from the iron bridge which crosses the river and connects to the station and the path to Starkholmes.

The earliest pictorial evidence of these houses is from a wood block engraving published in 1866; it shows the row of four houses with another, lower, building attached to the Matlock end of the row^[1]. The earliest newspaper reference to a property in Brunswood Terrace was in 1869 when No. 4 was advertised as "To Let" by James Pearson. It was described as having a drawing room with a plate glass bay window, a dining room, seven bedrooms, plus a kitchen, a W.C. and a garden^[2]. The householders in 1876 were Mrs. Mary Walker (no.1), Mrs. Pearson (no.2), Alfred Biddle (no.3) and Thomas Chaplin (no.4)^[2.

Mrs Robinson, whose name is written on the back of the CDV, kept apartments at 4 Brunswood Terrace although was to move there after 1911. In the census for that year the residents of Brunswood Terrace were: Mary Walker, a widow, who lived at number one with her grand-daughter; Elizabeth Robinson, a widow, who was living at number two with her two unmarried daughters and her unmarried son; the superannuated railway clerk Frederick Knowles was at number three with his wife and grand-son; Louis Pearson, a retired barytes manufacturer, his wife Sara were at at number four with an unmarried son and daughter. The first two properties were boarding houses whereas the other two were private homes. Not all the names household members are given here^[4].

Number one is closest to the camera and later became the home of the two Miss Holmes, who rented out a flat in the upstairs rooms. These two ladies were members of the local church and two of the kindest women one would wish to meet.

Dale Terrace, consisting of three brick built houses at the far end of Brunswood Terrace, was not built when this picture was taken. Those houses were first mentioned in the 1891 census, so this image was already fairly old when it was taken to Canada by the Potter family.

The photographer, William Potter, set out as a Marble Worker's Apprentice. But by the 1881 census, when he was living in Matlock Dale, he was a draper's traveller and photographer. His wife, Louisa, was working alongside him as a photographer's printer although in 1891 she was the proprietor of a fancy repository on Derwent Parade. William kept up his photography business and became the collector to the Urban District Council and assistant overseer. He advertised in several trade directories^[5].

References (coloured links are to information elsewhere on this website):

^[1] "Illustrated London News", 1 September 1866. Matlock Bath, from High Tor.

^[2] "Derbyshire Times", 10 April 1869. To Let. James Pearson passed away at No. 2 Brunswood Terrace on 27 Feb 1875, aged 60.

^[3] Se the entries in Kelly's 1876 Directory.

^[4] The 1911 census is available on FindMyPast.

^[5] i. There is more about William Potter. See Photographers
ii. William Potter is also mentioned in several on site census transcripts: 1851 census | 1861 census | 1881 census | 1891 census | 1901 census |
iii. He appears in all but the 1916 Directory, where Mrs. Robinson is named
Kelly's 1876 Directory | Kelly's 1891 Directory | Kelly's 1895 Directory | Kelly's 1899 Directory | Kelly's 1908 Directory | Kelly's 1916 Directory