The Matlock and Matlock Bath area has no less than 7 of the 33 Conservation Areas in the Derbyshire Dales, (meaning that it is ‘an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to
preserve or enhance’) namely

• Lumsdale (Map)
• Matlock Bank (Map)
• Matlock Bath (Map)
• Matlock Bridge & Crown Square (Map)
• Matlock Dale (Map)
• Old Matlock (Map)
• Riber (Map)

Each link above gives access to the excellent detailed “Character Appraisal” reports prepared for Derbyshire Dales District Council. These reports illustrate and describe in detail all of the significant buildings in each area.

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Buildings by Place

Much of the content (text and photos) marked in italics in this section is taken directly from the following website (Matlock, Derbyshire Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia), kindly made available under the Creative Commons licence

Crown Square and Bank Road

Smedley Street

Matlock Bank

Matlock Green

Lumsdale

Dale Road

Old Matlock / Starkholmes

Riber

Matlock Bath

Smedley’s Legacy

Smedley’s Hydro (now County Hall)

Riber Castle

Lea Mills

Other Hydros

• Rockside Hall (Hydro)
• Lilybank Hydro (formerly Dalefield)
• Jackson House Hydro
• Bank House Hydro (later the Ernest Bailey Grammar School and now Derbyshire Records Office)

Whitworth’s Legacy

• The Whitworth Centre
• The Whitworth Hospital
• Stancliffe Hall

Arkwright’s Legacy

• Willersley Castle
• Cromford Mill
• Masson Mill

Churches

• St John the Baptist’s Chapel, Matlock Bath
• St Giles Church, Matlock (Starkholmes)
• St Marys Church, Cromford (built by Arkwright and has family graves)
• St Helen’s Church, Darley Churchtown (has Whitworth family graves)

Other Buildings

• Dimple Farm

This one of the very few listed buildings in Matlock with links to Florence Nightingale and her great uncle Peter Nightingale, who at one time owned the farm, was a wealthy lead miner and who bankrolled Arkwright at the start of the factory system. In other words, Arkwright wouldn’t have got started without Nightingale.  To read more, please follow the link.