Default Image Place of Worship has been
Demolished.
Image by courtesy of
openclipart.org

Matlock Green Independent Chapel (Demolished),
Matlock Green / Lime Tree Road,
Matlock, Derbyshire.

Cemeteries

We believe the Chapel did NOT have a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded in 1848, but we understand it was closed after 1866.

This Independent (or Congregational) Church was founded in 1848 on Matlock Green. The return to the Religious Census of 1851 (HO 129/449/2/7/24) records it as "Independent Chapel", and describes it as a separate building, erected in September 1848, used exclusively as a place of worship for a congregation of "Congregational Dissenters". It had free sittings for 80, and 170 "other" sittings; and the estimated congregation on March 30th was 93 in the morning, and 174 in the evening, with 92, and 94 Sunday Scholars respectively attending a morning and afternoon class. These figures differed little from the average stated over the previous 6 months, except there were normally 3 Sunday School classes. The return was completed by John Whewell, its Minister, who gave his address as "Matlock, Derbyshire".

The following notice in The London Gazette of 30th May 1851 (p.1419) recorded its registration for marriages:

NOTICE is hereby given, that a building, named the Independent Chapel, situate at Matlock Green, in the parish of Matlock, in the county of Derby, in the district of Bakewell Union, being a building certified according to law as a place of religious worship, was, on the 22nd day of May 1851, duly registered for solemnizing marriages therein, pursuant to the Act of 6th and 7th Wm. IV., cap. 85. Dated 26th May 1851.

White's Directory of 1857 records it as "a large handsome chapel situated on the Green... erected in 1848", adding that in 1845 [1854?] "a large Sunday school was added at the back of it".

Notwithstanding such a glowing account, it was replaced by a new building, situated just south of the junction of Smedley Street with Chesterfield Road, which opened in 1866. The new building is described elsewhere in this database.

It is not known for sure where in Matlock Green the original building was situated; however the Derbyshire Record Office's Non-Conformist Register Guide may provide a clue. It records it under several names - "United Reformed Church, Lime Tree Road", "Matlock Green Congregational Chapel", and "Matlock Bank Congregational Chapel". "Lime Tree Road" (formerly "Limetree Lane") was (I assume) its original address, so possibly it was situated on the west side of Lime Tree Road, a short distance beyond its junction with Matlock Green, where in 1880, there was a School (for Boys & Girls), and in 1899, a Sunday School. There is, however, no evidence of either School or Chapel at this location in the present day.

Denomination

Now or formerly Independent/Congregational.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Chapel was located at OS grid reference SK3029259919. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Matlock Green Independent Chapel (Demolished), Matlock shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Matlock shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Matlock, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• Notices of Civil Registration of Places of Worship for marriages are published in the London edition of The Gazette. Hint: search for registrations from 1998 by choosing 'Church' notices, and the option 'Registration for solemnising marriage'. (verified 2018-12-11)

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.