August 4

4 Saturday (217-149)
War declared on Germany, 1914
S.R. 5.27,  S.S. 8.43


We went to the Pump Gardens at Leamington spa to listen to the band. After tiffin we left for Matlock. Our first stop was at Coventry where we got into a very crowded train for Birmingham. At the Birmingham we had a long wait so we went to tea in the town. We looked at the shops, but unfortunately somewhere closed, it being Saturday afternoon. We had to wait a long time for the train to Derby. At Derby we had another long wait of and hour and a 3/4 giving us time to see the town by tram.

At last we arrived at Matlock and came straight to the Hotel Chatsworth Hydro. We found a dance going on, so joined in and danced until 11 o'clock. So every night so far, we've stayed up late.

I.H.

*Note: 
            It was renamed Chatsworth Hydro, claiming in 1920 that it had "absolutely the finest position in Matlock" and in 1926 "The Cosiest of all Hydros" advertised suites to attract permanent residents]. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Taylor had been the owners for some years, with Mrs. Taylor acting as the manageress. Mr. Taylor had business interests in both Stockport and Manchester and when he died in 1928 it was said that he had been associated with Matlock Hydros for many years. His wife died less than two months later and Chatsworth was put up for auction, though did not sell immediately. By 1932 it was under both new ownership and management.

Chatsworth continued as a hydro until the Second World War when C&A Modes, a Manchester textile firm, took it over (although it was still advertising as a hydro in Kelly's 1941 Directory). It reopened briefly as a hydro post war but was bought by Derbyshire County Council, along with Rockside, and a number of large houses in the vicinity. The sale was finalised seven months after the Council had bought Rockside. They paid £17,000 for Chatsworth. These buildings became the newly formed Matlock Teacher Training College, a highly respected institution in the town. Unfortunately for Matlock, the students moved to the Derby in 1988 when the Derby and Matlock Colleges amalgamated.