An early twentieth century photograph of Dale Road, taken from the top of High Tor. It is similar to Matlock
Bath: Holme Road from High Tor, but the trees are not in leaf here and the photographer is looking down towards the Derwent river valley rather than
photographing a panorama of the village. It is was also probably taken slightly earlier as the trees are less mature.
The groups of three storey houses on the roadside form Brunswood and Dale Terraces, with Nestors to their right[1].
We can see also the iron footbridge spanning the river. The houses here stand, like some other properties in Matlock Bath,
on land that had previously been quarried and the rock face is not far behind them.
To the left of the terraces is what was then the gated driveway of the former vicarage and further along are the houses
of Midland Terrace. The Parochial Hall had not been built.
To the right of, and behind, the two terraces is Long Tor
Quarry and there is a large hoarding next to the quarrymen's
hut. Further down Dale Road towards Matlock, and on the bottom
right of the picture, is Mr. and Mrs. Whittaker's Derwent
House that stands next to their pop works (the works were
eventually demolished)[2].
There are various small buildings on the left of the house,
including the one with the sunshade where Mrs. Whittaker
sold souvenirs and trinkets. The other buildings include
the entrance to the cavern that the Whittaker family used
to show to visitors (see next
image).
The excavated limestone quarry area had been part of Key Pasture Wood[3].
If you look carefully to the left of Brunswood Terrace, slightly
to the right of where the Copper Beeches now are, you can
just about see a pathway going up behind the houses on the
very edge of Long Tor that connected with Masson Road. The
path goes beside a shiny roof which belongs to Brunswood
House - the property has various small conifers in the
front garden. This was the old boundary mentioned in, for
example, the description provided by the Enumerator for the
1901 census[4].
The Long Tor Quarry was owned by Mr S J Claye of Long Eaton Ironworks in the latter part of the nineteenth century.
In 1855 William Adam wrote that "The Long Tor ... is a bold off-shoot of Masson, extending eastwards into the submergence
of the rocks at this point"[5]. In 1909 the nonagenarian Thomas Green
described what happened when "the first shot was fired in that beautiful rock", which had been described by Dr.
Darwin as the "Jaws of the Matlock Dale". Mr Milner, a Matlock solicitor, was passing by on his horse,
and both the horse and its rider took fright! Thomas Green conducted blasting operations that, in his words, completely
destroyed the beauty of the Long Tor Rock but added that the quarrying there had provided employment for a large number
of men for many years[6]. It also became by far the largest quarry in this part of the Dale.
A. & W. B. Shaw had been carrying out business here in 1911, when they were experiencing some financial problems[7].
James Croston mentioned this quarry in 1868, describing it as "near the parsonage house".[8]
What is also worth noting are both the number of pedestrians and the lack of vehicles. There are only a couple of horse drawn
vehicles waiting by the entrance to the station approach[9]. |
Approaching High Tor, 1930s
