This winter scene of Masson hillside and the Heights of Abraham, with a good view of the Victoria Tower framed by the trees on the hilltop, was taken from Station Approach. The buildings from the bottom of Holme Road include the County and Station Hotel, Holmefield Stores (in part of the ground floor of Holmefield House) and the three houses of Midland Terrace. Unfortunately, the signs above the two shops next to the County and Station have proved difficult to read.

The Hotel looks different from previous images as it almost looks boarded up. Several windows have what could be a white curtain, possibly a net, covering the lower half of the inside of the glass panes. There is also a large white board over the entrance that obscures a good half of the first floor window with the semi-circular top. Opinions vary but it was possibly for a new hotel sign.

Trips to Matlock were offered by the Midland Red Company from various locations in the Birmingham area in 1949; the outings included both lunch and tea at the County & Station Hotel^[1].

Summer Cot, or 2 Midland Terrace, was empty in September 1939^[2].
This advertisement dates from the early 1950s^[3].


1968 advert for the Evans' Holmefield Stores^[4].
The stores are in the premises centre of the picture, where the Midland Restaurant used to be.

1895

1890s

County & Station Hotel, 1900-1939

Holme Road, Prospect Tower

County & Station, Holmefield House

References:

^[1] "Birmingham Daily Gazette", 1 September 1949.

^[2] Information from the 1939 Register on FindMyPast.

^[3] The advertisement was published in "The Matlocks, The Official Guide Book" (about 1950). An advert for Rhodes shop was in the same booklet.

^[4] 1968 advertisement from the Illuminations & Venetian Nights programme for that year.