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Images Index> 20th & 21st Century, Matlock> This page |
| Matlock : Dale Road & The Old English Hotel | ||||||||||||||||
| Matlock, Twentieth Century Photographs, Postcards, Engravings & Etchings | ||||||||||||||||
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This photograph of Dale Road, featuring the Old English Hotel, is fascinating. It could almost be called "The Story of the Ladder". At first glance the cart, in which a young man is sitting looking at the photographer, could be a window cleaner's cart. There's man at the top of the very long ladder who seems to be busy cleaning the windows of the Old English Hotel. He isn't. He has no bucket and seems to have no tools. His left hand is pointing to the bottom of the window frame and he's holding on with his right hand. The window is slightly open, opening in the middle into two halves. The workman is believed to have been a local Councillor named Harrison who worked for Hall & Co. and who was looking at the window frames prior to painting them. Hall and Co.'s "Plumbing Dept" was just off-photo on the left, next door to the Old English and its Vaults. To the left of the street lamp, but next to the buildings, is a large lamp with a white globe on which are the words "GAS OFF[ICE]". Robert Hall, accountant and local entrepreneur, was a shareholder and secretary for Matlock Gas Co. which probably explains why it was there. Hall seems to have been a successor to Job Smith and very involved in Matlock affairs. The extremely long ladder, which was owned by the Old English., had virtually no rungs, or very few. There are actually two ladders, with a smaller one at the bottom to extend the height should it be necessary. The longer of the two ladders is not touching the ground. On this occasion it seems the second ladder was also acting to counterbalance the weight and add stability as painters always had someone standing on the bottom rungs (or they did later on). Whilst it is difficult to tell, the side of the ladder next to the workman's body seems to be fractionally longer and could just be resting on the bottom part of the window. It is impossible to know, even by blowing up the image as has been done to provide this description. The top left of the ladder is hardly resting on anything, just the moulding on the building. There's a hanging sign above the main entrance to Old English which reads Valentine? Cafe [suggestions welcome]. Hunter's Grocery Shop is on the opposite corner and next door is the premises occupied for some years by Basquil, the tailor. Whether Mr. Basquil was still in business is not known as he last advertised in 1908. However, the sign on the window is the same as one in another photo on this site. It is not possible to read which solicitor was using the offices in Hunters Buildings. The shop next door to Basquils is a puzzle as it definitely says _YERS in large letters; the first letter is broken and could be part of a D. In 1908 an Albert Edward Dyer was assistant supt. Prudential Assurance Co. Limited and living on New Street so this could be his shop or a that of a relative. Unfortunately, there isn't enough evidence to help. There's a sign on the window, but it is mostly obscured by the carriage. There's no sign for the next premises. Then there's Evans', the jewellers. On the right hand side is a row of single storey shops, "Coronation Buildings". These were presumably named to commemorate the Coronation of Edward VII. Although unreadable on this particular picture, it says so on the sign over the butchers in other contemporary photographs. The butcher's shop was the London Central Meat Co. Limited (LCM). Whilst there is no sign with their name on it, the chemist's selling Kodak film was Pilkingtons. The sign, jutting out on the left of the chemist's, advertises table waters is possibly reads G. WRIGHT, TABLE WATERS. Next door, the shop that is shut up, is Bradley's Clothiers and then the International Tea Co.'s Stores Limited. Someone was even digging up the road opposite Hunter's Corner. But it was the ladder that everyone was looking at with such great interest, apart from the workman's "mate". So the photograph was taken somewhere between 1902 and 1920. It would be very nice to think that it was taken during my (webmistress) great grandfather's time at the Old English - see the entry for William Clay in 1916 Kelly's Directory. |
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No postmark Postcard in the collection of, provided by and © Ann Andrews Intended for personal use only With grateful thanks to Colin Goodwyn for his input |
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