St Anne's Church, Baslow

Once again we were fortunate to find a church open.  I think this time it was because there had probably been a mid-week morning service and a few parishioners were in the vestry.  However, when they left the spot lights were switched off, which was understandable, but meant that together with the dull day it was harder to take good photos. At least we were not asked to leave so there was time to look around and sit for a while.

The church is dedicated to St. Anne who was the mother of B.V. Mary and the grandmother of Jesus. One of the stained glass windows in the church depicts her. The church was restored in 1852 so much of the interior is from the Victorian period. The chancel was rebuilt in 1911.

The oldest parts of the church are the 13th century tower and the north aisle which was originally the nave of the church.  Outside steps lead into the bell tower where there are 6 bells, the oldest  dated 1620. The Victorian clock was made by John Smith of Derby.  The face shown above bears the date 1759 whilst another on the east side reads VICTORIA 1897 in place of the usual numerals.

The graveyard is extensive and many grave stones and memorials are located at the top of a bank with the river below.

an unusual coffin-shaped grave stone

Next to the church is the rectory/vicarage.

(above) the steps and shaft of an old cross

There's a sanctuary knocker on the wooden inner door.

A 13th century sepulchral slab with floriated cross and two keys probably commemorates a person who had a double position in the household of an important local family and has been incorporated into the stone fabric of the porch.

This inscribed lead plaque reflects the fact that lead mining was a major industry in the area.  Smelting was done on the hills east of the river and several families were involved in this industry. 

Fragments from the old church that were found during rebuilding have also been placed into the stone walls of the porch.

I did not go beyond the nave into the chancel.  There are wood carvings done by Advent Hunstone of Tideswell on the choir stalls and on furniture near the altar.

a bronze lectern in the shape of an eagle and an alabaster pulpit

Looking at the memorial stained glass windows you get a sense of the personages who not only were connected with the church, but were also members of the village community.

This window in the north aisle depicts St Luke the Physician and St Martin of Tours and is in memory of Edward Mason Wrench (1833-1912), doctor of Baslow for 50 years.  Dr Wrench was also physician to the Duke of Devonshire at nearby Chatsworth House.

1914-1918 war memorial photos on the window shelf

St Anne with B.V. Mary at the top, St. Hilda Abbess of Whitby and St. Aiden, Bishop.  This window is in memory of John Tasker, director of a family engineering company in Sheffield.  He was a pioneer in electricity generation and telephones.  He installed a telephone exchange in Windsor Castle for Queen Victoria and used electricity to light the church and his house from a generator installed in Calver Road flour mill.

(above) windows in the north aisle

This window shows St Matthew and St. Mark and is in memory of Charles Elliott, a chemist and druggist.  The Elliotts were a prominent family and also local farmers.

This window in the south aisle 

The Good Shepherd

in memory of Reverend Jeremiah Stockdale, vicar of the parish for 48 years

(above and below) windows in the south aisle

St Luke and St John.  Isabel, the daughter of Joseph Wilson who was a headmaster at Sheffield Grammar School is remembered in this window.  He had three unmarried daughters.  Elizabeth is remembered in one of the clerestory windows and the lychgate entrance to the church was constructed in memory of another daughter, Mary.  The clerestory windows are also interesting. There are no photos of them as they're high up, but each one has initials and were installed in remembrance of villagers and include a local innkeeper, a grocer, supplier of bread and a blacksmith.

the font near the curtained south porch door

the organ and west window

the west window

In memory of Lord Henry Manners, Duke of Rutland. The Manners family had been lord and lady of the manor of Baslow for generations and retained a close interest in the village. Henry who died in 1857 contributed to the restoration of the church.

An embroidered picture of St. Anne and her daughter, Mary, who is reading scripture from a scroll.

Another day out in Derbyshire

Yesterday we decided to take a day out in Derbyshire despite the dull weather.  We could have enjoyed our time anywhere in the county, but we decided on the village of Baslow driving through the Longshaw Estate, an area of moorland and woodland which is part of the larger National Trust Peak District Estate, to get there. We saw a small herd of  red deer, but didn't stop to take a photo of them.  

  

However, we did stop so that I could take a photo of this curious pole.  It's an old way marker called the Wooden Pole which was used by travellers often with their pack horses who used the tracks across the moorland in the 1700s. It's not the original, but still very interesting.  The National Trust  replaces it when necessary.

Nether Edge end of the village of Baslow looking towards the trees of Goose Green (village green) beyond the field.

Baslow is situated on the edge of Chatsworth Park and lies on the banks of the river Derwent.  All around there are fields and woods so lots of greenery at this time of the year.  We were spoilt for choice where to go for our 54th wedding anniversary celebration lunch as there are several hotels, pubs, cafés and individual restaurants. There are some small shops, although we didn't visit any of them this time as we were intending to take a look in the church before we went to the restaurant that I had researched on line beforehand. We parked up by the church which is built close to the river bank next to a fascinating old bridge.

The old bridge was built around 1603. It replaced a wooden bridge. There were few crossing places over the river Derwent in early times therefore this bridge was much used. Another called New Bridge was only erected in 1925.

This small stone building with a slate roof built into the bridge was a watchman's hut. Able bodied men of the village were expected to keep watch over who entered the village by way of the bridge during night time hours.  The main road through the village was owned by the Turnpike Trust who administered tolls to use it. Documents show that the actual place for collecting the fee was nearby and close to the church by the church lych gate. The little stone hut could also have been used by the toll keeper as a shelter in bad weather.

Typical stone cottages by the river are located in the oldest part of the village.  Further on are some thatched cottages.

Farm barns are situated right in the heart of the village. 

The Italian restaurant where we had lunch.

Next time I'll write about St Anne's Church which we were able to enter and take a look around.

Bamford Village Sculpture Trail

Today I'm looking back to the day we went out into the Derbyshire countryside. We stopped off in the village of Bamford which is close to Ladybower Reservoir as I wanted to take some photos of  a sculpture located on the village green. There are other sculptures dotted around the edge of the village representing the elements of  Air, Water, Earth and Fire that are part of a walking trail in the area. (I posted about one of them that's situated by Ladybower Reservoir some time ago - link here). The sculptures were made by the local community with the help of a local artist to commemorate the Millennium and each one depicts aspects of the village and surrounding area. Individual clay models were created by local families and then sculpted together by the artist to produce intricate designs. Rubber moulds were made of each sculpture to enable a hard mixture of resin and stone to be poured in so that they would be hard wearing. Seeing them today it's good that they've retained their form which is meant to resemble natural gritstone columns that can be seen in the Dark Peak area of the Pennines. The colours have been well chosen so that the sculptures look natural in the different settings around the area. 

 The message around  the top of the sculpture says

Let there be love in our lives,

delight in the good,

respect for the earth,

peace for its people.

If you look at all the detail it's possible to see natural elements, hills and dales, reservoirs, local farming and industry, walkers, rock climbers and cyclists, as well as well known local landmarks and historical events. The Celtic symbol is included on all of the sculptures.

Ashopton village was demolished in 1940s to make way for the filling of Ladybower Reservoir.  The other village that was demolished was Derwent village, located in the Upper Derwent Valley and now under the water in the Derwent Reservoir although sometimes when there has been a drought and the water level has been low some of the ruins can still be seen jutting out of the water.  The Ashopton Viaduct can also be seen on the sculpture along with the former buildings that were also demolished so that the viaduct could be built.

Ashopton Viaduct, Ladybower and Derwent Reservoirs taken at different times. The Viaduct connects the road from Sheffield through the narrow Snake Pass which is one of the routes that can be taken to get to Greater Manchester, although not recommended during icy and snowy conditions when it's often closed to most traffic.

Back through Bamford Village after our outing to Foolow in Derbyshire.