All Saints Church, Kedleston
Encyclopedia
All Saints Church, Kedleston, is a redundant
Anglican
church standing adjacent to Kedleston Hall
, a country house
in Derbyshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building. Kedleston Hall is owned by the National Trust
, and the church is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. Kedleston Hall has been occupied by the Curzon family for over 700 years.
was recorded in the Domesday Book
, and the first mention of a church here was in 1198–99. The only remaining part of that church is the Norman
south doorway and the adjoining wall. The greater part of the present church dates from rebuilding in the 13th century. At some time between 1480 and 1510, the top of the tower was rebuilt in Perpendicular style. Between 1700 and 1720, decorative features, including vases and a sundial
, were added to the east face. In 1759 building of the present hall started. The area occupied by the village of Kedleston was replaced by parkland. In 1884–85 John Oldrid Scott
carried out a major restoration
. This included raising the level of the roof line, installing a new timber ceiling, adding a new west window in Decorated style, laying a new floor, and removing the box pew
s from the nave
. In 1908, Lord George Curzon
added a chapel to the north of the nave over a burial vault
. This was a memorial to his wife, Mary, and was designed by G. F. Bodley
. In 1910–12 the stained glass in the windows was replaced and additions were made to it. The church was declared redundant on 1 April 1983, and was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 18 April 1989. There are currently two custodians at this site who are in charge of caring and protecting the church during it's opening hours (11-5pm) they are Brenda Hickerton and Paul Newsham.
with Welsh slate
roofs. Its plan is cruciform, with a central tower over a crossing, a nave with a north chapel, north and south transept
s, a chancel
with a clerestory
, and a north vestry
. The south doorway is Norman in style, having a round-headed arch decorated with a zigzag pattern, enclosing a tympanum
with weathered carvings of beasts. To the right of the doorway are two two-light windows with flat arches. Each transept is buttress
ed and has a window consisting of three stepped lancets
. In the south wall of the chancel is a priest's door, with a lancet window on the left, and a two-light window under a flat arch to the right. In the clerestory are two-light windows in both the south and the north walls. The east wall has diagonal buttresses and a three-light window. Along the top is a parapet
, in the centre of which is a sundial
. This is inscribed with the words "We shall", and skulls and crossbones; on its summit are hourglass
es. At the ends of the parapet are urn
finial
s. In the north wall of the chancel is a two-light window, and the north wall of the vestry has two paired lancet windows. The chapel has three bays
separated by buttresses. In each bay is a three-light window under which are three trefoil
s acting as ventilators. Along the parapet is the inscription "QUIA MULTUM AMAVIT". The west wall has diagonal buttresses and a three-light window. Above this is a lancet window in the gable
. The tower is in two stages. In the lower stage are two lancet windows, and in the upper stage are two-light bell openings on each side. The summit has a battlement
ed parapet, with crocket
ted pinnacle
s at the corners.
. There is an aumbry
recess and a piscina
in the chancel, and another piscina in the south transept. The north transept contains the organ. The font
dates from the 18th century and consists of a circular bowl on a polygonal shaft; it has a wooden cover. The wooden pulpit
is from the 19th century, and the brass lectern
in the shape of an eagle dates from 1886. In the chancel are box pews. The altar is Jacobean
in style. In the arcade is a wrought iron
screen with gates. The church contains light fittings and a corona lucis, also in wrought iron, and five hatchment
s. The stained glass in one of the windows in the chancel dates from the 17th century, and was moved into the church in 1910. The other stained glass dates from the late 19th and early 20th century. The two-manual
organ was built in 1899 by W. Hill and Son of London, and rebuilt and enlarged by the same firm in 1910.
In the church are 35 monuments to the Curzon family; these include free-standing tombs, wall monuments and floor tablets. They date from the 13th to the 20th centuries. The largest is a free-standing tomb in the chapel. It bears the effigies
of Lord George Curzon
, who died in 1925, and his wife Mary, for whom the chapel was built and who died in 1906 at the age of 36. It is a table tomb in white marble
; two angels holding the crown of life, lean over the effigies. The memorial was designed by Sir Bertram MacKennel. The following memorials are in the south transept. There is a tomb chest with the effigies of Sir John Curzon and his wife, dating from 1456. Sir John is dressed in armour, at the feet of the effigies are dogs, and on the sides of the tomb are the figures of their 17 children. Also in the transept is a plain slab decorated with a cross and foliage to the memory of Thomas de Curzon, who died in 1245. There is a wall memorial to Sir John Curzon, who died in 1686, and his wife, Patience, who died in 1642. A further wall memorial is to another Sir John Curzon who died in 1727. There are more memorials in the north transept. One is designed by Peter Scheemakers
to the memory of Sir Nathaniel Curzon, who died in 1718, and his wife Sarah. A further memorial is to another Sir Nathaniel Curzon and his family dated 1758. This was made by Michael Rysbrack
to a design by Robert Adam
.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church standing adjacent to Kedleston Hall
Kedleston Hall
Kedleston Hall is an English country house in Kedleston, Derbyshire, approximately four miles north-west of Derby, and is the seat of the Curzon family whose name originates in Notre-Dame-de-Courson in Normandy...
, a country house
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building. Kedleston Hall is owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, and the church is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. Kedleston Hall has been occupied by the Curzon family for over 700 years.
History
The settlement of KedlestonKedleston
Kedleston is a village and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire. It lies to the north-west of Derby, and nearby places include Quarndon, Weston Underwood, Mugginton, and Kirk Langley.-History:...
was recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, and the first mention of a church here was in 1198–99. The only remaining part of that church is the Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
south doorway and the adjoining wall. The greater part of the present church dates from rebuilding in the 13th century. At some time between 1480 and 1510, the top of the tower was rebuilt in Perpendicular style. Between 1700 and 1720, decorative features, including vases and a sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
, were added to the east face. In 1759 building of the present hall started. The area occupied by the village of Kedleston was replaced by parkland. In 1884–85 John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott was an English architect.He was the son of Sir George Gilbert Scott and Caroline née Oldrid. His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, were also prominent architects. He married Mary Ann Stevens in 1868, eldest daughter of the Reverend Thomas...
carried out a major restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
. This included raising the level of the roof line, installing a new timber ceiling, adding a new west window in Decorated style, laying a new floor, and removing the box pew
Box pew
Box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th century.-History in England:...
s from the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
. In 1908, Lord George Curzon
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC , known as The Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and as The Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman who was Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary...
added a chapel to the north of the nave over a burial vault
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
. This was a memorial to his wife, Mary, and was designed by G. F. Bodley
George Frederick Bodley
George Frederick Bodley was an English architect working in the Gothic revival style.-Personal life:Bodley was the youngest son of William Hulme Bodley, M.D. of Edinburgh, physician at Hull Royal Infirmary, Kingston upon Hull, who in 1838 retired to his wife's home town, Brighton, Sussex, England....
. In 1910–12 the stained glass in the windows was replaced and additions were made to it. The church was declared redundant on 1 April 1983, and was vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 18 April 1989. There are currently two custodians at this site who are in charge of caring and protecting the church during it's opening hours (11-5pm) they are Brenda Hickerton and Paul Newsham.
Exterior
The church is constructed in sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
with Welsh slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roofs. Its plan is cruciform, with a central tower over a crossing, a nave with a north chapel, north and south transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s, a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
with a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
, and a north vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
. The south doorway is Norman in style, having a round-headed arch decorated with a zigzag pattern, enclosing a tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
with weathered carvings of beasts. To the right of the doorway are two two-light windows with flat arches. Each transept is buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
ed and has a window consisting of three stepped lancets
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
. In the south wall of the chancel is a priest's door, with a lancet window on the left, and a two-light window under a flat arch to the right. In the clerestory are two-light windows in both the south and the north walls. The east wall has diagonal buttresses and a three-light window. Along the top is a parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
, in the centre of which is a sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
. This is inscribed with the words "We shall", and skulls and crossbones; on its summit are hourglass
Hourglass
An hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
es. At the ends of the parapet are urn
Urn
An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered, that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. "Knife urns" placed on pedestals flanking a dining-room sideboard were an English innovation for high-style dining rooms of the late 1760s...
finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
s. In the north wall of the chancel is a two-light window, and the north wall of the vestry has two paired lancet windows. The chapel has three bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
separated by buttresses. In each bay is a three-light window under which are three trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
s acting as ventilators. Along the parapet is the inscription "QUIA MULTUM AMAVIT". The west wall has diagonal buttresses and a three-light window. Above this is a lancet window in the gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
. The tower is in two stages. In the lower stage are two lancet windows, and in the upper stage are two-light bell openings on each side. The summit has a battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
ed parapet, with crocket
Crocket
A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....
ted pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s at the corners.
Interior
Between the nave and the chapel to its north is a three-bay arcadeArcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
. There is an aumbry
Aumbry
In the Middle Ages an aumbry was a cabinet in the wall of a Christian church or in the sacristy which was used to store chalices and other vessels, as well as for the reserved sacrament, the consecrated elements from the Eucharist. This latter use was infrequent in pre-Reformation churches,...
recess and a piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
in the chancel, and another piscina in the south transept. The north transept contains the organ. The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
dates from the 18th century and consists of a circular bowl on a polygonal shaft; it has a wooden cover. The wooden pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
is from the 19th century, and the brass lectern
Lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon...
in the shape of an eagle dates from 1886. In the chancel are box pews. The altar is Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
in style. In the arcade is a wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
screen with gates. The church contains light fittings and a corona lucis, also in wrought iron, and five hatchment
Hatchment
A hatchment is a funeral demonstration of the lifetime "achievement" of the arms and any other honours displayed on a black lozenge-shaped frame which used to be suspended against the wall of a deceased person's house...
s. The stained glass in one of the windows in the chancel dates from the 17th century, and was moved into the church in 1910. The other stained glass dates from the late 19th and early 20th century. The two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ was built in 1899 by W. Hill and Son of London, and rebuilt and enlarged by the same firm in 1910.
In the church are 35 monuments to the Curzon family; these include free-standing tombs, wall monuments and floor tablets. They date from the 13th to the 20th centuries. The largest is a free-standing tomb in the chapel. It bears the effigies
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of Lord George Curzon
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC , known as The Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and as The Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman who was Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary...
, who died in 1925, and his wife Mary, for whom the chapel was built and who died in 1906 at the age of 36. It is a table tomb in white marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
; two angels holding the crown of life, lean over the effigies. The memorial was designed by Sir Bertram MacKennel. The following memorials are in the south transept. There is a tomb chest with the effigies of Sir John Curzon and his wife, dating from 1456. Sir John is dressed in armour, at the feet of the effigies are dogs, and on the sides of the tomb are the figures of their 17 children. Also in the transept is a plain slab decorated with a cross and foliage to the memory of Thomas de Curzon, who died in 1245. There is a wall memorial to Sir John Curzon, who died in 1686, and his wife, Patience, who died in 1642. A further wall memorial is to another Sir John Curzon who died in 1727. There are more memorials in the north transept. One is designed by Peter Scheemakers
Peter Scheemakers
Peter Scheemakers was a Flemish Roman Catholic sculptor who worked for most of his life in London, Great Britain....
to the memory of Sir Nathaniel Curzon, who died in 1718, and his wife Sarah. A further memorial is to another Sir Nathaniel Curzon and his family dated 1758. This was made by Michael Rysbrack
John Michael Rysbrack
Johannes Michel or John Michael Rysbrack, original name Jan Michiel Rijsbrack , was an 18th-century Flemish sculptor. His birth-year is sometimes given as 1693 or 1684....
to a design by Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
.