This delightful riverside scene was taken from Jubilee Bridge and looking south. The building on the far right, at the end of North Parade and where for many years the Barnes family had a drapers shop, dates from 1861. Just above can be seen the Temple Hotel. One row back from the river, slightly to the right of the centre of the picture, is South Parade and the row of two and three storey houses visible above the Parade are on Temple Walk.

The buildings that are so beautifully reflected in the waters of the River Derwent have long gone; they were demolished for road widening as the A6 trunk road, which passes through the village, was particularly narrow at that point. Several of these riverbank properties had balconies overhanging the water, somewhat reminiscent of Venice. The furthest away of the row, in the centre of the picture, was the Devonshire Hotel which used to be almost opposite Hodgkinson's Hotel. The Devonshire Arms, as it was then known, was first listed in a Trades Directory in 1831 and was run by Thomas Smedley^[1]; by the time of the 1841 census his wife Jane^[2] was there on her own. Jane then married the widowed William Ellis^[3] who was followed as proprietor by his son George and remained there until he died in 1866. The name changed around 1862 and the building became the Devonshire Hotel. The Radfirth family were there for some years and Joseph advertised in Bemrose's Guide. They were followed by Samuel Robinson (1837-1918), who for a time had worked as a butler to Charles Clarke at Masson House. He was listed in directories between 1876 and 1899 but had retired by 1901 when Frances Lake was the proprietress. William T Hill had taken over by 1908 and Alice Ann Hill was in charge in 1912; William Freckleton had succeeded her by 1916. Albert Edward Potter seems to have been the last hotel proprietor listed in a directory (Kelly's Directory, 1928) and from after then until demolition it was known as the Devonshire Café.


There is more on site information about
See Hadfield Cubley's card of this scene
Use the MI Surnames Index to locate the memorials for several of the families named above
The Quick List has census and trades directory transcripts for Matlock and Matlock Bath
Joseph Radfirth's advert in the Bemrose Guide