The church of St John the Baptist in

Tideswell Tideswell is a village and civil parish in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. It lies east of Buxton on the B6049, in a wide valley on a limestone plateau, at an altitude of above sea level, and is within the District of Derbyshire Da ...

is a

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 ...

parish church.

Background

Although it is not actually a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, due to its size and splendour, the church is widely known as the "Cathedral of the Peak". It is one of the most famous churches in

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 ...

, and a

Grade I listed building 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 ...

History

In 1250–51, the church became embroiled in a dispute between

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...

and

Lenton Priory Lenton Priory was a Cluniac monastic house in Nottinghamshire, founded by William Peverel ''circa 1102-8''. The priory was granted a large endowment of property in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire by its founder, which became the cause of violent di ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. Tideswell was one of a number of parishes that had been granted to Lenton Priory by the Peverel family during the 11th century. Following

William Peverel the Younger William "the Younger" Peverel ( or – after 1155) was the son of William Peverel. He lived in Nottingham, England. He married Avicia de Lancaster (1088 – ) in La Marche, Normandy, France. She was possibly the daughter of William de Lancaste ...

's accusations of treason, the family's lands in the Peak District were seized by the crown and granted by King Henry II to his son, John (later

John, King of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

). After acceding to the throne, John granted the lands to the Bishop of Lichfield and in turn they passed to the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield Cathedral. This transfer started approximately 300 years of disagreement between the priory and cathedral about who was rightful owner of the property. Litigation continued throughout this period, including suits in the Vatican Court on several occasions. Tideswell church became directly involved in the disagreement when it became violent in 1250–51. The monks of Lenton Priory armed themselves and attempted to steal wool and lambs from Tideswell, which was one of the disputed parishes controlled by Lichfield. Pre-empting the monk's attack, the Dean of Lichfield cathedral ordered the wool and sheep to be kept within the nave of Tideswell church. However the monks of Lenton did not honour the church's sanctuary rights and broke into the building. A fight ensued and 18 lambs were killed within the church: either trampled under the horses' hooves or butchered by the attackers' weapons. The monks managed to carry off 14 of the lambs. A commission assembled by

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

harshly fined the monks of Lenton Priory. However the disputes continued until Lenton was dissolved by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

. The church, which replaced a small Norman church, was constructed between approximately 1320 and 1400. The building work was delayed by the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

. There are two main styles: the nave, aisles and transepts are in late

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style, and both the chancel and tower are in

perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...

style. There was major restoration started in 1873 by

John Dando Sedding John Dando Sedding (13 April 1838 – 7 April 1891) was an English church architect, working on new buildings and repair work, with an interest in a "crafted Gothic" style. He was an influential figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, many of wh ...

which was a genuine restoration rather than a reconstruction. The restoration work involved the replacement of the oak roof and re-leading. However, the restoration undertaken by the architect was viewed favourably by those who preferred the preservation of fabric rather than its replacement. The '' Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser'' wrote on 25 August 1874:

It is a relief to find so fine and pure a specimen of fourteenth century architecture in trustworthy hands. We have not to complain here as in so many instances of so-called restoration of that passion for the destruction of old work which, on the plea of restoration, has removed some of the most characteristic features of our ancient Gothic buildings. No single piece of old work not obviously unfit from decay to remain has been allowed to disappear. The mistakes of careless times have with great discrimination been remedied; the old landmarks, where recoverable, have been restored, and great judgement has evidently been exercised in the new work introduced

The chapel in the south transept was restored as a gift of James Bower Brown of Woodthorpe Hall, Sheffield, under the supervision of Innocent and Brown, architects of Sheffield. The tomb of Sir Thurstan de Bower and Lady Margaret was reconstructed by the sculptor

Thomas Earp Thomas Earp may refer to: * Thomas Earp (politician) * Thomas Earp (sculptor) Thomas Earp (1828–1893) was a British sculptor and architectural carver who was active in the late 19th century. His best known work is his 1863 reproduction of t ...

of London. The chancel was reopened on 30 September 1875. The carving of the figures in stone and wood was executed by Mr. Green of Manchester, and the oak carving of the chancel stalls was done by Mr. Tooley of Bury St. Edmunds. The contractor for the stonework was Messrs. Hill of Tideswell. Restoration work continued until 1905, when the gallery of 1826 was removed from under the tower.

John Oldrid Scott John Oldrid Scott (17 July 1841 – 30 May 1913) was a British architect. Biography He was the son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott) and his wife Caroline (née Oldrid). His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gil ...

provided new south doors which contained panels cut from an oak beam taken from the Old Guild Hall in the village centre. The six upper panels were filled with traceried carving. In ''Churches and Chapels in The County of Derby'', Rawlins described St John's as being:

without exception the most perfect and beautiful specimen of pointed architecture to be found in the County, - or perhaps in any other parish church of its size in the entire Kingdom.

Parish status

The church is in a joint parish with *St John the Evangelist's Church,

Cressbrook Cressbrook is a village in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire. It lies in Water-cum-Jolly Dale at the foot of Cressbrook Dale. Population details at the 2011 Census are included in the civil parish of Litton. Before its Enclosure Act ...

*Christ Church, Litton *St Anne's Church,

Millers Dale Millers Dale (Ordnance Survey: Miller's Dale) is a valley on the River Wye in Derbyshire, England, where there is also a hamlet of the same name. It is a popular beauty spot in the Peak District of England, much of the area being preserved a ...

St Margaret's Church, Wormhill St Margaret's Church, Wormhill is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Wormhill, Derbyshire. History The medieval chapel was enlarged and altered in 1746 when a low porch and west gallery were erected. In 1826 another ga ...

Vicars of Tideswell

Memorials

There are brasses to Sir John Foljamb, d. 1383 (restored) and to Bishop Robert Purseglove, d. 1579, who is depicted in pre-

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

vestments. In the middle of the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

there is an altar tomb. Within lies Sir Samson Meverill (1388–1462), who fought at the

Siege of Orléans The siege of Orléans (12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429) was the watershed of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. The siege took place at the pinnacle of English power during the later stages of the war. The city held strategic and ...

against

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

. The tomb has a marble slab beneath which is a stone cadaver decorated with an alabaster frieze. The tomb was restored in 1876. In the South

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

there are two chapels. The Lytton chapel has one of the old bells on the floor, while nearby is the tomb of Robert (d. 1483) and his wife Isabel (d. 1458) Lytton. The Bower chapel contains a rather impressive tomb of (possibly) Sir Thurstan and his wife Margret de Bower. The inscription mentions de Bower, but there is some debate about the accuracy. The recumbent alabaster figures are well worn. The old high altar is against the east wall. The churchyard contains

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

of seven service personnel of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. File:Samson-meveril-tideswell-church.jpg, Tomb of Sir Sampson Meveril File:Debower-alabaster-tideswell.jpg, Inscription around the "de Bower" tomb File:Thurstram-debower-effigy-tideswell.jpg, Alabaster effigies, commonly thought to represent Sir Thurstan de Bower and his wife Margaret

Features

The font is medieval and has carvings of a chalice and an open book. The old north door, displayed at the back of the church, dates from about 1500 and was replaced in 1997. The ends of the pews have intricate carvings by the local, curiously named, Advent Hunstone. These show the sacraments; baptism, confirmation, communion, marriage, absolution, ordination and the last rites. The tower screen is by

and dates from 1904.

Stained glass

The

Tree of Jesse The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, shown in a branching tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. It is the original use of the family tree as a schematic representation of a ge ...

east window is by

Heaton, Butler and Bayne Heaton, Butler and Bayne were an English firm who produced stained-glass windows from 1862 to 1953. History Clement Heaton (1824–82) Fleming, John & Hugh Honour. (1977) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. '' London: Allen Lane, p. 371. ...

of Nottingham and dates from 1875. The west window is a Te Deum by Hardman and Powell dating from 1907. In the centre is John the Baptist; it is a memorial to Elizabeth Sarah Fletcher and Mary Chandler who were mothers of the vicar, Rev. J.M.J. Fletcher, and his wife. A new window was inserted in 1996 as a memorial to William Newton (1750-1830), the Minstrel of the Peak. This window is by Alfred Fisher of Chapel Studio. File:East window, A tree of Jesse, in St John the Baptist's Church, Tideswell.jpg, East window, Tree of Jesse,

1876 File:Memorial to William Newton (1750-1830) in St John the Baptist's Church, Tideswell.jpg, Memorial to William Newton by Alfred Fisher of Chapel Studio 1996 File:South Transept, The Resurrection, in St John the Baptist's Church, Tideswell.jpg, South Transept, The Resurrection File:West window, The Te Deum, St John the Baptist's Church, Tideswell.jpg, West window, Te Deum, Hardman and Powell, 1907

Organs

The church possesses two pipe organs. The main organ dates from 1895 and is by the builder

Forster and Andrews Forster and Andrews was a British organ building company between 1843 and 1924. The company was formed by James Alderson Forster (1818–1886) and Joseph King Andrews (1820–1896), who had been employees of the London organ builder J. C. Bisho ...

of Hull. A specification of the main organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. The chancel organ dates from 1979. It is an extension organ by the Johnson Organ Company. A specification of the chancel organ can also be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

References

External links

*
Friends of St Johns, Tideswell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tideswell Church of England church buildings in Derbyshire Grade I listed churches in Derbyshire Tourist attractions of the Peak District