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December 31, 2022

northernvicarwalks Sep to Dec 2022

To be honest, Northern Vicar doesn’t walk much between September and December 2022. A routine blood test led to a cancer diagnosis, which led to major surgery at the end of November. The Chaplains at The Christie Hospital in Manchester came to see me (thank you), but I didn’t manage to go and blog the hospital chapel. In September we marked the passing of Her Majesty The Queen and the proclamation of the reign of King Charles III. I often moan about the Church of England centrally, but they were excellent in producing material for prayer and reflection as...
Categories Derbyshire/Personal/Railway History/Scotland Comments: 2
June 29, 2022

Derby, Normanton – St Giles

On Thursday 16 June 2022, the Feast of Corpus Christi, Deanery Chapter was at St Giles, Normanton – a church of a very different tradition to mine (you won’t find baptisms, weddings or funerals on their website – http://stgiles-derby.org.uk/). This church building dates to 1862, with additions in 1902/3. It was designed by F.J. Robinson, and built on the site of a Saxon church. In 2010 the pews were removed which gives a lovely flexible space, but what angered me was the focus of the church. The altar is blocked off behind noticeboards so we face a preacher, an...
Categories Derbyshire/World War 1 Comments: 3
May 31, 2022

northernvicarwalks – May 2022

May 2022, and I am actually blogging it on the last day of the month! It has been a month with the Peace Doves in Derby Cathedral – an installation by the artist Peter Walker, 8,000 doves (all made locally by schools, organisations, etc). Quite gorgeous – and the Cathedral servers are now carrying lamps in procession instead of lighted candles (can’t think why!). I have the pleasure of precenting Evensong about once a week – always a pleasure. I even managed some walking this month – bluebells in Allestree Park and at Renishaw. My first train ride –...
Categories Derbyshire/Railway History Comments: 0
May 27, 2022

Derby – St Anne’s

St Anne’s church on Whitecross Street is a typical High Church built in 1871-72 for the expanding town. Despite being a near-neighbour, it is under the Bishop of Ebbsfleet and I had never been in until an organ recital on Monday 28 March 2022. The original design was by Ordish and Traylen – rather depressing that when you search for them, nearly all the references are to churches they built that are now closed. I need to get a photo from a distance – from close up it is rather unprepossessing, though the side door is rather fun –...
Categories Derbyshire Comments: 4
May 27, 2022

Kirk Langley, Derbyshire – St Michael’s

St Michael Kirk Langley is at SK286388, just south of the main road. It is mainly C14, with a couple of Victorian restorations. Fascinating roof line, all bits and pieces out together – I like what I assume is a Victorian chimney. A rather wonderful memorial on the outside south wall. The main door is the west door, and I failed to get a photo of the interior of the church. I did look up to the roof. The font is C13 with a C17 cover. An interesting selection of memorials. This chest tomb is to Henry Pole (died...
Categories Derbyshire/Railway History Comments: 0
January 4, 2022

Parwich, Derbyshire – St Peter’s

We continued on to Parwich. St Peter’s church is in the middle of the village at SK 188 543, just behind The Sycamore Pub (which is one of those annoying places where the website says dogs are welcome, but makes no comment about accessibility for humans). The church has a page on the village website – https://parwich.org/category/church/. It is not accessible either. It is a late Victorian replacement of the Norman church (1872-3) – Pevsner describes it as “unfeelingly hard-edged and rock-faced”. The church was open, but there was no notice saying so. It was depressing seeing how many...
Categories Derbyshire Comments: 0
January 3, 2022

Ballidon, Derbyshire – All Saints

All Saints church, Ballidon, is on the right of the road as you drive up to the village – grid reference SK 203 544. It is now in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches – friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk – a charity I have discovered in the last couple of years. Their magazine is a treat. There is a laybye almost opposite the gap in the wall which leads to the church. On Friday 31 December 2021 we were glad to be able to pull off the road and park here as there are a lot of large lorries which...
Categories Derbyshire/Friends of Friendless churches Comment: 1
December 30, 2021

Swanwick, Derbyshire – St Andrew

I went to Swanwick first thing on the Thursday before Christmas to take a funeral. It was a very foggy day (when we were in the cemetery it was like something out of Dickens). I went back before the New Year to get some outside photos – and it rained. The church is by the crossroads in the middle of the town – SK 405531. Parking not easy for a funeral. The church was built between 1858 and 1860 by Benjamin Wilson – he was a Derby architect who also built Ashbourne Town Hall and St Giles Matlock. Swanwick...
Categories Derbyshire Comments: 0
December 26, 2021

northernvicarwalks – November 2021

This was the month we finally managed to restart our Toddler Group, and that was a huge pleasure. Remembrance Sunday was busy too – I felt mixed emotions, pleased that the place was full, but worried about the number of people who were there. I managed two train trips – a day to Hull and a morning up the Joint Line. An almost-daily Facebook Ramble. We had two lovely days out. Sadly Bourneville church was locked, though the bookshop was open. Kenilworth church was open, but there was a wedding in progress (how dare they be busy when northernvicar...
Categories 1,000 mile walking/Derbyshire/Railway History Comments: 0
August 26, 2021

Derbyshire – Smalley, St John the Baptist

One of our local retired priests put on facebook that there was a flower festival at St John the Baptist in Smalley – I thought we had a Diocesan communications department to tell us what is going on – so we went for a drive, it’s only a few miles away, SK 407446. They had a nice clear notice outside. There is a mention of a church and priest in the Domesday book, but it was a parochial chapelry for Morley until 1877. They have a yew tree in the churchyard which they claim is “the finest in the...
Categories Derbyshire/World War 1 Comments: 0