Matlock Bath's annual Illuminations, also known as the 'Venetian Nights' or 'Venetian Fête', were introduced as a way of extending the tourist season into late August and September and, much more recently, even into early October. They began slightly before 1900^[1]. The Illuminations were candlelit for many years, but changed to electric lighting in 1950. The annual event became extremely successful in the 1950s when the webmistress's father, Frank Clay, painted the set pieces and when Wilfred Wright was responsible for so cleverly lighting them. "Wilfred worked slavishly during the months preceding the event^[2]".

"At the end of the last century [19th century] it was decided to light the Lover's Walks with fairy lights. These were bucket lights, like little jam jars, and were designed to burn for 1-3 hours. The Jubilee Bridge used to be illuminated by small gas lamps^[2]"."Pre War [WW2] the event was held as a one night stand on the first Saturday night in September^[2]". "After the War the Venetian Fête started up again and the committee bought a secondhand set piece from Blackpool of a little girl skiing down a hill. They decided it wasn't the way they wanted to go. Wilfred Wright had been involved before the War and asked me [Frank Clay] if I'd be prepared to help when we were working at the same property^[2]". "Frank Higton, Mr. Walker Hall and Fred Fowkes were the real beginners of the Venetian Fête and Joe Oliver was also heavily involved ... Between the Wars Mr. Walker Hall had a budget of £20, which included the cost of the boys running around with tapers to keep the candles alight. His £20 didn't include Fireworks^[2]". "After the first year of my involvement, which was a great success, the committee decided to extend the display period by a few days. The organisational factors - police, electricity supply, council, &c. - had been ironed out and the 'Illuminations' were underway^[2]".

Every year there was a formal switching on ceremony of the Illuminations, and a week later one very special Saturday evening's entertainment - the Fête itself. The town band played in the band stand, there was an enormous firework display accompanied by the "Ooos" and "Aaah's" from both the bandstand and the crowd on the Promenade, plus a competition of decorated boats. Visitors streamed in, many using the train service from cities such as Manchester and Derby. The Promenade was very crowded and visitors also lined the roads on the hillside above.

Preparing for both the Venetian Fête and the Illuminations took a long time and the event was organised by the Matlock Bath Venetian Fête Committee (by 1960 this had changed to the Matlock Bath Illuminations & Venetian Nights Committee)^[3]. Everyone had to work extremely hard. During the summer months the Holme Road workshop that my father used for his business was a hive of activity. My father was hugely creative and produced hundreds and hundreds of designs during his seven year involvement.

His subjects included well loved characters from children's books, ranging from Lewis Carroll's "Alice" and the "The Mad Hatter's Tea Party" she attended to Enid Blyton's "Noddy and Big Ears". Nursery rhymes also appealed to the children, with characters like Old Mother Hubbard. There were dwarves, elves, Dick Whittington, Disney's "Snow White", the Man in the Moon as well as The Mekon, Dan Dare and Digby who were characters in the "The Eagle" comic. Larger set pieces included The Men From Mars and the United Nations Band as well as the Willow Pattern Story.

For quite a few years the hardboard replica of Big Ben remained the first thing visitors saw on crossing over Jubilee Bridge to the Lovers' Walk side. And the castle high up above the bandstand, which was 16 feet by 16 feet, was also there for some time (see photograph above). Pretty good considering the pieces were painted on hardboard. My father may have painted the front, but his children were amongst those who painted the backs to protect the pieces from weather damage.

Erecting the lights must have been a hazard in itself as the "wooded slopes and limestone tors of the Lovers' Walks" were lit up. There was also, on occasion, the additional problem of the river. During late August 1954 the workers were "soaked to the skin, toiled away in the driving rain ... to complete the layout of the illuminations for the official opening on Saturday, but all the time the river rose ominously. The swollen waters mounted at the rate of more than a foot an hour until the river was about eight feet above the normal summer level, and work had to be suspended while some of the designs and set pieces near the water's edge were made safe. Men waded into the water to prevent them being washed away"^[4].

The illuminated boats were lit by candles in tiny glass jars and were a truly magical sight for any child (or adult). Here, too, there was huge creativity and also some humour; sometimes there were minor glitches. Mrs. Boden told the webmistress that her brother Remo Tinti erected a miniature Eiffel Tower on his boat one year. Everything had to be carefully measured to ensure it would pass under Jubilee Bridge. Unfortunately for Remo, the river levels rose so his Eiffel Tower seems to have turned into more of a Leaning Tower as it struck the Bridge.

My father produced an advertisement for Remo Tinti which was attached to the back bumper of his car and also covered the boot; it would be banned today. It was a large painted cartoon of Remo made of hardboard and with a circular plate bearing the words "The Man in White". This was the nickname created because he wore a white suit as band conductor and compere, something he did brilliantly. "I [Frank Clay] was performing at the time in Gilbert and Sullivan's 'The Gondoliers' and the idea occurred to dress the attendants in that sort of costume. A watered down 'compromise' was decided upon - to provide a white suit for the compere - and "The Man in White" was in business^[2]".

The Illuminations and Venetian Nights are still an annual event in Matlock Bath, but now cover an even longer period. However, for the purposes of this page the text covers largely only the time of my late father's involvement and the resurgence of the Venetian Fête in the 1950's. Celebrations haven't continued every year since 1900 or so, of course, but the original glass jars that held the lights to decorate the Lovers Walks and the boats are still in use today.

Can you help?

If you have any old photographs in your album of the set pieces done in the 1950's, please email the webmistress

Travelling to the Venetian Fête or Venetian Nights - view some railway posters

References:

^[1] "The Derbyshire Times", Friday 26 August 1955. Mr. E. B. Wakefield, M.P. for West Derbyshire, switched on the lights. In his speech he "humorously remarked that the Venetian Nights started in the year in which Mr Broome and himself were born (1903)". Mr. Broome was the then President of the Committee. Whilst Benjamin Bryan, in his book "Matlock, Manor and Parish" (1903), refers to the celebrations that took place to mark the Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897 and describes "a procession of illuminated boats on the river and simultaneous illumination of the walks by coloured fires" he was not describing a Venetian Fête. Bryan, unfortunately, does not mention Venetian Fêtes, although an Annual Regatta and Fête was held in the September of the same year as the Diamond Jubilee (reported in "The Derby Mercury") and it was not the first. It is widely believed that the Venetian Fête became an annual event at this time but, until further checking has been done, the webmistress is unsure whether this is the case.

^[2] Reminiscences of the late Mr. Frank Clay, from his private papers and notes owned by the webmistress. His first memory of the Venetian Fête was in 1913.

^[3] Comparison of unpublished letter in web mistress's possession written on printed headed notepaper and 1960's letter from the renamed committee elsewhere on this website

^[4] "The Derbyshire Times", Friday 24 August 1954