Landscape record MDR9952 - Derwent Pleasure Gardens, Matlock Bath

Derwent Pleasure Gardens, including romantic 'Gothick' grottoes and cave built of tufa stone in the 19th century. (1) Derwent Gardens were laid out during the 1890s as a private enterprise featuring a switchback. They were acquired by Matlock Council in the mid 20th century and remain in local authority ownership. The gardens have gravel paths, lawns and beds edged with small boulders in a layout of the late 20th century which incorporates a range of earlier features. A fountain of 19th century date lies c. 70m south of the entrance. It rises from a central mound of rustic tufa in the centre of an informal pool. A path along the west side of the site runs beneath a wooded tufa bank past an elaborate tufa grotto with an openwork parapet, c. 10m south-west of the entrance. A second tufa grotto, c. 40m to the south, is a simple arched recess with tufa within it which was probably fed by a spring. The path continues southwards past a small tufa alcove set into the bank and continues to a fountain from which water falls over a rustic stepped cascade to a pool, c. 200m south of the entrance. These grottoes and fountains are the restored remains of a system of water features and grottoes fed by thermal spring water which were created during the late 19th century. A mid-20th century shelter lies c. 120m south of the entrance. (2)