† St Mary
4m/6km N. of Burton upon Trent
OS SK233296 GPS 52.8637N, 1.6551W
St Mary sits in a flat plain near the confluence of the Dove and the Trent. It has a fine recessed 14th-century steeple, 13th-century chancel and 14th-century nave. The interior is spacious, as the N. aisle was given an upper storey in the 15th century. The 19th-century organ came from Sudbury Hall. The church has the oldest bell in the county, cast in 1366.
MELBOURNE
† St Michael and St Mary
7m/11km S. of Derby
OS SK389249 GPS 52.8211N, 1.4242W
A singularly ambitious cruciform Norman church of c. 1130 with twin W. towers and taller crossing tower and lofty stone-vaulted narthex. Traces of the original apses can be seen at the E. end. The Norman bishops of Carlisle made this their seat when their own city was threatened by the Scots, and it reflects their status. An austere and noble interior is rich with Norman carving, with monumental circular piers, stilted arches, and much zigzag. The crossing is even better: carved capitals depicting the ‘Melbourne Cat’ and a Sheela-na-Gig. Fragments of paintings can be seen on the W. piers.
REPTON: ST WYSTAN – the alabaster figure of a 14th-century knight at the north-east end of the nave, by the stairway to the crypt
MONYASH † St Leonard
4m/6km W. of Bakewell
OS SK151664 GPS 53.1951N, 1.7748W
Beneath the high moors, the church is built of attractive contrasting stone. It is cruciform, though on a small scale, the N. transept being originally a chantry. Of the 13th and 14th century, the earliest features are the chancel arch, sedilia and piscina. Butterfield restored the church in 1887, rebuilding the N. transept on its old foundations. The 10ft-long parish chest is believed to be from the 13th century.
MORLEY † St Matthew
4m/6km N.E. of Derby
OS SK396409 GPS 52.9643N, 1.4109W
A spired country church among lawns and trees outside the village, with an attractive 18th-century rectory. W. of the church is the beautiful Bateman Mausoleum, 1897, by G. F. Bodley. Inside, there is golden light and much texture. The S. nave arcade is Norman; the rest 14th- and 15th-century. The glass, from Dale Abbey, was made in 1482. Fascinating brasses, monuments and incised slabs tell 500 years of family history, mainly of the Stathums, Sacheverells and Babingtons; Katherine Babington, d. 1543, is the best.
NORBURY † St Mary and St Barlok
4m/6km S.W. of Ashbourne
OS SK125423 GPS 52.9788N, 1.8145W
This small church occupies a quiet, leafy setting above the River Dove, close by the manor with its late 13th-century hall. The church has a splendid 14th-century chancel – spacious and wide, with the windows fine and tall. Much of the original glass survives, with patterns and heraldry in grisaille and soft colours. In the chancel are altar tombs of the Fitzherberts, with good effigies and enchanting figures of weepers; a bedesman sits under Sir Ralph’s foot.
REPTON: ST WYSTAN – the Saxon crypt, with vaulted ceiling and barley-twist pillars
RADBOURNE † St Andrew
4m/6km W. of Derby
OS SK286359 GPS 52.9206N, 1.5760W
St Andrew’s is in Radbourne Park and has a fine old yew tree in the churchyard. Small and mainly of the 13th and 14th centuries, there is a mixture on the S. side of Tudor windows and an 18th-century porch. The zigzagged sedilia has a bishop’s crozier marked on the shaft. The medieval benches came from Dale Abbey. Pole monuments and hatchments are proudly displayed.
REPTON † St Wystan
5m/8km N.E. of Burton upon Trent
OS SK303271 GPS 52.8412N, 1.5516W
A graceful spire marks this fine church, which sits by an old priory arch leading to the school – a satisfying group in a pleasant country town with market cross. The church has all types of architecture from the 8th century to the 15th, but the most exciting part is the Saxon chancel and, beneath it, the crypt, discovered accidentally in the 18th century. Winding stairways lead down to the crypt; it has a rough stone vault and pillars wreathed with barley twists.
RISLEY † All Saints
2m/3km N.W. of Long Eaton
OS SK461357 GPS 52.9168N, 1.3158W
Of curious and delightful appearance, there is some confusion over the actual dates of All Saints. Suffice it to say that the church owes its existence to the Willoughby family who lived in Risley Hall from the 16th century. The tower, topped with outside crocketed pinnacles, has a tipsy lean. The N. aisle and vestry were added in the 1841 restoration. Inside are hatchments and painted commandment boards.
SANDIACRE † St Giles
2m/3km N. of Long Eaton
OS SK480372 GPS 52.9307N, 1.2873W
Set on a hill, with the industry of the Erewash valley below, the church has a memorable silhouette – a high Norman nave and still higher Decorated chancel of almost cathedral proportions, with tall pinnacled buttresses. Inside, the same contrast; the simple whitewashed nave, robust Norman chancel arch, and breathtaking chancel, bathed in light, with star and leaf shapes in the tracery, and richly ornamented sedilia and piscina.
SAWLEY † All Saints
Adjoins Long Eaton, 7m/13km S.E. of Derby
OS SK472313 GPS 52.8777N, 1.2994W
An avenue of limes leads from the main road to this church, which stands on a small rise by the river. It is mostly 13th- and 14th-century with Perpendicular flourishes. The dignified Perpendicular chantry chapel, like a domestic bay window, is panelled and vaulted inside, with the tomb of John Bothe, d. 1496.
TIDESWELL: ST JOHN THE BAPTIST – 19th-century carving of Zacharias, John’s father
STEETLEY † All Saints Chapel
2m/3km W. of Worksop
OS SK543787 GPS 53.3027N, 1.1858W
J. L. Pearson brought this astonishingly complete showpiece of a small Norman church of nave, chancel and apse back to life. Built about 1160, it was left roofless after the Commonwealth, standing alone in the fields. Inside, the vaulted apse, lavishly decorated nave and chancel arches, the capitals scalloped, or carved with leaves, animals and people, all create a delight that J. Charles Cox described as ‘the most perfect and elaborate specimen of Norman architecture to be found anywhere in Europe’.
TADDINGTON † St Michael
5m/8km W. of Bakewell
OS SK141711 GPS 53.2373N, 1.7898W
The moor drops down sharply to the church and village and the Dale below. This handsome church