Matlock Bath is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, England. It lies in the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, whe ...

, south of Matlock on the main A6 road, and approximately halfway between Buxton and

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 753. Originally built at the head of a dead-end dirt road running along the valley of the River Derwent from Matlock, the settlement developed in the 19th century as residential and a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, B ...

which remains a

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

destination. The steep hillside restricts development with most buildings on one side of the valley and only footbridges across the river. The road was upgraded, becoming a through-way, now designated A6, avoiding the previous coaching road approach to Matlock from

Cromford Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-centur ...

over very steep hills near to the Riber plateau area. Matlock Dale is a hamlet about north of the village, and the term also refers to this stretch of the river valley.

History

In 1698, warm springs were discovered and a bath house was built. As the waters became better known, access was improved by building the bridge into Old Matlock and in 1783, the opening of a new entrance at the south of the valley. Princess Victoria of Kent's royal visit in 1832 confirmed Matlock as a society venue of the time. Victoria's party visited a pair of museums and a petrifying well.RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 23 October 1832 (Queen Victoria's handwriting). Retrieved 2013-05-24

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

and

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

were visitors, Byron comparing it with alpine Switzerland, leading to a nickname of '' Little Switzerland''.

Erasmus Darwin Erasmus Robert Darwin (12 December 173118 April 1802) was an English physician. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave-trade abolitionist, inventor, and poet. His poems ...

recommended the area to Josiah Wedgwood I for its beauty and soothing waters, and members of the families vacationed and settled there. Edward Levett Darwin, son of Francis Sacheverel Darwin, lived at Dale House in Matlock Bath, where he was a solicitor. When the North Midland Railway opened in 1840, carriages plied for hire from Ambergate station. The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway ran a number of excursions, taking the passengers onward from Ambergate by the

Cromford Canal The Cromford Canal ran from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks. From Cromford it ...

. Matlock Bath is a designated conservation area with an Article 4 direction in relation to properties, predominantly along North and South Parade.

Government

Matlock Bath is in the local government district of Derbyshire Dales, and is part of the parliamentary constituency of the same name. The Member of Parliament is Sarah Dines of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Tourism

Matlock Bath has attractions including the Heights of Abraham park, Gulliver's Kingdom

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

, the Peak District Lead Mining Museum, the former Life in a Lens Museum of Photography & Old Times, the Grand Pavilion and an

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

. On the opposite bank of the river Derwent stands High Tor, a sheer cliff used by climbers and walkers. High Tor features Giddy Edge, a narrow winding path along the cliff edge. The Heights of Abraham cable cars link the base of High Tor rising to the Heights of Abraham. In autumn of each year, the "Venetian Nights" are held with illuminations along the river and illuminated boats. On Sundays in summer many hundreds of motorcyclists congregate in the town.

Popular culture references

Andrew Asibong's phantasmagorical novel ''Mameluke Bath'' is set in a futuristic version of Matlock Bath, and Eleanor Bowen-Jones' film ''Return to Mameluke Bath'' explores both real and fictional versions of the town. Each year the Parish Council organises Pro Loco events in the area. There are pro loco art and photography competitions which are free to enter.Matlock Bath Parish Council homepage
Retrieved 2015-03-03

Transport

Railway

Matlock Bath railway station Matlock Bath railway station is a Grade II listed railway station owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway. It is located in the village of Matlock Bath in Derbyshire, England. The station is unmanned by rail staff and is loca ...

was built in 1849 on the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

line between

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

. The section from Matlock to Buxton was closed in 1968, as result of the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...

. Today, trains run generally hourly each way between Matlock and

on the Derwent Valley Line, operated by

East Midlands Railway Abellio East Midlands Limited, trading as East Midlands Railway (EMR), is a train operating company in England, owned by Abellio, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise. History In March 2017, the Department for Transport ...

Roads

The A6, which links

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

with

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

, passes through the town; it provides access to

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is withi ...

Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, t ...

, Matlock and

Sport

The River Derwent in Matlock Bath is a location for canoeing, both recreational and competitive. Matlock Canoe Club hosts national-level wild-water racing and

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

events here, and it is an assessment location for the BCU 4 Star award.

Gallery

File:Matlock Bath.jpg, The main shopping and refreshment area situated on the A6 road, Matlock Bath File:Cable Cars(Heights of Abraham Matlock) - geograph.org.uk - 194529.jpg, Cable Cars high above the A6 road File:High Tor, Matlock Dale - geograph.org.uk - 426617.jpg, View of High Tor from the cable car showing the A6 road through the Bath with Matlock town in the distance File:High rise living - geograph.org.uk - 462756.jpg, Most of the development on one side of the valley - steep hillside building solutions File:Footbridge over River Derwent, Matlock Bath - geograph.org.uk - 1285959.jpg, Most of the development on one side of the valley - footbridge over River Derwent

References

External links

Video footage of Matlock Bath railway station

Extensive site on the history of Matlock and Matlock Bath
{{authority control Villages in Derbyshire Spa towns in England Towns and villages of the Peak District Civil parishes in Derbyshire Derbyshire Dales