High Matlock Woods Rifle Range

[Orreet]

Hello everyone, this is my first post so please bear with me.

As a child me and my friends would play in High Matlock Woods, some know them as Loxley Woods. At the base of the cliffs, there are the remains of walls and buildings, my dad used to call them the rifle range, and this is what they are shown as in some maps. And while some of the remains do look like a rifle range. The rest further down the hill look like a seperate phase, they maybe remnants from quarrying or mining, I would love to know what they were. Has anyone got any further imformation.

Pic 1 shows what must be the wall of the rifle range.

Pic2 shows the back of this wall. There used to be a concrete bunker in this trench, which we used to play in.

Pic3 shows the remains further down the hill. These are two of three walls that run parallel to each other.

Pic4 shows what looks like the back wall of a substantial building, with a series of rooms. Two rooms look like they have cellars.

Pic5 shows the front yard of this building, with the remains of a privet hedge.

Thanks everyone.

[huthwaite]

Hi, in the 1855 map of the area, there is a quite large building called "Woodland Cottage", above and to the right was a sandstone quarry and below and to the left were coal pits.

[Orreet]

Hi, in the 1855 map of the area, there is a quite large building called "Woodland Cottage", above and to the right was a sandstone quarry and below and to the left were coal pits.

Hi, thanks for the imfo. There are many earthworks and field walls in the woods, youve got to think that the woodland isnt that old. And if you could see the land without the trees, you would see an vast industrial lanscape.

[Guest peter spooner]

the first wall shown is a target bank ,just have a little dig behind the target raisers <pic 2> and you will find loads of rifle & small arms bullet heads! there was a small moving trolley at one point on rails but every thing is now rusting fast

[Guest lebourg]

Hi

I also used to play there as a kid.

Think there was the ruins of an old cottage there also.

Map 288 of the maps on this site show the rifle range and buts.

Later I used to belong to the railways shooting club which was situated in the railway arches at Bridgehouses.

One of the guys told me he used to shoot on that range but they closed it when a walker got accidentally shot.

It was used for .303 rifle shooting.