Default Image We do not have a
Photograph at present.
Image by courtesy of
openclipart.org

Matlock Bank Methodist Church,
Bank Road (opposite County Offices),
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 1838, but we understand it was closed in 1968.

Derbyshire Record Office's Non-Conformist Register Guide provides the information that "Matlock Bank Methodist Church, Bank Road" was first built in 1838, rebuilt 1865, and closed in 1988. They hold records of baptisms 1879-1965 (before 1949 containing entries for the whole Matlock Bank Circuit), and marriages 1913-1964.

The corresponding return to the Religious Census of 1851 (HO 129/449/2/7/22) records it simply as "Chapel" - a separate building erected in Matlock in 1838 for a Primitive Methodist congregation, which was not used exclusively as a place of worship. It had free seating for 120, and 50 "other" sittings, and the estimated congregation on March 30th was 69 in the afternoon, with 95 Sunday Scholars attending a morning class, and 90 in the afternoon. There was no service in the evening, but an "average" evening congregation of "March 23, 160" had been crossed out - suggesting (perhaps) that services were held alternately on afternoons and evenings. The return was completed by James Hawley, who described himself as "Local Preacher" of "Matlock Bank, Derbyshire". Unfortunately, he provided no indication of what else the building was being used for at that time.

As mentioned above, it was rebuilt in 1865. The following notice in The London Gazette of 29th January 1875 (p.354) recorded its registration for marriages:

NOTICE is hereby given, that a separate building, named Primitive Methodist Chapel, 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 19th day of January, 1875, duly registered for solemnizing marriages therein, pursuant to the Act of 6th and 7th Wm. IV., cap. 85. Dated 21st January 1875.

Although it has now closed, no corresponding notice of cancellation of this registration has been found. For more information, and photographs, see Ann Andrews' excellent webpage of Matlock Churches and Chapels.

Denomination

Now or formerly Primitive Methodist.

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 SK3014060611. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Matlock Bank Methodist Church, 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.