The stone building that used to be the Youth Hostel on Brunswood
Road, and which catered for school parties, ramblers and
walkers from the mid 1950s, is now a Probationary Service
office. This was, however, originally the Vicarage for the
incumbent of Holy Trinity Church, Matlock Bath and the webmistress
remembers the grounds being decked out with bunting and stalls
about 1953 for a summer church fete involving the schoolchildren
from Matlock Bath School who performed a series of Country
Dances.
The vicar moved to another, slightly smaller, property on
Brunswood Road until, eventually, a modern vicarage was built
close the church within the grounds of what had been the
Royal Hotel.
To the right of the main door on the first floor there is
a blocked up window and there are others on the side of the
building. I always understood they were blocked up to reduce
the number of windows in the property - so there would be
less "Window Tax" to pay.
On the right hand end is a single storey extension that
was built as the dining room for the Country Club, which the
building was used for before it was taken over by the Youth
Hostel association. |