The Park Head Memorial

A new piece of artwork entitled ‘Together’ has been added to the Memorial Stone at Park Head in the centre of Matlock. It remembers the spirit of the town as reflected in the many different contributions of local people during the conflicts of the last century.  It recalls the vital spirit of Togetherness that saw the town pull together during difficult times. It was made possible by a bequest in the will of David Barker.  David was a long serving Councillor on both Derbyshire Dales District Council and Matlock Town Council.  He was three times the Mayor of Matlock and a staunch supporter of The Royal British Legion and The Fellowship of The Services.  He was a founder member of Matlock Civic Association. The idea of ‘Together’ was developed in close co-operation between these five organisations and is a fitting first use of David’s bequest.

The four figures (three men and a woman) represent each of the three armedservices with the fourth figure representing the civilian contribution.  Different ranks are depicted. The bronze plaque fixed to the Stone describes what each figure represents as well as recording some of the distinctive roles the town played. The four figures were produced and installed by the artist Phil Brown and his apprentices Luke Steadman and Bayley Palmer of Achieve Training in Newcastle-under-Lyme based on drawings by Andrew Edwards.  Some of the history depicted came from local author Keith Taylor. Sid Harbey from the Fellowship helped with the uniform details. The project was managed by Ken Parker of the Civic Association who also designed the bronze plaque.  This was cast and fitted by Leander Architectural from Dove Holes.

More information on the role of Matlock during the WW1 and 2 conflicts can be found at the following links:-