In Derbyshire, Near Matlock

John Edgar Platt

In John Edgar Platt’s “Derbyshire, Near Matlock,” villagers on their daily rounds lead their horses and cart down a path toward a church, towering sandstone cliffs in the far distance illuminated by an early morning sun. To the right in the foreground, one of the figures waters his horse beside an opening in the cliff-face, likely one of the entrances to an anchorite cave. Platt captures the awe-inspiring height and airy atmosphere created by one of Britain’s most intriguing geological landscapes.

Anchorite caves, various series of caverns and tunnels carved by river currents that once housed Anchorite hermits, are found throughout the Peak District in Derbyshire, many of them along the River Trent. Records show the sandstone dwellings in use from at least from the 17th through the 19th centuries, though it is thought that they may have been used for this purpose as early as the 7th century.