Probably taken in the early 1950s, this card shows a piece of Matlock Bath history that is easy to miss. You will need to look hard, though.

There is a fish food dispenser next to the railings on the edge of the pond furthest from the camera, close to the angled corner. To the left of it is lamp with a very thin supporting pole. Directly below this lamp post, and level with the water surface, is a large stone. This is Matlock Bath's milestone which dates from 1801 (see enlargement below). The milestone was moved here when the Fishpond Stables were demolished to make way for the Pavilion. Julie Bunting^[1] tells us that the stone is no longer visible following the remodelling of the pond. You can also see the milestone's position in the pond in a photo taken shortly after WW1.

Incidentally, the zebra crossing was moved from this position, possibly about 1955.

Milestone in the Fish Pond

Chatsworth 15? Bakewell 10 Manchester 45 1801 A.D.

The black line is the old water level.

In addition to the pages about the Fish Pond in this section (click "Previous", top right, to view them) there is an additional post WW2 image in the "Just Images section. It is a complete contrast to the quiet images shown here as the road was filled with lorries and vans.

References:

^[1] Bunting, Julie (2002) "Matlock and Matlock Bath", Tempus Publishing Ltd., ISBN 0-7524-2455-6. Julie's book has a better photograph of the milestone.