St Mary and St Laurence's Church, Bolsover is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

parish church in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Bolsover Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover (borough), Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from London, from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby, Derbyshire, Derby. It is the main town in the Bols ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

History

The church is mediaeval, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, with the Cavendish chapel of 1624, a rebuilding after a fire in 1897 by

Louis Ambler Louis Ambler FSA FRIBA (2 June 1862 - 1 April 1946) was an English architect. Career He was born on 2 June 1862 in Manningham in Yorkshire, the son of John Ambler (1832-1889) and Mary Hannah Wood (1831-1893). He was articled to Henry Francis ...

and a further restoration after a fire in 1961–62. The church was closed for restoration from early in 1877 which took place under the supervision of John Brightmore Mitchell-Withers, architect of Sheffield. The chancel arch was rebuilt, adding an organ and chapel. The chancel was completely renovated. The floor was laid with tiles and the seating was renewed. The roofs were repaired and covered by red Staffordshire tiling. The work was carried out by Shillitoe and Morgan of Campstall, Doncaster. New heating apparatus by Stuart and Smith of Sheffield was installed, with gas lighting by Hydes and Wigfull of Sheffield. The bells were recast by Taylor of Loughborough, a clock provided by Smith of Derby, and the organ enlarged by Foster and Andrews of Hull. The total cost of the restoration was around £6,000 (). The church reopened on 16 July 1878 The church was destroyed by fire in January 1897 but fortunately, the Cavendish chapel of 1624 was saved. The church was rebuilt by the architect

starting on 9 September 1897 and was consecrated by the Bishop of Southwell on 21 September 1898. The church was again badly damaged by fire on 13 January 1960 when the east end of the church, the vestry and high altar were destroyed, and half the slate and timber roof were damaged.

Cavendish chapel

The chapel was built around 1624 with a Jacobean style roof to house the remains of the

Cavendish family The Cavendish (or de Cavendish) family ( ) is a British noble family, of Anglo-Norman origins (though with an Anglo-Saxon name, originally from a place-name in Suffolk). They rose to their highest prominence as Duke of Devonshire and Duke of Newc ...

. It contains monuments and memorials to: * Charles Cavendish d. 1617 (son of

Bess of Hardwick Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; c. 1527 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series ...

and Sir William Cavendish) A standing wall monument (south wall). *

Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, KG, PC (24 June 1630 – 26 July 1691), styled Lord Cavendish until 1676, and Viscount Mansfield from 1676, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1676, and then ...

, his wife and one of his daughters. (Erected 1727). *Three members of the Cavendish Bentinck family (east wall, a stone C19 monument)

Organ

A new organ was installed in 1867 After the fire in 1897, a new organ was provided by Mr. C. Lowe of Sheffield. This was then replaced by a new organ in 1921 by Brindley and Co of Sheffield at a cost of £1,500 (). The current organ was built by

Henry Willis & Sons Henry Willis & Sons is a British firm of pipe organ builders founded in 1845. Although most of their installations have been in the UK, examples can be found in other countries. Five generations of the Willis family served as principals of th ...

in 1962. This was fitted with a new transmission system in 1992 by George Sixsmith.

Bells

The peal of 8 bells by John Taylor and Co of Loughborough includes 6 from 1898 and 2 from 1902.

Graveyard

The graveyard contains a headstone to Thomas Hinde (d. 1836) clock and watchmaker with the amusing inscription:

Here lies in a horizontal position the outside case of Thomas Hinde, Clock and Watchmaker, who departed this life wound up in the hope of being taken in hand by his Maker and being thoroughly cleaned, repaired and set a-going in the world to come. On the 15th of August 1836 in the 19th year of his life.

References