North Parade in the 1920s, photographed from outside the Midland Hotel. There is sign board propped against the fence, presumably advertising an event on the Promenade, and beyond it are two white signs showing where the public lavatories had been installed as part of Matlock Bath's improvements a decade or more before the picture was taken^[1]. These were important for the village and its visitors as such facilities had been almost non-existent before that.

The shop on the right nearest to the photographer is Wyvill's Stores, a grocery and off licence run by William Herbert Wyvill^[2], whose father had been at the Fishpond Hotel for some years. In 1900 William Henry purchased the three houses of Midland Terrace from Messrs Briddon, paying £1,315 for the properties which at the time yielded an annual rent of £60 10s^[3].

His younger brother, Benjamin Taylor Wyvill, joined him for a time, probably around 1905^[4]. Frank Clay described the brothers' shop as busy, with several assistants. They had trolleys to help with deliveries^[5]. Bill died in 1918^[2] and Ben on 29 July, 1920^[6]. The shop was then sold but retained the Wyvill name^[7].

References (coloured links go to on site transcripts):

^[1] The Matlock Bath Improvement Act became law on 4 August, 1905. One of the many improvements was to provide public lavatories and conveniences.

^[2] William Herbert Wyvill appears in Kelly Directory, 1891 | Kelly Directory, 1895 | Kelly's Directory, 1899 | Kelly's Directory 1908 | Kelly's Directory 1912 | Kelly's Directory 1916.
He is listed in the 1871 census | the 1881 census | the 1891 census | the 1901 census.
There are two family memorials at Holy Trinity: see his MI (1) | His father is commemorated on MI (2)

^[3] "Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald", 21 July 1900. Sale by Else and Son, the Matlock auctioneers.

^[4] Benjamin Wyvill had previously worked as a grocer in Derby and Chesterfield (see Strays W). A sale notice in the "Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald" of 14 November 1903 showed that his grocery on Low Pavement, Chesterfield had been let to him on a seven years' lease from the 15th May, 1898 so his lease must have expired in 1905, which is presumably when he returned to live in Matlock Bath. He lived at 8 Rockvale Villas (1911 census), but later moved to North Parade.

^[5] Recollections of the late Mr. Frank Clay, from notes taken by Mrs. Doreen Buxton.

^[6] "The London Gazette".

^[7] It was Wyvill's Limited, grocers, North par in Kelly's Directories of 1922 and 1925. It then became Wyvill's Stores (C. H. Fletcher, propr.) grocers, North par in Kelly's Directories of 1928 and 1932.