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The Cathedral Church of All Saints, Derby, better known as Derby Cathedral, is a cathedral church in the city of Derby, England. In 1927, it was promoted from parish church status to that of a cathedral, creating a seat for the Bishop of Derby, which new
see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...
was created in that year. The original church of All Saints was founded in the mid-10th century as a royal collegiate church, dedicated to All Saints. The main body of the church as it stands today is a Georgian rebuilding by James Gibbs, completed in 1725. The tower dates from the 16thcentury, and a
retroquire In church architecture, a retroquire (also spelled retrochoir), or back-choir, is the space behind the high altar in a church or cathedral, which sometimes separates it from the end chapel. It may contain seats for the church choir. An example of ...
was added in the 20thcentury.


History


All Saints' Church

The original church, dedicated to All Saints, was probably built in about 943 by the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
King
Edmund I Edmund I or Eadmund I (920/921 – 26 May 946) was King of the English from 27 October 939 until his death in 946. He was the elder son of King Edward the Elder and his third wife, Queen Eadgifu, and a grandson of King Alfred the Great. After ...
as a royal collegiate church, of which building no trace survives. Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, and according to the Domesday Book of 1086, it belonged to the king, and was served by a college of seven priests. The Saxon building probably became structurally unstable, and was therefore demolished. A new building was constructed in the 14thcentury, which surviving drawings show was about the same size as the present building. In 1510–1532, the surviving tower was built in the
Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...
style. On top of the tower are twelve large sculpted grotesque animal figures, three per face, and the sculpted stone head of a Green Man can be seen on each side of the main West Door at the base of the tower. The tower is built with Ashover Grit sandstone, sourced from nearby Duffield Bank quarry. in 1556, during the persecutions of Protestants during the reign of Queen Mary (1553–1558),
Joan Waste Joan Waste or Wast (1534 – 1 August 1556) was a blind woman who was burned in Derby for refusing to renounce her Protestant faith.fait accompli Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engli ...
'' handed to them, the Mayor and Corporation of Derby commenced fundraising for the building of a new church by inviting subscriptions for the purpose, and made the first donation themselves. Dr Hutchinson expended much effort in fundraising, which exertion may have adversely affected his health. He made a significant personal financial contribution to the fund, and his efforts are recorded on a memorial tablet in the South Aisle. Having encountered numerous disputes, Hutchinson eventually resigned in 1728 and died about eighteen months later, leaving numerous outstanding debts. With the original 1530s tower retained, the rest of the church was rebuilt to a Neo-Classical design made in 1725 by the architect James Gibbs. In his ''Book of Architecture'', Gibbs wrote as follows regarding All Saints' Church: "It is the more beautiful for having no galleries, which, as well as pews, clog up and spoil the insides of churches ... the plainness of this building makes it less expensive, and renders it more suitable to the old steeple". To offset the rather austere interior, Gibbs introduced a wrought iron
chancel screen 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. Over ...
, extending across the entire width of the church, manufactured by the local iron-smith and gate-maker Robert Bakewell, but not completed until five years after the new church was opened. The first sermon was preached in the new church on 25November 1725. By Order in Council on 1July 1927, All Saints' Church became a cathedral. The new building was later extended eastwards with the addition of a
retroquire In church architecture, a retroquire (also spelled retrochoir), or back-choir, is the space behind the high altar in a church or cathedral, which sometimes separates it from the end chapel. It may contain seats for the church choir. An example of ...
designed by Sebastian Comper, constructed between 1967 and 1972. The cathedral was registered as a charity on 9April 2024, with the Registered Charity Number 1207768.


Monuments and furnishings

The cathedral's treasures include the 18th-century wrought iron
rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...
manufactured by Robert Bakewell, for which he was paid £157.10.0d (150guineas); a monument with effigy of Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall; and
monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...
es of her descendants the Cavendish family (later the Dukes of Devonshire), including brasses of Henry Cavendish and of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. The entrance gates, moved to the cathedral from StMary's Gate in 1957, were also made by Robert Bakewell. The gates were refurbished in 2012, and renamed the Queen ElizabethII Gates to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Notable 20th-century additions are stained-glass windows designed by Ceri Richards, and a bronze crucifix by
Ronald Pope Ronald Pope (16 August 1920–14 May 1997) was an English sculptor and artist. Biography Pope was born in 1920 and after his studies moved to Derbyshire to work as an engineer. He started at the Rolls-Royce factory in Derby (the largest emp ...
.


Clock and carillon

In 1927 a new clock was installed by
John Smith & Son John Smith & Son is a United Kingdom academic bookseller, based in Ringwood. Founded in 1751, it is the oldest bookselling company in the English-speaking world. It was based for many years at 57–61 St. Vincent Street in Glasgow, which was als ...
, Derby clockmakers, replacing one reputed to have been made by George Ashmore in 1738, but by then so worn as to be beyond its useful life. Until March 1976 this timekeeper and associated parts had been mechanically driven by heavy weights that had to be wound manually, some of them daily. This work had been undertaken by John Smith's for many years, but rising costs caused the authorities to install an automatic winding mechanism to both the clock and the
carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...
, which sounds the bells. Derby Cathedral's clock has two dials, one facing West along StMary's Gate, and one facing South down Irongate. Both are of stone and are 8feet in diameter. They were restored and gilded in 1964, then again in the early 21stcentury. The 1964 restoration proved beyond doubt that the long metal tubes driven through the tower walls to operate the clock mechanism were actually gun barrels (cavalry carbines) dating from the 1745 'uprising' of Bonnie Prince Charlie. The carillon is the mechanical instrument that drives the tunes played upon the cathedral's bells each day. It was installed by John Smith of Derby in 1931 to replace a machine of similar design, dating from the 17thcentury and subsequently enhanced towards the end of the 17thcentury by George Sorocold, a Derby millwright. The current machine plays a tune three times a day, and the seven tunes it plays are changed automatically each day. It is known that the tunes of the original machine were varied over the years, first by John Whitehurst at various times between 1745 and 1762, and then by John Smith in 1873. There is documentary evidence to show that John Whitehurst was paid £3.3.0d (3guineas) for winding and care of the clock and carillon, although he is known to have paid from this sum the amount of £1.11.6d (1½gns.) to a MrFrost, who did the actual daily winding of the carillon. On 3July 1976, one of the less well-known carillon tunes was replaced with the melody of " The Derby Ram", a regimental march associated with the Sherwood Foresters, so that it would become a permanent reminder of the Regiment's association with the town and county of Derby. The tunes are currently played at 9am, 12noon and 6pm as follows: *Sunday —
Thaxted Thaxted is a town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of north-west Essex, England. The town is in the valley of the River Chelmer, not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden, and is 97 metres (318 feet) above sea level (whe ...
*Monday — Truro *Tuesday — The Shady Bowers *Wednesday — All Saints *Thursday — Lass of Paittie's Mill *Friday — The Highland Laddie *Saturday — The Derby Ram They can be listened to live on a local webcam feed. (The previous carillon played at 3, 6, 9, and 12 both night and day.)


Tower and bells

Derby Cathedral has the oldest
ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
of ten bells in the world. Most of them have been there since 1678, when the number of bells was increased from six to ten. The largest bell weighs 19cwt (965kg), its note is D-flat and it is over 500 years old — older than the tower itself. It is believed that it came from Dale Abbey in Erewash in Derbyshire at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The youngest bell, no.3, is dated 1693, so all the bells are over 300 years old. Bell no.8 was in Ashbourne parish church until 1815. A
carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...
in the tower uses the same bells to provide a tune at 9am, 12noon and 6pm. The bells used to hang in a wooden frame; when the church became a cathedral in 1927, the bells were retuned and rehung at a lower level in a new metal frame. On 28October 1732, a Frenchman called Gillinoe 'flew' down on a rope from the top of All Saints' steeple. He did this on a number of occasions, landing variously at StMichael's church and at the bottom of StMary's Gate. On one occasion an ass was sent down the rope, but it broke under the weight and a number of onlookers were injured. On 25July 1940, a wartime
barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe collision risk to aircraft, making the attacker's approach more difficult. Early barra ...
broke loose from its moorings during a heavy storm and, as it floated past, its chain caught round one of the pinnacles on the tower and demolished the top half of the pinnacle. In late 2005, it was discovered that a pair of
peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
s had taken up residence on the cathedral tower. In 2006 a nesting platform was installed, and they nested there in April of that year. Webcams were installed in 2007, 2008 and 2013 to enable the birds to be seen at close range without being disturbed by human contact. The same pair successfully reared chicks every year up to and including 2016. However, on 27March 2017 it became clear that a new male had taken over the nesting platform and ousted his predecessor who, by that time, was at least 14years old. It is not known whether the first male died of old age, or was chased away or killed by the new one after a fight. The female accepted the new male and together they produced, somewhat later than in previous years, four eggs, three of which successfully hatched into one male and two female chicks. In 2009, more than 150 members of the Derby Mountain Rescue Team abseiled down the tower for charity. Further sponsored abseils have taken place every year since, and in 2012 this included the Assistant Curate, Andy Trenier, and the Dean of Derby Cathedral, Dr John Davies.


Cathedral Centre

The Derby Cathedral Centre is opposite the west doors on Irongate. It was opened by
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during h ...
. It once included a café, a bookshop and an exhibition space, featuring work by local artists, but since March 2020 the shop and café have remained closed. The Cathedral Centre also houses the cathedral offices and meeting rooms. In 2017, the Cathedral Café won the annual Derby Food and Drinks Award for Best Customer Service.


Burials

* Bess of Hardwick * Henry Cavendish * Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire * John Lombe * William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough * William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire *
Charlotte Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington Charlotte Elizabeth Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington, 6th Baroness Clifford (born Lady Charlotte Boyle; 27 October 1731 – 8 December 1754) was the daughter of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and Lady Dorothy Savile. From 1748 until ...


Cathedral clergy


Dean and Residentiary Canons

As of June 2023: * Dean
Peter Robinson Peter Robinson may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Robinson (sideshow artist) (1873–1947), American actor and sideshow performer, known for his appearance in film ''Freaks'' (1932) * J. Peter Robinson (born 1945), British musician and film score ...
(since 20July 2020 installation) * Canon for Liturgy (i.e. Precentor) — vacancy * Canon for Community Learning — Carla Vicêncio Prior (since 16 October 2022 installation)


Other clergy

* Cathedral Chaplain — Adam Dickens (since 3March 2014; Chaplain to the
University of Derby , mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher , established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status , type = Public , chancellor = William Cavendish, Ear ...
) * Associate Priest — Michael Futers * Associate Priest — Dwayne Engh


Music


Organs and organists


Organ

In 1939, an organ was installed by
John Compton Sir John George Melvin Compton, (29 April 1925 – 7 September 2007) was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first Prime Minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton ser ...
of London, although it did not gain its impressive case (designed by Sebastian Comper) until 1963. It is played from a four-manual console in the Consistory Court area of the cathedral, and was overhauled in 1992. In 1973, an additional instrument was installed in the new retroquire (east end) by Cousans of Lincoln.


Organists

Between April 2013 and December 2014, Canon Peter Gould undertook a musical pilgrimage of 270 churches, in which he raised £7,478.78 over 39tour days, performing to a collective audience of over 3,500 people. During the tour, three church organs were found to be in a poor state. On 4January 2015, Canon Peter Gould resigned as Director of Music and was succeeded by Hugh Morris, who was previously director of music at Christchurch Priory. The current Director of Music, Alexander Binns, started on 1 May 2019. Binns was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in April 2024. Edward Turner has been a member of staff at Derby Cathedral since 1September 2017, and is currently Assistant Director of Music.


See also

*
List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom NK = Not known See also * List of Anglican churches in the United Kingdom *List of Catholic churches in the United Kingdom A list of Catholic churches in the United Kingdom, notable current and former individual church buildings and congr ...
* Grade I listed churches in Derbyshire * Grade I listed buildings in Derbyshire * Listed buildings in Derby (Arboretum Ward)


Notes


References


External links


Official siteFlickr images tagged Derby CathedralDerby Cathedral Peregrine ProjectLive webcam feed with audio from Derby Cathedral tower
{{Authority control Anglican cathedrals in England Churches in Derby Carillons James Gibbs buildings Grade I listed buildings in Derby Grade I listed cathedrals Tourist attractions in Derby Derby English Gothic architecture in Derbyshire Diocese of Derby Neoclassical church buildings in England 18th-century church buildings in England