St. John's Church peeps out from amongst the trees on the hillside above the row of cottages and houses in Matlock Dale.

The prospect of it being built caused quite a stir in the last decade of the nineteenth century. "A munificent gift of a church is being discussed with considerable pleasure amongst the parishioners of Matlock. This is for the isolated district of the Dale, which lies between Matlock Bridge and Matlock Bath, and the donor is understood to be Mrs. Harris, of The Rocks, Matlock Dale. The building is to be for mission services, and the plans are in the hands of Mr. Dawber, the London architect. It is believed that the work will soon be in active progress^[1]".