CofE: Church Heritage Records

Church Heritage Record

Derby Cathedral

Diocese of Derby

Cathedral, 612001

Grade I listed building

Historic England ID: 1228277

Post Medieval

http://www.derbycathedral.org

Grid reference: SK 352 365

The town of Derby became prosperous almost overnight with the Enlightenment, when it witnessed the first stirrings of the Industrial Revolution. Close to the church was Britain’s earliest factory, a water-powered silk mill. The tombstone of local painter Joseph Wright of Derby is mounted on the wall. Wright mixed with other influential eighteenth century scientists, intellectuals and industrialists and is famous for his paintings of industrial experiments. In the 1720s the parishioners pulled down their church, leaving only the fine 1530s tower, and with their new industrial wealth James Gibbs built a broad single-storey church with large round-headed windows that still flood the church with light and confidence. Later the Industrial Revolution moved elsewhere, though wealth returned in the nineteenth century, in part from the railways, and Derby Parish Church became a cathedral in 1927. Just as in Gibbs’s St Martin-in-the-Fields, tall Doric columns divide the nave from the aisles and ground the undulating groin vaulting. Most exquisite is the 1730s gilded wrought iron screen by local smith Robert Bakewell. Traversing the whole church, it has been described as ‘delicate as lace and intricate as a fugue’. The screen’s blue and gold are picked up in Ceri Richards’s twentieth-century stained glass windows. Four-times-married Bess of Hardwick has a monument in the church, setting a trend for later Cavendishes including Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. In the late 1960s Sebastian Comper added the retro choir, designed by his father Sir Ninian Comper that harmonises well with Gibbs’s building. It was at Derby Cathedral in spring 2014 that the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund.

Visiting and facilities

Building is open for worship

Building

Ground Plan Description and Dimensions

Footprint of Church buildings: 1521 m²

Building Fabric and Features

Bell Tower (monument)

1678 Derby Cathedral hosts the oldest ring of ten bells in the world. The largest is nearly 500 years old, and weighs 965 kg. The number of bells increased from six to ten in 1678.

Commemorative Monument

18th Century The south chancel chapel, or Cavendish chapel, houses monuments to: - Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury (known as 'Bess of Hardwick') dating to 1607. -Caroline Countess of Bessborough dating to 1760, by Rysbrack. -Her husband, the 2nd Earl dating to 1793 by Nollekens. -Thomas Chambers dating to 1726 and wife dating to 1735 by Roubiliac. - Richard Bateman dating to 1822 by Chantrey. Mary Elizabeth Chichester dating to 1830 by Sir Richard Westmacott.

Building Materials

Sandstone

1511

Ashover Grit

Interior

Fixtures and fittings

Clock

20th Century Clock with cast iron flat bed frame located in Tower made by JohnSmith & Sons from Derby in 1927

Historical Notes

1927 - 1927

Period Qualifier: 2

Bells

D♭

Nominal: 557 Hz Weight: 2129 lbs Diameter: 51.13" Bell 1 of 11

Founded by Richard I Seliok

Dove Bell ID: 2034 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No

F

Nominal: 1408 Hz Weight: 646 lbs Diameter: 29" Bell 2 of 11

Founded by William Noone 1678

Dove Bell ID: 18232 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No

E♭

Nominal: 1251 Hz Weight: 676 lbs Diameter: 30.5" Bell 3 of 11

Founded by William Noone 1687

Dove Bell ID: 18233 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No

D♭

Nominal: 1116 Hz Weight: 747 lbs Diameter: 32" Bell 4 of 11

Founded by William Noone 1693

Dove Bell ID: 18234 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No

C

Nominal: 1054 Hz Weight: 714 lbs Diameter: 32.5" Bell 5 of 11

Founded by Daniel Hedderly

Dove Bell ID: 18235 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No

B♭

Nominal: 939 Hz Weight: 891 lbs Diameter: 35.38" Bell 6 of 11

Founded by George I Oldfield 1620

Dove Bell ID: 18236 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No

A♭

Nominal: 833 Hz Weight: 1135 lbs Diameter: 39.13" Bell 7 of 11

Founded by Henry II Oldfield 1607

Dove Bell ID: 18237 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: quarter Cracked: No

G♭

Nominal: 744 Hz Weight: 1478 lbs Diameter: 42.13" Bell 8 of 11

Founded by George I Oldfield 1629

Dove Bell ID: 18238 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No

F

Nominal: 703 Hz Weight: 1339 lbs Diameter: 41.88" Bell 9 of 11

Founded by George I Oldfield 1632

Dove Bell ID: 18239 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No

E♭

Nominal: 627 Hz Weight: 1973 lbs Diameter: 48" Bell 10 of 11

Founded by George I Oldfield 1655

Dove Bell ID: 18240 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No

Diameter: 12.88" Bell 11 of 11

Founded by J Smith 1875

Dove Bell ID: 18241 Tower ID: 16607 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No

Churchyard

Grid reference: SK 352 365

Burial and War Grave Information

The church/building is not consecrated.

The churchyard has been used for burial.

The churchyard is not used for burial.

The churchyard is closed for burial by order in council.

The churchyard does not have any war graves.

National Heritage record for England designations

Designation Type Name Grade
Listed Building Two Posts At West End Of College Place II

Environment

Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees

Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.

To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.

There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.

Renewables

Renewable Installed
Solar PV Panels No
Solar Thermal Panels No
Biomass No
Wind Turbine No
Air Source Heat Pump No

Species summary

There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.

Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.

To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.

'Seek advice' Species

More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.

Common Name Scientific Name Recorded Yet? Blurred Species? Last Recorded
Great Crested Newt
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Triturus cristatus No No None
Natterjack Toad
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Epidalea calamita No No None
Sand Lizard
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Lacerta agilis No No None
Common Lizard
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Zootoca vivipara No No None
Adder
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Vipera berus No No None
Grass Snake
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Natrix helvetica No No None
Smooth Snake
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Coronella austriaca No No None
Slow-worm
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Anguis fragilis No No None
Eurasian Red Squirrel
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Sciurus vulgaris No No None
Eurasian Badger
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Meles meles No Yes None
Hazel Dormouse
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Muscardinus avellanarius No Yes None
Swift
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Apus apus No Yes None
House Martin
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Delichon urbicum No No None
Bat
(NBN Atlas opens in a new tab)
Chiroptera No Yes None

Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.

To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.