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End of a Long and Winding Road* |
Recently, we published a selection of photographs from the archive
of Matlock's Harry Gill, who for 50 years chronicled major and minor
events throughout Derbyshire, especially the Peak District. Harry
was a highly-respected press photographer whose work appeared consistently
in local and national newspapers and magazines. In this further selection
of pictures, Harry's daughter, Phyllis Higton of Darley Dale, opens
the photo albums to allow Reflections readers the opportunity of seeing
the changing face of one of Derbyshire's busiest roads, the A6 between
Rowsley and Matlock, as recorded by her father during the years from
the late twenties to the early 1960s. Michael Fay explains
the background to these photographs. |
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TRAFFIC CONGESTION is nothing
new to the Peak District. By the mid-twenties it was increasingly
obvious that the network of narrow roads largely unchanged from the
19th century urgently needed some major changes if gridlock, pollution
and endless delays were to be avoided.
One congestion hotspot was the bridge over the river at Rowsley -
a busy location because of the large railway sidings and goods
yards along the A6. Although the road itself just about coped with
traffic flow the single-width bridge was a major, frustrating, bottleneck.
Work started on bridge-widening in the late
twenties to the relief of most local people but amid concerns
from some conservationists who feared that the historic structure
would not be sympathetically widened (it was and 70 years later
is still in good shape). You can see how narrow the
original bridge was as a North Western bus (much smaller than
a modern bus) makes its way from Bakewell to Matlock watched
by an RAC patrolman.
The second view, taken a few months later, shows how carefully
the widened bridge has followed the original design.Image
2 |
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Taken 75 years ago, a view of Artists' Corner
between Matlock and Matlock Bath reminds us that the hillside
and the buildings on it survive almost unchanged. But the road
has been widened and the area to the right is now a car park.Image
3 The bus is a North Western. The Stockport-based North
Western Road Car Company operated the majority of buses in the
Peak District in pre-war years until the 1960s when the bus
industry was re-organised and opened to more competition. The
car which is causing trouble is, incidentally, an Austin Seven. |
| Between Matlock Bath and Cromford this once-familiar
building was demolished some years before a much more ambitious
road-widening project between the two areas The smaller part
of the building was the Glenorchy Chapel and that nearest to
the camera was a private house. Images 4 & 5 |
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| You could attract a good crowd in Matlock back
in the 1950s even for the opening of a modest bus station -
little more than just three rows of corrugated sheeting shelters,
long since demolished. The official opening was performed by
Alderman Charles White, the then-chairman of Derbyshire County
Council
and a Matlock man.Image 6 The two buses on hand at
the opening were provided by North Western and the Darley Dale-based
Silver Service - two or the main operators. From this station,
you could also catch an East Midland to Chesterfield, a Midland
General Alfreton or a Hulley's to Baslow. |
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| Difficult civil
engineering work |
The most important road project locally for many years was widening
of the A6 between Cromford and Matlock, a difficult civil engineering
project as the road followed the floor of the dale, with the River
Derwent on one side and a towering cliff face liable to subsidence
on the other.
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Work started in
1960 and
millions of tons of rock were blasted away and the road closed
for months.
This dramatic shot, taken in January 1961, shows the scene after
one of the blasting operations in the early stages of the scheme
while the other scene taken two months later shows the narrowness
of the original road. The diversions, incidentally, were slow
and lengthy. To reach Matlock you had to negotiate the narrow
winding road through Starkholmes, Old Matlock and eventually
Matlock Green.Images 7 & 8 |
The third scene shows the completed new road soon after its opening
in October 1962.Image 9 This shot was published at the
time in a local newspaper. The trees have matured but more than 40
years later the road remains largely unchanged as our recent view
shows.Image 10 |
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Just off the A6 at Cromford by a bridge over
the Derwent the historic bridge chapel was in a ruined state
in the 1950s. Harry Gill took this scene, intended for the Manchester
Guardian, of workmen from the then Ministry of Works examining
the structure.Image 11 The board propped against
the chapel contains a thinly-veiled appeal for funding to help
the Derbyshire Archeological Society repair and renovate the
remaining parts of the Ancient Monument. |
The chapel was restored, is listed as of historic and architectural
interest and still stands although looking a bit neglected as our
recent view shows.
[Images not shown]
[Note from the webmistress:
Images 12 and 13 below, also from "Reflections" Magazine,
are of the old Fishing Lodge, close to Cromford Bridge. You need to
look hard, but in both photographs you can just make out the stonework
of the ancient medieval bridge chapel to the left of the fishing lodge] |
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*This is a copy of an article published in "Reflections"
in January 2005,Vol.14 Issue 156, pp.37-39.
"Reflections" is Derbyshire's largest-circulation
targeted lifestyle magazine, serving Dronfield, Chesterfield, Matlock
and Bakewell areas.
The article is reproduced here with the very kind permission and written
consent of the author,
© Michael Fay, and Bannister Publications
Ltd.
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There is more on site information
 A
few of the early photographers working in the Matlocks and some of
their pictures
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