(on nearby turf)Derbyshire Churches and Chapels
Barrow-On-Trent St Wilfrid, Church Lane (Grade I) SK354284
Barrow is a small village on the north bank of the Trent. The church has a C13 north nave arcade though most of the rest is of the following century. The chancel walls protrude some distance into the nave, with squints provided each side to allow for viewing of the altar from the east ends of the aisles. There is a C14 alabaster effigy of a priest.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 10.00
KEY AVAILABLE: from Mr Woolley, 18 Hall Park
(on nearby turf)
Calke St Giles, Calke Abbey SK369224
The church is delightfully situated in the landscaped park about це-mile from the house itself. It was built in 1826 and contains tombs of the Harpur family from an earlier chapel on the site. In the west gallery is a 3-stop barrel organ by H C Lincoln (c1840). The church is now administered by the National Trust.
CHURCH OPEN: AT HOUSE OPENING TIMES, AS ADVERTISED BY NATIONAL TRUST
Melbourne Baptist, Chapel Street SK386254
Though visible from High Street through a large and mature graveyard, the main frontage of this listed building is in Chapel Street, to the east. The first chapel was built in 1750 and some original masonry may still be seen in a side wall. A major rebuilding and enlargement, with galleries, took place in 1832 with an extension in 1856 for the organ loft. The interior front end now presents a fine late 19th century ensemble; the preacher's view from the pulpit, however, is still very much that of 1832. Thomas ("Thos.") Cook, founder of the travel agency and a native of Melbourne, was a licensed Evangelist and Sunday School Superintendent here in the 1820's.
SUNDAY SERVICES: 10.30, 6.00
CONTACT: Tel: (01332) 865215 (Minister) or (01332) 863252 (Mrs Hewlett)
ANNUAL FLOWER FESTIVAL: JUNE
Publication: T J Budge, Melbourne Baptists
(in Chapel St) 
Melbourne St Michael & St Mary (Grade I)
SK389250
Save for its lamentably rebuilt and reduced chancel this is a large, complete and very lavish Norman cruciform building, dating from the mid-12th century and in a remarkable state of preservation. This, coupled with its setting amidst a "cathedral close"-like assortment of old buildings and its proximity to Melbourne Hall and Lake, makes it one of the most frequently visited churches in the county. Awareness of this important visitor responsibility is reflected (most creditably) in the well-stocked stall containing guide-books in various foreign languages.
SUNDAY SERVICES: 8.00, 10.00, 6.30
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY, 9.30-5.00 (EARLIER IN WINTER)
Publication: F Ross, Melbourne Parish Church (in full colour and available in several languages)
(Sun only) 
(Sun only)
(Sun only)
Smisby St James (Grade I) SK348191
The small village shows many signs of its mediaeval past. The earliest part of the church is the south aisle - the original Norman chapel of ease. Nave and chancel were added in the early C14 by Joan Comyn (of Smisby Manor): her alabaster effigy (1350) lies next to the C14 font. Some C16 linenfold panelling at the east end is from nearby Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle (Leicestershire). Sir Walter Scott wrote "Ivanhoe" after ascending the church tower and seeing the old tournament field in the valley between Smisby and Ashby.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 5.30
CONTACT: Tel: (01283) 217319 (Mr & Mrs Barnes)
Publication: St James Church Smisby
(street)
Stanton-By-Bridge St Michael (Grade I) SK367271
The Bridge in question, of course, is the half-mile long mediaeval Swarkeston Bridge over the Trent - a magnificently hazardous obstacle course for traffic! The church contains both Saxon and Norman masonry in the nave. The rest is later C13. Interesting monuments include a recess with an effigy of a priest (c1400) and an alabaster slab to William Sacheverell (1558).
SUNDAY SERVICES: no information
CONTACT: Tel: (01332) 864707 (Mr Jenkins)
(street)
Ticknall Methodist, Chapel Street SK354241
Deep red brick former Wesleyan chapel, built in 1815, with Flemish shaped gable at the front and a double row of square sash windows all round. As a listed building it is an important element in a most attractive early C19 estate village created by the Harpur-Crewes of nearby Calke Abbey (NT), now a conservation area. Even more exciting is the interior - a delightfully preserved late Georgian ensemble with original galleries on three sides, rostrum and pulpit. Only the downstairs pews have been renewed. The chamber organ, with its "Gothick" case, dates from 1841 and was acquired from another chapel.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 6.00 (3.00 in winter)
CONTACT: Tel: (01332) 863958 (Mr Adams)
(public CP at village hall)
Ticknall St George SK351241
Ticknall is an attractive estate village, now a conservation area, linked to nearby Calke Abbey. Fragments of the original church still remain in the churchyard south of the present building - the latter being to a large and well proportioned Perpendicular Gothic design by H I Stevens (1842). Inside, from the old church, are the recessed effigy of a civilian and an incised slab to a knight, both of the C14. The historic organ was installed by J W Walker in 1869.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 9.30
CONTACT: Tel: (01332) 862647 (Mrs Hirst)
(street) "Estate
Churches" Trail
Twyford St Andrew (Grade I) SK328287
Until 1963 the village street led to a chain ferry over the Trent, but it is now just a cul-de-sac. The village itself, with a population of little over 100, is merely a cluster of houses by the river bank. The church has much to offer: Norman chevroned chancel arch, C13 tower, C14 chancel, C15 spire and - if that were not enough - a nave that was refashioned in the C18 with red brick outer facing walls and round-headed windows. Monuments inside reflect local families - the Harpurs (of Calke) and Vernons (of Sudbury). The small organ, with a mid C19 case reflecting the Norman chancel arch, is said to contain some pipes of a 1790 instrument.
SUNDAY SERVICE: 11.00 or 4.00 (alternately)
CHURCH OPEN: DAILY (otherwise key from The Grange, next door)
Publication: The Church of Saint Andrew Twyford
(Church Lane or Riverside)
(in The Grange)