St Peter and St Paul's Church, Eckington is a

Grade I 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 A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

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 ...

Eckington, Derbyshire Eckington is a village and civil parish in North East Derbyshire, England. It is 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Chesterfield and 9 miles (14 km) southeast of Sheffield city centre, on the border with South Yorkshire. It lies on the B60 ...

History

The church dates from the 12th century with elements from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. The south aisle porch was added in 1763 by John Platt of Rotherham. Some repair works were undertaken in 1833. The church was restored between 1877 and 1878 by the architects Flockton of Sheffield. The plaster was removed from the pillars and interior walls. The galleries in the north, west and south were removed. The box pews were replaced with open benches. New stained glass windows were inserted and a new pulpit, reading desk, lectern and communion table were set up. The lectern was manufactured by Jones and Willis. The Dowager Lady Sitwell provided a brass cross for the reredos. The church reopened on 19 June 1878. The church was remodelled and refurnished by

Percy Heylyn Currey Percy Heylyn Currey FRIBA (November 1864 – 5 March 1942) was an English architect based in Derby. Life He was born in November 1864, the son of Benjamin Scott Currey and Helen Heygate. He was educated at Derby School from 1875 to 1883, and was ...

in 1907.

Organ

The organ was by

Brindley & Foster Brindley & Foster was a pipe organ builder based in Sheffield who flourished between 1854 and 1939. Background The business was established by Charles Brindley in 1854. He was joined by Albert Healey Foster in 1871 and the company acquired the ...

. Following the restoration of the church in 1878, the organ was enlarged by

with three new stops and an opening recital was given by Dr

Haydn Keeton Haydn Keeton (26 October 1847, in Mosborough – 27 May 1921, in Peterborough) was a cathedral organist, who served at Peterborough Cathedral. Background Haydn Keeton was born in Mosborough. His father Edwin Keeton was organist at Eckington Pa ...

, organist of

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Church of England, Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Sain ...

. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Bells

The church has eight bells hung for full circle

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memor ...

, and is the location of the Gordon Halls Ringing Centre.Derby Diocesan Association of church bellringers - retrieved Aug 2016

Memorials

The church contains memorials to *Francis Stringer (d. 1727) *William Sitwell (d. 1776) *Mary Sitwell (d. 1792) *Francis Sitwell (d. 1793) *Hurt Sitwell (d. 1830) *Sir

Sitwell Sitwell Sir Sitwell Sitwell, 1st Baronet (September 1769 – 14 July 1811) was a British politician and landowner. Sitwell was the son of Francis Hurt (1728–1793) of Mount Pleasant, Sheffield, who changed his name to Sitwell in 1777, when he inheri ...

(d. 1811) and Caroline Sitwell (d. 1800) by White Watson *Alice Sitwell (d. 1797) *

George Sitwell Sir George Reresby Sitwell, 4th Baronet (27 January 1860 – 9 July 1943) was a British antiquarian writer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1895. Biography Sitwell was born in London, the son of Sir Si ...

(d. 1667) and his wife Margaret (d. 1658) *Francis Sitwell (d. 1671) *Thomas Barlow (d. 1694) * John Staniforth (Mentioned alongside father William) (d. 1800)

Parish status

The church is in a joint parish with: *St Luke's Church, Upper Eckington *St John the Baptist's Church, Handley * St John The Evangelist Church, Ridgeway

References