The four photographs below are from the album of Mrs. Robert Wildgoose who lived at The Gables on Chesterfield Road and then at Stoneycroft, the house she had built on Cavendish Road. The album now belongs to the Ash family and was in the possession of Ray Ash's step-grandmother Ash (Dora May Wheeldon before her marriage), who was for many years companion and housekeeper to Mrs. Wildgoose at Stoneycroft. A selection from the album is published here with kind permission of Ray Ash.

The images you see here are reproduced from tiny amateur photographs, three inches wide, which are also very faded. They really are quite hard to date but from other photographs in the album were probably been taken around 1900-1905, and maybe even slightly before that. Unfortunately, Marian Wildgoose was not very good at putting dates in her album, so some of the dates are only approximations. They were certainly taken in the time of Reverend Canon James William Kewley, for many years Rector of Matlock, as he appears in photographs 2 and 3 and probably in photograph 4.

The Rector and his sister hosted a number of garden parties and concerts at the Rectory over the years. One garden party in July 1900 was in aid of the Foreign Mission Fund and £11 was collected^[1]. The garden party shown in these photos could well have been the one held in July 1902 when Canon and Miss Kewley provided tea on the lawn for sixty or seventy members of the congregation and parishioners. A visiting Colonial missionary gave a talk about his work among the Maoris and the garden party was to raise money. Among those present were the Rev. Charles Baker (Vicar of Matlock Bath), the Rev. G. A. Grace, the Rev. Charles Campbell Nicholas (the curate?), Mr. Joseph Sladen, Mr Henry Hadfield Cubley, Mr. C. F. Cargill and Mr. W. Ellis^[2]. In 1906 about ninety people attended another garden party, raising money for a missionary from India who addressed those assembled^[4]. All three events were held on a Monday; as most men would be working on Mondays it is surprising to see quite a few males of all ages amongst the guests. And in 1908 a concert, with tea, was held here to help reduce the debt on the new organ and vestries, with performances given by a number of local residents^[3].

2. Canon Kewley, on the far right, with his guests.
Matlock Rectory is the building behind the group, which Pevsner describes as a late eighteenth century building^[5]. The Rectory is in Old Matlock, close to St. Giles' Church and in 1911 it was said to have 12 rooms. The images show the grounds at the back of the house, which is mostly of three storeys but with a two storey wing. The house walls were almost obscured by Virginia creeper and there was a conservatory (or greenhouse) attached to the wing. A window with an arched pane can be seen on the first floor below the chimney stack. It is surrounded by so much foliage it is impossible to see it properly. There are similar windows elsewhere on the property, which are Georgian.

3. Taken from a similar position. Four Clergymen, including Canon Kewley who is in the centre of the picture.

4. Guests strolling through the gardens on what looks to be a beautiful summer day. Two ladies in the background have put up their parasols.

Not every Rector lived here. George Holcombe, for example, spent much of his time at East Leake and elsewhere. In 1805 the Rectory, having been refurbished, was let out (see Rectors).

Over the years there have been a number of artefacts found in the grounds. For example, Charles Cox noted that there were numerous fragments of Gothic window tracery there in 1876, discovered when the Rectory stables had been altered a few years before. The most interesting relic was the original font that was believed to have been buried during the Civil War^[6]. Although the Old Rectory is said to have been built in the mid to late eighteenth century evidence has been discovered more recently of fifteenth century remains within the house itself^[7].

This building no longer serves as a Rectory. Two modern houses have been erected in its grounds, one of which is the new Rectory.

View even more about the church by clicking on the images below:

You may like to read more onsite information
Rectors of St Giles from 1300
Church Fundraising, 1859, 1886 - 1895: see Church Bazaar at Matlock, 1895

References:

^[1] "Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald", 14 July 1900.

^[2] "ibid.", 19 July 1902.
MATLOCK TOWN. Garden Party at the Rectory.

^[3] "Derbyshire Times", 20 June 1908. Concert in the Rectory Garden.

^[4] "Derbyshire Times", 14 July 1906.

^[5] Pevsner, N (1953) "The Buildings of England, Derbyshire", Penguin Books, London.

^[6] Cox, J. Charles (1877), "Notes on the Churches of Derbyshire, Vol. II ".

^[7] Drackley, John (2012) "Matlock Parish Church Guide".