Hall Leys Park - Bank Road

Bank Road

Bank Road runs from Crown Square up Matlock Bank, a steep hill which gives the road its name, to Wellington Street. Although many consider the whole incline to be Bank Road, just over halfway up beyond Smedley Street the road is called Rutland Street. Bank Road has many local landmark buildings along it - from the bottom of the hill (Crown Square) travelling north:

• The Crown Hotel - the original site of the hotel which gave its name to Crown Square is now a building society office. This was built prior to 1899. The Crown is now a Wetherspoon's pub just along Bakewell Road.
• Crown Buildings, opposite the original Crown Hotel at the bottom of Bank Road, was built in 1889 and currently houses a cafe on its ground floor.
• Post Office and Sorting Office. These were built prior to 1922.
• Police Station - built after the second world war.

• Derbyshire Dales District Council Offices. Formerly Bridge Hall, then a hydro called Bridge House (established by 1861). In 1894 the Matlock Urban District Council bought Bridge House hydro for use as the Town Hall and added a large wing in the Italianate style to house an assembly room etc. It was reopened in 1898 and also housed most local authority undertakings, magistrates courts, etc. Following local government reorganisation in 1974, the Town Hall became the headquarters of West Derbyshire District Council (which later changed its name to Derbyshire Dales District Council). To enable the District Council to centralise its several offices spread over the district, the Town Hall was substantially extended in 1979.
• Our Lady & St. Joseph's Catholic Church - built in 1883 with a presbytery added in 1896. The church was described as a ‘mission’, established under St Mary’s of Derby. A church hall was built alongside in the 1990s.

• Youth Hostel - a YHA youth hostel - Built in 1882 as Smedley Memorial Hospital. There is a later (Hunter) wing with a datestone of 1897 set further back from the road. The Youth Hostel opened in 1983 and closed on 30 September 2007.
• Matlock Methodist & United Reformed Church - originally Matlock Wesleyan Chapel, and later the Trinity Methodist Church. The church was designed by C.O. Ellison of Liverpool, with additions designed by Horace G. Bradley. The neo-gothic church was originally built in 1882 without the slender steeple, which is now a landmark feature reaching above the roofs of neighbouring buildings, and, from higher levels, an elegant feature against the backdrop of the hills beyond. The Manse was built at the west of the site, fronting New Street.
• Old Sunday School which is now a B&B.
• Old Methodist Church - the Primitive Methodist congregation was founded in 1838, although the current church on Bank Road, opposite the entrance to County Hall, was rebuilt in 1856 and the adjacent School Room below was added in 1878. Until recently, the Old Methodist Church housed the Matlock Wurlitzer.

• County Hall - formerly Smedley’s Hydro is a grade II listed building which dominates Matlock Bank. The earliest (western) section seen today was built in c.1867 by Smedley. Much of today's building was added after Smedley’s death in 1874. The first phase, in 1881, included the entrance hall and staircase, now in the middle section. In 1886, the eastern section was added by architect George Statham of Nottingham. Later extensions include the tall chimney, impressive for its height on the already prominent site, along with boiler house and bath in 1894. The domed glass Winter Gardens, which housed a ballroom, and the northern block on the other side of Smedley Street were added in 1901. The northern block was linked by the unusual two storey bridge over Smedley Street. The hydro closed in 1955 and re-opened in 1956 as “County Offices”, when Derbyshire County Council moved its headquarters from St Mary’s Gate in Derby. Its name was changed to “County Hall” during the 1990s. Part of the County Hall complex is seen in Women in Love, Ken Russell's Oscar winning 1969 film. As the Brangwen sisters walk out of their house (in reality No. 80, New Street) near the beginning of the film they are seen walking towards Bank Road.
• Smedley Street traverses Bank Road. It has its own parade of shops and a post office (now closed). The east end of Smedley Street (known as Smedley Street East) is home to Laser Rail, a designer and manufacturer of rail measurement equipment now incorporated into Balfour Beatty's rail division.

• The Gate public house - There were known to have been numerous public houses on Matlock Bank, thought to have been the result of the ban on alcohol consumption within the hydros themselves, especially at Smedley’s. The whereabouts of many is no longer known. The Gate (dated 1869) was one of these, and still stands on the corner of Smedley Street and Bank Road, opposite Smedley's.

NB. Beyond Smedley Street Bank Road is actually Rutland Street.

• Rutland Court - the former Matlock House Hydro stands prominently on the east side of Rutland Street. The hydro was built in 1863 and an engraving of 1870 shows that the main block, at least that which is visible from the roadside today, is largely unaltered.
• Elmtree House - a former hydro, now 70-74 Rutland Street, was opened in 1862. It is located just to the north of the dominant Matlock House (now Rutland Court).
• The Old Tram Depot which is now a garage and car repair centre.

• Rockside Hydro - an imposing building with views across Matlock, is a grade II listed building, on higher ground above Smedley's and is distinctive for its two octagonal corner turrets with conical roofs topped by lanterns. Rockside was built circa 1860, but extended significantly by the firm of architects Parker and Unwin between 1901 and 1905, The building was also extended later in 1923 and 1928. An upper floor glazed conservatory with a glazed curved roof was added in c. 1923, and a block was added on Cavendish Road in 1928. It probably isn't so well known that during the Second World War, Rockside Hall was used as an RAF psychiatric hospital, where mentally-scarred service personnel (mostly aircrew) were rehabilitated. It was somewhat unkindly known as "Hatters Castle" by locals. The building became a hall of residence to Matlock College of Further Education in 1950 but following closure, stood empty and derelict for many years but has recently been renovated and converted into apartments. Large sections have been replaced, including the Cavendish Road block and the curved conservatory roof.