T Derwent
"Mill Churches" TrailDerbyshire Churches and Chapels
Alderwasley All Saints SK325532
All Saints was built in 1850 by Francis Edward Hurt of Alderwasley Hall in whose grounds it stands. Until 1931 it was a private chapel but, on sale of the house, it became a chapel-of-ease within Wirksworth parish. The fine Brindley & Foster organ in the north transept was given by Mr A F Hurt in 1880. Not far away is the C15 chapel of St Margaret, replaced by All Saints and left derelict for many years; it has now been restored as the village hall.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 11.00 (3rd), 6.00 (1st, 2nd, 4th & 5th)
KEY AVAILABLE: from Mrs Harrison, Sandhall Cottage, Sandhall Lane or from office of Alderwasley Hall School
T Derwent
"Mill Churches" Trail
This tiny, isolated chapel in Bradbourne parish is of Norman origin. It is literally in a field and is approached by a narrow path from a stile in the roadside wall. High on the inside west wall is a fireplace which once heated a priest's overnight room. Counterweighted brass chandeliers give a stylishly dignified touch to the interior. The C15 octagonal font is curious in having many of its decorative items upside down!
SUNDAY SERVICES: temporarily suspended
CONTACT: Tel: (01335) 390570 (Mr Castledine) or (01335) 390335 (Mrs Stafford)
Publication: The Churches of Brassington, Bradbourne & Ballidon
(street)
Bonsall is a small hill-village on the high ground west of the Heights of Abraham. With a large church, an ancient market cross and a number of good C17 and C18 houses, it was clearly once a more important place than its present remoteness would suggest; as well as being involved in the lead mining industry general to the area it also became a flourishing centre for framework knitting. The church, of C13 origin, stands in a prominent position overlooking the village. It has a C15 tower surrounded by stone crowns and gargoyles and surmounted by a magnificent spire decorated with ornamental bands. One of the pillars in the north arcade has a curious stone figure at its base known as The Bonsall Imp - a cross between a frog and a unicorn. There is much more to see, all clearly described in the information sheets available in the church. A major restoration project was initiated in 1997.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 9.30 (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th), 11.00 (2nd)
KEY AVAILABLE: from Mr Gregory, 35 Church Street
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 822896 (Team Vicar)
FLOWER FESTIVAL: 3RD WEEK JUNE
OPEN FOR WELL DRESSING: LAST W/E JULY
(street - limited)
Bradbourne All Saints (Grade I) SK208527
This church is full of interest, both inside and out. Seen from the Bradbourne Brook (to the west) the massive Norman tower on its hillside site looks like a castle keep. Close up the tower has the unusual feature of a highly ornamented C12 doorway on its south side: it may have been moved (an early conservation exercise, perhaps?) from the south wall of the nave when an aisle was built in the C13. Even older than the Norman tower is the C11 Saxon masonry of the north wall. Following the standard alterations to windows and roofs that took place during the Perpendicular period the building has remained virtually unchanged. One can only list the treasures to be found within the church: a Saxon cross, some C14/C15 glass, a C16/C17 mural, an Italian C17 oil painting of the Adoration and four carved oak panels of uncertain origin.
SUNDAY SERVICES: 11.00 (alternate weeks), 6.00
CONTACT: Tel: (01335) 390570 (Mr Castledine) or (01335) 390335 (Mrs Stafford)
Publication: The Churches of Brassington, Bradbourne & Ballidon
(in drive)
Brassington St James SK230543
The limestone hill-village enjoys a magnificent south-facing slope with spectacular views. The church is on a higher level and looks down over the old houses and narrow lanes. The tower, unusually for a Norman structure, has two buttresses on the south side - no doubt on account of the steep slope of the land in that direction. Inside there is a fine Norman south nave arcade of three bays together with (unusually) a further two bays of Norman aisle and arcading on the south side of the chancel. Within the tower is a stone carving, possibly older than the tower itself, of a naked man with his hand on his heart - "the oldest inhabitant of Brassington". On the north side of the chancel is the historic 1859 Forster & Andrews organ containing pipes and casework from an even earlier instrument. At night the church is floodlit - something worth seeing from the southern approach to the village.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 9.30 (1st, 2nd, 4th), 11.00 (3rd), 6.00 (5th)
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY, 10.00-6.00 (MAY TILL OCTOBER)
OPEN FOR BRASSINGTON WAKES: 4TH WEEK JULY
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 822896 (Team Vicar)
Publications: St James Brassington and The Churches of Brassington, Bradbourne & Ballidon
(street)
Carsington St Margaret SK253534
The small C12 chapel was completely rebuilt in the C17 - "Re-edified 1648", as the sundial on the south wall proclaims. The style is still Perpendicular - an interesting example of Gothic survival from an era not noted for its church building. The west gallery, now containing the organ, dates from 1704 and its front is heavily carved in a manner still reminiscent of Jacobean style.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 11.00
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY, 9.00 TILL DUSK
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 540392 (Mrs Brown) or (01629) 540418 (Mr & Mrs Springall)
(street)
The history of St Mary's Church, of Willersley Castle, of the mill complex and, indeed, of the whole village is linked to one figure: Sir Richard Arkwright. It was his vision that recognized the potential of the site and it was his dynamic drive that caused Cromford eventually to become a shrine, revered as a cradle of the Industrial Revolution. St Mary's was commenced by Arkwright as a chapel for the Castle but was only completed in 1797, five years after his death. The building was Gothicized in 1858 by H I Stevens. Wall paintings (at present the subject of restoration plans) and most of the stained glass are by A O Hemming (1897). There are tombs and monuments to various members of the Arkwright family.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 9.30
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 582947 (Vicar)
(public CP)
"Mill Churches" Trail
Darley (or Darley Dale) St Helen, Church Lane
SK266629
A large, cruciform church, of C13 origin though with much C15 work in evidence. The oldest of its monuments is the stone tomb of the cross-legged knight, Sir John de Darley (c1330). Later graves include those of the Manchester armaments manufacturer, Sir Joseph Whitworth, and his family, great benefactors of the village. The churchyard contains a huge yew tree with possibly the largest girth in England (33 feet in circumference).
SUNDAY SERVICES: 8.00, 10.30
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 732069 (Mrs Church) or (01629) 734257 (Rector)
Darley Dale Dale Road Methodist, Dale Road North SK274629
The stylish Gothic front of this chapel next-door to the imposing Whitworth Institute is a familiar feature on the main A6 road through the Dale. Opened in 1904, it replaced an earlier Wesleyan chapel in the area to the east known as Two Dales. It possesses an interesting 3-manual Conacher organ that came from a private residence.
SUNDAY SERVICES: 10.30, 6.30
KEY AVAILABLE: from Manse (next door) : Tel: (01629) 732228 (Minister)
Dethick St John The Baptist SK327580
This must be one of the most fascinating church locations in Derbyshire. During the C13 a manor house and adjacent chapel were built by Geoffrey Dethick. The chapel was basic, with simple lancet windows (of which two survive). By the C15 the manor had come into the possession of the Babbington family, and it was their most famous member, Anthony (of Mary Queen of Scots plot fame), who during 1530-32 set about improving the chapel. He raised the roof by adding a set of Perpendicular style clerestory windows - though still without any aisle and with no architectural division between nave and sanctuary - and built the superb tower which is such a notable feature of this small and otherwise still quite simple church. It remained a chapelry of Ashover until 1900 when it acquired its own parochial status (though the needs of the parish are nowadays generally served by the newer church at nearby Holloway). The immediate surroundings are still manorial, consisting of a cluster of historic farms through which one passes to reach the church. Once there the views are stunning - visitors are recommended to walk some of the footpaths across the fields to the south of the church in order to look back at the general ensemble.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 11.00 (monthly, on 1st Sun)
KEY AVAILABLE: from Manor Farm (next door) : Tel: (01629) 534302 (Mr. & Mrs Groom)
(on main road, not in farm lane)
A simple, lancet Gothic church of 1812, alongside the main street of a small village whose C18 cottages bear witness to its former lead-mining history. Though not large, the interior of this church always seems light and bright - an open space without galleries (though there are traces of one having been at the west end). The charming little chamber organ with a classical, pedimented case was built by Bevington & Sons in the 1850's and came from a church in St Alban's.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 8.00 HC (1st), 9.30 Family Service (2nd), 11.00 Eucharist (3rd), 6.00pm Evensong (4th), (as advertised on 5th, normally elsewhere in the team)
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY, 9.00-6.00
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 650256 (Incumbent)
(street)
Hackney Methodist, Greenaway Lane SK285623
Serving one of the numerous small communities spread along the general area of Darley Dale, the 1908 former Primitive Methodist chapel in Gothic style replaced a tiny early C19 one which can still be seen nearby. From the rear there is a fine view over the Dale.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 10.30
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 732228 (Minister)
Holloway (Or Lea & Holloway) Christ Church, Church Street SK323570
Though strictly a chapel of ease within the parish of Dethick (see above) this church has been built where most of the parishioners actually live and it now serves the major part of their needs. It is an impressive building in free Perpendicular Gothic style by P H Currey (1903), without transepts but with a massive central tower (added in 1911). The glass in the east window (1919) is a good example of the work of Louis Davis in the Arts and Crafts style. The church occupies a prominent place on the hillside; from it the views across the scenic Lea valley need to be experienced.
SUNDAY SERVICES: 8.30 (1st & 2nd), 11.00 (2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th), 3.00 (2nd & 4th)
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 534275 (Vicar)
(street) 
Holloway Trinity Methodist, Church Street SK324566
This attractive stone chapel is in lancet-Gothic style and occupies a dramatic hillside site. It originated in 1852 as one of six Wesleyan Reform chapels built by John Smedley, the local textile manufacturer, whose mill still functions in the valley below. Smedley's characteristic liturgical aspirations resulted in "churchy" structures with towers, bells and chancels - not to mention a specially devised prayer book! In 1879 the building was enlarged sideways and re-orientated internally through 90 degrees, so removing the pseudo-Anglican effect from the interior; the former "chancel" was partitioned off as a schoolroom.
SUNDAY SERVICES: 10.45 (weekly) & 6.30 (monthly, as advertised)
CHURCH OPEN: FRI 10.00-12.00 ("COFFEE & CHAT") & OFTEN AT OTHER TIMES.
KEY AVAILABLE: from house opposite;
visitors may also be shown round by Mr John Daglish Tel: (01629) 534479
(in street, but, please, not directly outside)
Idridgehay St James SK286490
This small church, only 50 feet long, on a cramped, triangular site, represents H I Stevens at his most ingenious. It was built in 1855 in C14 Gothic style and has all the features of a much larger building - nave, chancel and wide north aisle, all with high, steeply pitched roofs. The tower is to the north of the chancel, its ground floor forming the vestry; the broached spire reaches up to 94 feet. With floor space at a premium the small Bevington organ (1876) is against the north chancel wall, its bellows and pipework all cantilevered out over the single keyboard. In the churchyard is the grave of George Turner, the local artist sometimes referred to as "Derbyshire's Constable".
SUNDAY SERVICE: 11.00
CONTACT: Tel: (01773) 550138 (Mrs Hopkinson) or (01773) 550625 (Mrs White)
Publication: F Long, St James's, Idridgehay Church History
(street)
Kirk Ireton Holy Trinity, Wirksworth Rd. SK269503
The Church building is a Grade I listed building with a tower containing 4 bells. Parts of the building date back to the 12th Century and it has several interesting and unique features.
SUNDAY SERVICES:
1st Sunday 9.30 am All Age Worship
2nd Sunday 9.30 am Eucharist
3rd Sunday 6.30 pm Evensong
4th Sunday 9.30 am Eucharist
5th Sunday 9.30 am Morning Worship
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY 8.00 am – 5.00 pm
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 822858 (Vicar: Canon David Truby) or (01629) 824707 (Wirksworth Team Ministry Office)
(on street, but limited at busy times)
(hand drawn illustrated £1)
(ramp into main body of the church)
Church Web Site
Matlock Methodist & United Reformed, Bank Road/Oak Road SK301604
The former Wesleyan chapel is a substantial building in the "Arts & Crafts" Gothic style of 1904, with a fine tower and spire, prominently positioned half way up the steep Bank Road. As built the chancel had a distinctly Edwardian Anglican feel in its arrangement of holy table, choirstalls, pulpit and organ chamber. Refurbishment in 1997, however, has changed much of this: the interior is now modernized and re-arranged, with comfortable seating and full disabled facilities (including a lift).
SUNDAY SERVICES: 10.30, 6.30
CHURCH OPEN FOR LUNCH: FRI 12.00-1.30 & BY ARRANGEMENT
CHURCH OFFICE: Tel: (01629) 55809
(Fri)
Matlock Bank All Saints, Smedley Street SK298608
This might indeed have been a wonderful church had it ever been completed. What we have is a large, lofty choir completed in 1884 to a design by T H and F Healey, together with a part of a nave hastily finished in truncated form at a later date. In the east wall there are three lancets with a rose above, all with glass by William Morris to Burne-Jones designs. The organ is a grand instrument by Forster & Andrews (1886), well suited to the building.
SUNDAY SERVICES: 8.00, 10.30, 6.30
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY, 9.00-12.00
KEY AVAILABLE: from Mr Turner, 163 Smedley Street : Tel: (01629) 583906
Matlock Bath Holy Trinity SK295579
The spa village of Matlock Bath stretches along a strip of the west bank of the Derwent at a point where the valley is both narrow and steeply sided, giving it something of the character of the small towns in the Mosel Valley and its tributaries. The church, with its slender spire, dates from 1842 and is prettily situated alongside the A6 road. The chancel was extended (with a new reredos) in 1874. Much interior re-ordering and refurbishing has taken place in recent decades - a particularly unusual feature being the new Baptistry designed for adult immersion.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 10.45
CHURCH OFFICE: Tel: (01629) 583924 (Office)
Middleton-By-Wirksworth Congregational SK278560
The chapel and graveyard, in a listed conservation area, occupy an elevated site, 1,000 feet above sea level, at the top end of the steeply rising, former lead mining village; the view over the rest of Middleton and down to Wirksworth itself is very impressive. It was first built in 1786 and from this period survive the "Gothick" arch to the choir recess and the flat ceiling. Externally, however, the chapel was refashioned in the late C19 and a schoolroom was added. The prized possession is a hexagonal pulpit of c1695 from the hymn writer Philip Doddridge's Castle Hill Meeting House in Northampton. The chapel also has a fine Lloyd organ of c1880.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 2.30
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 823542 (Don Hamilton)
Middleton-By-Wirksworth Holy Trinity
SK279556
The church, on a steeply sloping site, dates from 1838 and is a simple, chapel-like structure in Perpendicular Gothic style - a single room with west gallery, an altar against the east wall and an organ in the NE corner. Like many a hillside chapel it makes good use of the terrain by having schoolrooms underneath. The organ is an excellent 2-manual instrument by Lloyd (c1885) - mothballed at present pending its hoped-for restoration when funds allow.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 11.00 (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th), 6.00 (2nd)
KEY AVAILABLE: from Burrows Farm Bungalow, New Road
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 822896 (Team Vicar)
(street)
South Darley (or Wensley) St Mary The Virgin SK267616
The church serves the communities of Darley Bridge and Wensley, on the road leading up from Darley Dale to the old lead-mining village of Winster. It dates from the 1840's and is in an attractive neo-Norman style with a chancel added in 1866. It has an east window by Morris & Co.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 9.00 (1st & 3rd), 6.30 (2nd), (4th & 5th as advertised)
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY, 9.00-6.00
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 650256 (Incumbent)
(street)
Tansley Holy Trinity, Church Street SK323599
As built in 1840 the church was a simple box with plain lancet windows, a shallow sanctuary recess and a small tower - much as it still looks when approached from the south. In 1870, however, a new north aisle was built in a more academic Gothic style and the box pews were replaced. One of the lancet windows in the south aisle contains a fine stained glass depiction of the Archangel Uriel by Ford Madox Brown, possibly of 1862 but probably a copy of early 1900s, and acquired in 1941. The bowl of the font came from the village church of Derwent, now submerged under Ladybower Reservoir. The organ, in the west gallery, contains some ranks of pipes from an early C19 barrel instrument originally in Lincolnshire.
SUNDAY SERVICES: 9.30, 6.00
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY
Publication: D Gaskell, Holy Trinity Church Tansley 1840-1990
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 534275 (Incumbent)
(street)
Church Web Site
Tansley Methodist, Church Street SK323596
The small Wesleyan chapel bears the inscription: "open'd December 25th 1829"; but the tablet has been reset suggesting a rebuild or enlargement at a later date. The chapel is set back from the street and in front is what is referred to as the "Dissenters' Graveyard".
SUNDAY SERVICES: 10.30, 6.00
KEY AVAILABLE: Caretaker lives on site
(street)
Wensley Methodist, Main Road SK265613
Like the one at Tansley this is a small Wesleyan chapel built in 1829 and enlarged in 1879. Behind the pulpit is a fine, exposed stone wall. The chapel is noted as being the birthplace of the Methodist Local Preachers' Mutual Aid Association.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 6.15 (3.00 in winter)
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 734894 (Mrs Taylor) or (01629) 732228 (Minister)
(difficult!)
Winster Methodist, East Bank SK241605
Built in 1823 (and enlarged in 1850) this is the fifth oldest Primitive Methodist chapel in the whole country. It has pews arranged in tiers. Access, however, is difficult - by footpath only from East Bank. The village (population 693) also boasts two other Methodist chapels - a Wesleyan (now a residence) and a tiny, independent Wesleyan Reform (still in use).
SUNDAY SERVICE: 2.30
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 650582 (Mr Marshall) or (01629) 732228 (Minister)
(lower down East Bank)
Winster St John The Baptist SK239606
A delightfully whimsical church of considerable architectural interest. The oldest part is the tower of 1721 in plain Georgian style with only a clock as decoration. Adjoining this is the nave, rebuilt by M Habershon in 1842 with tall, two-light Gothic windows. The most remarkable alteration came next, in 1883, when the church was widened northwards by creating two identical naves divided by an arcade of slim, elegant arches. These converge by means of diagonal arches at the east end to lead into the chancel - a truly unique architectural composition. A small, south window in the chancel, by the organ, is by Burne-Jones (1887). Local legend has it that the last public duel in England was fought in Winster churchyard.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 10.00
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY, 9.00-6.00
OPEN FOR WAKES WEEK: FROM SUN FOLLOWING 24 JUNE
CONTACT: Tel: (01629) 650256 (Vicar)
(street)
Wirksworth Baptist, Coldwell Street SK288540
Built of gritstone in 1886 and now within the Wirksworth Conservation Area, this is a well preserved example of a larger Victorian Gothic Baptist church. Steps lead up to the front porch (chair lift available from side door) leading to an interior whose sloping floor gives all seats a good view of pulpit and baptistry. Below the main church are schoolroom, classrooms and kitchen.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 10.45 + occasional 6.00 united (in rotating locations)
CHURCH OPEN: TUES 10.00-12.00 ("COFFEE FOR SHOPPERS" - MARKET DAY)
CHURCH OFFICE: Tel: (01629) 825971
(Market Place or Barmote)
Wirksworth St Mary
SK287539
Why this outstanding church is not listed Grade "A" or "I" is difficult to understand - it can only be due to the amount of "restoration" that took place at three different stages in the C19. St Mary's is a large, cruciform building standing within a cathedral-like close of old houses which surround the large churchyard. Much of it dates from C13, C14 and C15 though there are earlier fragments. For such a large church the nave, though wide, is unusually short - of only three bays. Beyond the central tower the chancel and sanctuary together are considerably longer. The transepts are also long, both having eastern aisles, and there are sizeable chapels north and south of the chancel. A Saxon stone coffin lid of c800, now in the north wall, shows scenes from the life of Christ. Another Romanesque carving shows a king and queen. Among the various monuments those of Anthony Lowe (1555) and local benefactor, Anthony Gell (1583), are particularly noteworthy. Of interest in the churchyard is the tomb of Matthew Pear, aged 109.
SUNDAY SERVICES: 8.00 (1st), 9.30, 6.00
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY, 9.00 TILL DUSK
"CLYPPING SERVICE": SUN ON OR AFTER 8 SEPTEMBER (part of historic Wirksworth Festival, traditionally associated with dedication feast of St Mary's Parish Church)
WELL DRESSING: END MAY
(street or public CP) 
