Matley, Cheshire

Historical Description

Matley, a township in Mottram parish, Cheshire, 2 miles S of Hyde. Post town, Hyde. Acreage, 705; population, 174. Paving-stone is quarried, Matlock, a town and extensive parish in Derbyshire, on the river Derwent, half a mile SE of Matlock Bridge railway station, and 15 miles N by W of Derby. The town existed at the time of the Norman conquest, and then formed part of the manor of Mestesford; was given to William de Fen-ors, Earl of Derby; went to the Crown on the rebellion of that nobleman's son; was given by Edward I. to the Earl of Lancaster; passed in the time of Charles I. to " Ditchfield and others;" was afterwards sold to several persons; retained till recently an ancient custom akin to that of the rush-bearing which still exists in some old villages in the N of England; was formerly a market-town, and still has a market for cattle on alternate Thursdays, and fairs for cattle and sheep on 25 Feb., 2 April, 9 May, and 24 Oct. The parish contains the districts of Matlock Bank, Matlock Bath, Matlock Bridge, Matlock Town, Matlock Dale, Matlock Cliff, and Matlock Green, and the hamlets of Eiber, Scarthin Nick, and Stark-holmes; is traversed northward by the M.R., on which there are stations at Matlock Bath and Matlock Bridge. There are post, money order, and telegraph offices at Matlock Bank, Matlock Bath, Matlock Bridge, and Matlock Green. The parish abounds in highly picturesque scenery, particularly in the gorge and on the flanks of Matlock Dale along the Derwent; is frequently visited in the summer months by excursionists; enjoys much celebrity as a resort of tourists and a retreat of invalids; possesses mineral springs of high note at Matlock Bath, and hydropathic establishments at Matlock Bank; has a number of excellent hotels, and many good lodging-houses; cairies on industry in corn mills, bleach-works, and a paper mill, and in the manufacture of cotton and mineral waters, and contains lead mines which formerly were worked to a great extent, but are not at present. The town is governed by a local board of 12 members. Acreage, 4540; population of the civil parish, 7131; of the ecclesiastical parishes of Matlock, Matlock Bank, and Matlock Bath, 2319, 2743, and 1583 respectively. Willersley Castle was built by Sir Richard Arkwright. Eiber Castle is an imposing building on a hill, 860 feet above the sea-level, and commands extensive views. Some of the many features of interest are the Lovers' Walks, with winding paths through woods, and with richly diversified views of Matlock Dale; the Heights of Abraham, about 650 feet high, ascended by a zigzag wooded walk, and commanding a splendid view of the surrounding country; Masson Hill, nearly 800 feet high, also ascended by a zigzag, and commanding views of portions of five counties; High Tor, nearly 400 feet high, rising sheer up from the Derwent, clothed with shrubs and trees in its lower part, but a naked mass of rock for more than 150 feet of its upper part; High Tor Grotto, at the base of the High Tor Cliff, and covered over sides androof with splendid agglomerations of crystallized spar and other minerals; New Speedwell Mine, at Upper Wood; near what are called the Romantic Eocks, penetrable about 430 feet by visitors, and exhibiting beautiful assemblages of stalagmites, stalactites, and fluor spars; the Devonshire Cavern, discovered in 1824, about 200 feet long and 40 wide, and roofed with magnesian limestone, dipping at an angle of 45 degrees; the Cumberland Cavern, about 300 feet long, 20 wide, and 18 high, and rich in pectens, coralloids, and en-trochites; and the Rutland Cavern, on the Heights of Abraham, a place of great subterranean chambers, naturally groined arches, and lofty dome-like roof-abounding in brilliant spars, zinc ores, and various fossils-worked as a mine in the tune of the Romans, the Saxons, and the Danes-and still retaining traces of Roman work. The surface, on the whole, is popularly and justly regarded as the paradise of the Peak, not surpassed in brilliancy by any equal extent of landscape in Britain; and the rocks, in their forms and characters and relations, are scientifically and truly regarded as a grand record of geognostic changes. Darwen says-" Proud Masson rises rude and bleak, And with misshapen turrets crests the Peak; Old Matlock gapes with marble jaws beneath, And o'er scar'd Derwent bends her flinty teeth; Deep in wide caves below the dangerous soil Blue sulphurs flame, imprison'd waters boil. Impetuous steams in spiral columns rise Through rifted rocks, impatient for the skies; Or o'er bright seas of bubbling lavas blow, As heave and toss the billowy fires below; Condensed on high, in wandering rills they glide From Masson's dome, and burst his sparry side; Round his grey towers, and down his fringed walls, From cliff to cliff the liquid treasure falls; In beds of stalactite, bright ores among, O'er corals, shells, and crystals, winds along: Crusts the green mosses and the tangled wood, And, sparkling, plunges to its native flood."

The living of St Giles, the parish church, is a rectory in the diocese of Southwell; gross value, £326 with residence. Patron, the Bishop. The church stands on a high and thickly planted rock, near traces of Druidical stones and an ancient camp; is in the Decorated style, and consists of chancel, nave, aisles, and pinnacled, embattled tower; the chancel was restored in 1859, and the nave and aisles were rebuilt in 1871-There are Congregational chapels at Matlock Bank and Mat-lock Bath, Wesleyan chapels at Matlock Bank and Scarthin. Nick, and Primitive Methodist chapels at Matlock Bank, Scarthin Nick, and Starkholmes. In 1893 a steep-grade cable tramway was constructed, which connects Matlock Bridge with Matlock Bank, and by means of which the very steep hill which divides them is avoided.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Matley from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Matley)

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Cheshire is available to browse.

Maps

Online maps of Matley are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Cheshire papers online:

• Chester Chronicle
• Cheshire Observer
• Chester Courant

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Cheshire, 1580 is available on the Heraldry page.