Over the central doorway are carved the words:
"TO THE GLORY OF GOD"
Below this is a plaque and the text is in capital letters:
These
Almshouses
are built,
and as a memorial of
her beloved brother
Wm. HARRISON M.D., of
Dean Hill House, Matlock, by his
sister Margaret HARRISON, to
provide rest for the aged poor".
Harrison Almshouses, Matlock Green
Harrison Almshouses, in Matlock Green, were endowed in 1898
by Margaret Harrison in memory of her brother William.
They were originally called Dean Hill Almshouses,
and consisted of 6 houses, with 3 rooms each, housing
2 couples and 4 single people (all female), ages ranging from 60 to 79.
The Almshouses were built next to Deans Hill House (where Miss Harrison
lived), on land once owned by her.
See a cutting from the
High Peak News dated 22 Oct 1898
William Doxey was the architect for the
Almshouses, and Mr England represented the builders Messrs Groome & Co.
(see High Peak News 26 June 1897)
The Almshouses were intended "to provide rest for the aged poor".
Widows, spinsters or an approved married couple, not less than 60 years old,
were preferred.
They had to provide a testimonial of good character signed by three
well-known respectable inhabitants of Matlock. Preference was given to
people who had once been comfortably off, but were:
"... reduced through misfortune only and who have been regular
attendants at some place of Protestant Christian worship".
Residents were expected to be "clean and tidy in their persons,
regular in their habits, civil and obliging to each other, and
not to be guilty of noisy or quarrelsome conduct".
However, two single sisters living in Almshouse No.3
(Catherine and Emma Else)
were described as "troublesome and ungrateful". A doctor
said that the shock of moving them to Bakewell workhouse would probably
kill them both, and the sisters were still there in 1901.
Margaret Harrison (1838-?) lived at Dean Hill House,
next to the Almshouses, and had them built to
commemorate her brother William, JP, MD (1829-c1897).
Their parents were also called William and Margaret,
and the children were born at Gargrave in N Yorkshire.
(Gargrave is just NW of Skipton and near Leeds).
William Harrison was a widower and retired physician when he came to
Matlock Green before 1881 to live with his unmarried sister. Margaret
lived on an Annuity, and they were comfortably off with two servants,
a cook and a housemaid. By 1891 William was a Justice of the Peace,
but died before 1897.
Entries in the Matlock census are:
1881,
1891,
1901 and
Almshouses in 1901
Handed down through the author's family is a bible, embossed:
"In Commemoration of Sixty Year's Reign,V.R.,1837-1897"
Inside on the flyleaf is elegantly written:
"William Doxey from Miss Harrison,
In memory of the laying of the Foundation Stone of the Dean Hill Almshouses
on Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Day June 22, 1897"
William Doxey was the author's GGFather 1838-1906.
William trained as a joiner and became Clerk of the Works
at Smedley's Hydro, Matlock. He was a miner when married
and also built several houses in New Street.
William was involved in planning the steep-gradient tramway.
He married twice and died of pneumonia at 68, caught waiting for a train.
Dates:
Photo taken:
Size:
Source:
Click on photo for enlargement (on CD only)
Have any more information about this photo?
Please e-mail the author on:
-
Harrison Almshouses, in Matlock Green, were endowed in 1898
by Margaret Harrison in memory of her brother William.
They were originally called Dean Hill Almshouses,
and consisted of 6 houses, with 3 rooms each, housing
2 couples and 4 single people (all female), ages ranging from 60 to 79.
The Almshouses were built next to Deans Hill House (where Miss Harrison
lived), on land once owned by her.
See a cutting from the High Peak News dated 22 Oct 1898
William Doxey was the architect for the Almshouses, and Mr England represented the builders Messrs Groome & Co. (see High Peak News 26 June 1897)
The Almshouses were intended "to provide rest for the aged poor". Widows, spinsters or an approved married couple, not less than 60 years old, were preferred. They had to provide a testimonial of good character signed by three well-known respectable inhabitants of Matlock. Preference was given to people who had once been comfortably off, but were: "... reduced through misfortune only and who have been regular attendants at some place of Protestant Christian worship". Residents were expected to be "clean and tidy in their persons, regular in their habits, civil and obliging to each other, and not to be guilty of noisy or quarrelsome conduct". However, two single sisters living in Almshouse No.3 (Catherine and Emma Else) were described as "troublesome and ungrateful". A doctor said that the shock of moving them to Bakewell workhouse would probably kill them both, and the sisters were still there in 1901.
Margaret Harrison (1838-?) lived at Dean Hill House, next to the Almshouses, and had them built to commemorate her brother William, JP, MD (1829-c1897). Their parents were also called William and Margaret, and the children were born at Gargrave in N Yorkshire. (Gargrave is just NW of Skipton and near Leeds).
William Harrison was a widower and retired physician when he came to Matlock Green before 1881 to live with his unmarried sister. Margaret lived on an Annuity, and they were comfortably off with two servants, a cook and a housemaid. By 1891 William was a Justice of the Peace, but died before 1897.
Entries in the Matlock census are: 1881, 1891, 1901 and Almshouses in 1901
Handed down through the author's family is a bible, embossed:
"In Commemoration of Sixty Year's Reign,V.R.,1837-1897"
Inside on the flyleaf is elegantly written:
"William Doxey from Miss Harrison,
In memory of the laying of the Foundation Stone of the Dean Hill Almshouses
on Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Day June 22, 1897"
William Doxey was the author's GGFather 1838-1906. William trained as a joiner and became Clerk of the Works at Smedley's Hydro, Matlock. He was a miner when married and also built several houses in New Street. William was involved in planning the steep-gradient tramway. He married twice and died of pneumonia at 68, caught waiting for a train.
Dates:
Photo taken:
Size:
Source:
Click on photo for enlargement (on CD only)
Have any more information about this photo?
Please e-mail the author on:
Click on photo for enlargement (on CD only)
Have any more information about this photo?
Please e-mail the author on: