Building record MDR12644 - Former United Methodist Church, Imperial Road, Matlock Town

There is a United Methodist Church and Sunday School situated here on the 3rd edition OS map. (1) There is a United Methodist Church at Matlock Bridge. (2) The former church in Imperial Road, next to what was the Town Hall bowling green, has not been used for religious purposes for quite a long time. It is now known as the Imperial Rooms and used as a community centre [?1996]. The church was registered for solemnizing marriages from May 1912 until February 1966, when the registration was cancelled. (3) At the bottom of the hill, on Imperial Road, stands the former United Methodist Free Church built in 1912 but closed in 1977. Along with the Sunday School and an extension between the two, it is now the Imperial Rooms, headquarters for Matlock Town Council, with rooms for community use on the same site as Matlock Town Hall. It was used as a magistrates court for a number of years. The church is essentially a late example of the Gothic Revival, with prominent reticulated traceried windows reminiscent of the Decorated style. The church has a tower, and its clay-tiled chunky steeple hints at an Arts and Crafts influence. Together with the Town Hall the combined site offers a medley of architectural styles, and although the setting of the buildings has been overtaken by large areas of car parking, the buildings themselves maintain a sense of their civic importance. (4)