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

Matlock Congregational Church (Demolished),
Chesterfield Road,
Matlock, Derbyshire.

Cemeteries

This Church had 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 1866, but we understand it was closed in 1990.

The congregation who attended this Church was founded originally in 1848 at Matlock Green, in a building described as "Independent Chapel" in a return to the Religious Census of 1851 (HO 129/449/2/7/24).

The foundation stone of a new Congregational Church, situated just below the junction of Chesterfield Road with Smedley Street, was laid in 1865, to replace the original building; and was opened the following year.

The following notice in The London Gazette of 23rd August 1867 (p.4755) recorded its registration for marriages:

NOTICE is hereby given, that a separate building, named Congregational Church, situate at Matlock Bank, in the parish of Matlock, in the county of Derby, in the district of Bakewell, being a building certified according to law as a place of religious worship, was, on the 10th day of August, 1867, duly, registered for solemnizing marriages therein, pursuant to the Act of 6th and 7th Wm. IV., cap. 85, being substituted for the building known as Independent Chapel, at Matlock-green, in the parish of Matlock aforesaid, now disused. Dated 19th August 1867.

This development is explained more fully by Ann Andrews, on her excellent webpage devoted to Matlock Churches and Chapels.

The Derbyshire Record Office's Non-Conformist Register Guide record it as the "United Reformed Church, Lime Tree Road", indicating that until 1882 it was known as "Matlock Green Congregational Chapel", and then later "Matlock Bank Congregational Chapel". "Lime Tree Road" is (I assume) a reference to its original address, off Matlock Green.

The roof of the Church caught fire in 1969, and the damage was so great that the entire building had to be demolished; worship did however continue, in the Church Schoolroom. This change was reflected in a notice published in the Gazette of 5th April 1971 (p.3273) for the registration of "CONGREGATIONAL SCHOOL HALL, Chesterfield Road, Matlock" for marriages to take place, followed by a notice published on 8th April 1971 (p.3513) that "CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, Matlock Bank" was no longer used as a place of worship.

The following year (1972), the congregation joined the United Reformed Church, but by 1990, following dwindling attendance, closure became inevitable. Thereafter, the remaining congregation joined that of Trinity Methodist Church on Bank Road; and the site is now the home of an Assemblies of God Church.

Denomination

Now or formerly 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 Church was located at OS grid reference SK3037660415. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Matlock Congregational Church (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.

• “The Andrews Pages”, featuring Ann Andrews' study of Matlock Churches and Chapels (null) (verified 2021-09-12)
• 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.