St. Giles' was the Parish Church for the whole of Matlock and Matlock Bath for many centuries - until the churches of All Saints on Matlock Bank and Holy Trinity in Matlock Bath were built to meet the needs of the expanding population.

The church is in Matlock Town (Old Matlock). In 1848 Kelly's Directory described St. Giles' church as 'seated on a high rock, thickly planted, is a neat building'^[1848]. Considerably altered during the nineteenth century, it has a West Tower built in the Perpendicular style and a Norman font, which was hidden in the Rectory gardens for many years. Francis White's Sheffield Directory of 1862 records that 'a small organ was erected in 1844'^[1862].

'There is some lovely stained glass and some old tombs, including an altar tomb to the Wolleys of Riber
About Riber

J. Charles Cox pointed out that the Domesday Survey did not mention a church at Matlock, though the fragments of Norman masonry outside the Church tower certainly indicate the existence of a church in the Norman period (Cox, p518^[2]).

The rectory of Matlock was valued at £10 in 1291, when the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV was compiled' (ibid, p518^[2]). He goes on to say that the account of the Dean of Lincoln's Derbyshire possessions, drawn up in 1310, mentions the church 'as being in the Dean's patronage, but owing no pensions or dues to the Dean and Chapter' (ibid, p518^[2]). In 1925 W.N. Statham suggested this was 'probably because the Parish was in the diocese of Lichfield'^[3].

Writing about 1869, John Hicklin describes St. Giles as 'an old embattled structure, having an ancient tower with pinnacles whimsically sculptured with grotesque gurgoyles [sic]. The interior consists of a nave, aisles, and chancel; the roof is arched, and covered with paintings, consisting of the four Evangelists and other scriptural and allegorical subjects⁴. Five years earlier Francis White had written that 'ceiling is ornamented with rude paintings'^[1862].

The registers, held at the Derbyshire Record Office, date from 1637^[5].

Ivor and Val Neal have produced Indexes of the PR on CD ROM - Baptisms 1637-1837, Marriages 1637-1860, Burials 1637-1910 ... Find out more

Information elsewhere on the Internet:
St. Giles' Church website

The building, in Imperial Road next to what was the Town Hall bowling green, has not been used for religious purposes for some years and is now known as the Imperial Rooms and used as a community centre.

The church was registered for for solemnizing marriages from 3/4 May 1912 until 22 February 1966 when the registration was cancelled^[9].

The Derbyshire Record Office hold various records, including registers, magazines, minute books and miscellaneous papers and the Marriage Registers, 1913-64. Baptisms, 1841-1900, are held by the DARG.
How to contact the DARG

Ministers have included:
Rev. William H. Wheeldon (Kelly's 1912);
Rev. J. W. Bleathman (Kelly's 1916);
Rev. J. W. Jordan (Kelly's 1932);
Rev. W. H. Parker (Kelly's 1941)

Memorial Inscriptions Surnames Index

The church is not oriented east to west, because of the limitations of the site, but is aligned almost north to south on the tufa shelf, with the altar pointing southwards.

Francis White described the interior in 1862. 'The transept, and down each side of the body are neatly pewed, to seat 300 persons, while the centre is fitted up with comfortable benches, as free sittings, for 150. A capacious font, of elegant design, carved out of gritstone, stands near the western entrance'^[1862]. T.E. Streatfield made some alterations in 1873/4 when the chancel, with a new reredos, was extended. In recent times there has been both refurbishment and changes to the interior.

George Withers Saxton (1798-1862), the proprietor of the Old Bath Hotel, took a leading role in ensuring that a church was built in the village and he was instrumental in raising voluntary contributions towards the building costs. There is a marble tablet over the north door of the nave honouring Mr. Saxton's hard work for the parish.
The MI is onsite.
Edward Beaumont was a generous contributor - he resided at Mr. Saxton's Hotel.

Before this time the parish church was at Matlock - St. Giles Church - which was approximately two miles away, and the only other religious establishment in the village was the Glenorchy (Congregational) Chapel.
See St. Giles Church
See Glenorchy (Congregational) Chapel.

Matlock Bath had expanded considerably and the new church would have met the needs of the growing population.

In 1857 the trustees were Rev. Phillip Gell, Rev. H.W. Plumtre, Rev. W.C. Wilson, Rev. Archdeacon Thomas Hill and Robert Ramsden Esq.^[7]

The stone built Parsonage House was erected in 1847, costing £1,600 which was raised by subscriptions, a grant from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners of £521 and the Lichfield Church Extension Society gave £200.

In 1899 a gift of land to the south east meant the churchyard could be extended.

Ministers have included [Linked to some MI's] Rev. W. G. Barker Rev. Edward Synge Rev. J. M. Maynard Rev. Charles Evans Rev. Walter Webb Woodhouse Rev. Raymond P. Pelly Rev. Edward Latham Rev. Charles Baker Rev. William Asquith Rev. Edward J. M. Davies Rev. Clement Thomas Walker Rev. Alfred Phibbs Rev. William G. Lee Rev. Norman B. Johnson Rev. L. E. Waghorn Rev. H. E. Brown Rev. James Song Rev. H. Collard P in C See the inscriptions taken from the boards inside the church for more information

The Derbyshire Record Office now holds the church record book (1864 - 1972).
How to Contact Derbyshire Record Office

Baptisms, 1785-1836 are onsite.
These are held by the DARG - see their contact details
The Society of Genealogists also have copies of these records.

Post 1837 marriages at the Independent Chapel give the address for the church at "Independent Chapel, Matlock" on marriage certificates; to avoid confusion about this readers should understand that there was no Independent Chapel in the town of Matlock itself and "Independent Chapel, Matlock" marriages took place at Glenorchy.

Marriages took place at the Independent Chapel for over 100 years as it was registered for solemnizing marriages from the 3 October 1837 until 29 August 1951 when the registry was formally cancelled because the Chapel was "no longer used as a Place of Meeting for religious worship"^[9].

There were no burials at Glenorchy - you can see from the photograph above that the building was next to the road and on the other side was the River Derwent. So burials for Glenorchy worshippers were elsewhere. For example, two of the ministers and others who worshipped at the church were buried at and commemorated on memorials at Holy Trinity Church.
See Memorial Inscriptions - a Surnames Index