"The Derwent Dale is the most familiar of holiday grounds to the workers of the Midlands. Not only does the immediate neighbourhood ... abound in charm and interest, but it is a centre for excursions by rail and charabanc to places of more than local fame"^[1].

The Fish Pond Hotel, partially shown on the left, provided stabling and the charabanc excursions described above would leave from here to visit places such as Dovedale.

Local photographer Percy Rowbottom has captured the holiday crowds ambling, walking, talking, seen, being seen or just simply standing still and looking at the world go by in South Parade over a hundred years ago. The photograph was probably taken at Bank Holiday time in Matlock Bath, about 1905. When you see so many people on the Parade, it perhaps explains why the cab drivers needed to shout so loudly to warn pedestrians!

Compare this scene with a more recent one of Matlock Bath in the summer of 1966 (the image will open in a new window)

References:

^[1] Ward Lock & Co's "Guide to Matlock, Dovedale, Etc.", Illustrated Guide Books of England and Wales (Guide Series 1903-4) Introduction.