 On 10 December 1965, heavy rain caused major flooding in Derbyshire, leading to three fatalities, including a 58-year-old railway worker, George Ellis, who was found dead in Bentley Brook in Matlock, two days after he had last been seen attempting to cross a flooded car park bordering the Brook.As W. Adam summarized this article in 1861, "We cannot help remarking on the terrible effects produced by this stream, when swollen into a mighty torrent.But of how much utility is this little busy stream in its gentleness, in turning so many mills, giving employment to so many busy hands, and thus in many ways contributing its quota of benefit to the well-being of man."