St Mary the Virgin is a 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 ...

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mark ...

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 ...

. It is a Grade I listed building. The existing building dates mostly from the 13th–15th centuries, but notable survivals from 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- ...

period indicate a church has stood on this site since at least the 8th century AD. It was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

in 1820, then in 1870 by Sir Gilbert Scott.

Description

The church is notable for its Anglo-Saxon carvings, and a large Anglo-Saxon coffin lid which was discovered under the chancel floor near the sanctuary in 1820. It is now mounted on the north wall of the nave. It appears to date from the second half of the 7th century. The church is also noted for containing an Anglo-Saxon carving of a lead miner, "T'owd Man", the oldest representation of a miner anywhere in the world. It was moved here in 1863 from Bonsall church for safe-keeping and has never been returned. The parishioners of Bonsall have had a replica carved for their church. The church also contains numerous early medieval and medieval carvings, many fragments of larger pieces, that have been grouped together and inserted for display in the transept walls. These include fragments of early medieval stone crosses and medieval grave slabs, figures of a wise man and shepherd, and the face of a bearded man. It is one of the few remaining churches in Britain which still performs the ancient custom of

clipping the church Clipping the church is an ancient custom that is traditionally held in England on Easter Monday or Shrove Tuesday or a date relevant to the Saint associated with the church. The word "clipping" is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and is derived from the w ...

. This takes place on the first Sunday after 8 September, the Sunday after the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The nave roof was replaced in 2020, following leaks which threatened to damage the church interior. A traditional topping out ceremony was held with the Bishop of Derby on 18 August 2020. The church has commissioned a new poem about the tower and bells of St Mary's. T'owd Man - geograph

Memorials

In the north aisle are the tombs of the Gell family. Sir Anthony Gell (d. 1583) has his statue on his tomb. Alongside is the simpler tomb of his father, Sir Ralph Gell. The chancel contains the tomb of Anthony Lowe, a

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

who served Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I and died in 1555.

Abraham Bennet Abraham Bennet Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (baptism, baptised 20 December 1749 – buried 9 May 1799) was an United Kingdom, English clergyman and physicist, the inventor of the gold-leaf electroscope and developer of an improved magnetomet ...

, the inventor of the

gold-leaf electroscope The electroscope is an early scientific instrument used to detect the presence of electric charge on a body. It detects charge by the movement of a test object due to the Coulomb electrostatic force on it. The amount of charge on an object is ...

and developer of an improved

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...

. The churchyard contains the tomb of Matthew Peat of

Alderwasley Alderwasley ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 469. Alderwasley Hall is the home to one of the sites of Alderwasley Hall School which ...

, who died 11 December 1751, at an alleged age of 109 years and 10 months.

Parish status

The church is in a joint parish with *

All Saints' Church, Alderwasley All Saints’ Church, Alderwasley, is a Grade II listed parish church in the Church of England in Alderwasley, Derbyshire. History The church replaced the ancient chapel of St Margaret in the village. It was built by A.F. Hurt of Alderwasley Hal ...

St James the Apostle's Church, Bonsall St James the Apostle's Church, Bonsall is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Bonsall, Derbyshire. History The church dates from the 13th century. In time it was filled with galleries and the chancel and tower were cut ...

All Saints' Church, Bradbourne All Saints’ Church, Bradbourne is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Bradbourne, Derbyshire. History All Saints’ Church was adopted as the village church after the dissolution of the monasteries. It was formerly Bradb ...

*All Saints’ Church, Ballidon *St James’ Church, Brassington *

St Margaret's Church, Carsington St Margaret's Church, Carsington, is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Carsington, Derbyshire. History The church may date from the 13th century. A sundial set into the east wall is inscribed ''Re-edified 1648''. The ...

*All Saints’ Church, Elton *St James’ Church, Idridgehay *

Holy Trinity Church, Kirk Ireton Holy Trinity Church, Kirk Ireton, is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Kirk Ireton, Derbyshire. History The church dates from the 12th century. It comprises a west tower, nave, aisles and clerestory, a south porch and c ...

*Holy Trinity Church, Middleton-by-Wirksworth

Vicars

This list is taken from the list displayed by the South Porch door inside the church, except where noted otherwise. *1270 Nicholas de Oxton *1272 Richard de Middleton *1275 William Godman *1287 Appointment made but name not recorded *1295 Appointment made but name not recorded *1299 Robert de Bradborn *1313 Milo de Leicester *1326 John de Hale *1349 Robert de Darbi *???? Robert de Irton *1362 Robert Spondai *???? Thomas Chastelton *1397 John Sotheren *???? John Howes *1410 Bartholomew Lyburgh *???? John Masson *1422 John Rolf *1432 Thomas Eyton *1487 Richard Smyth *1504 James Baresforthe *1520

Anthony Draycot Anthony Draycot (died 1571 in Draycott in the Moors) was an English Roman Catholic churchman and lawyer. During the reign of Queen Mary he held a diocesan position as chancellor; his role in condemning numerous Protestants to death is detailed i ...

t *1560 John Hyron *1577 Michael Harrison DD *1600 Tobias Stoyte *1615 William Parker *1619 Richard Caryer *1633 Robert Topham *1650 Martin Topham *1660 Peter Wilkinson *1667 Thomas Brown (or

Browne Browne is a variant of the English surname Brown, meaning "brown-haired" or "brown-skinned". It may sometimes be derived from French ''le Brun'' with similar meaning. The ''Mac an Bhreitheamhnaigh'' clan of County Donegal have anglicized as Browne s ...

; Archdeacon) *1689 William Browne *1705 Richard Willis *1714

John Inett John Inett (1647–1717) was an English cleric and church historian. Life His father Richard Inett married into the Hungerford family of Down Ampney, Gloucestershire. He attended Bewdley grammar school, and then aged 14 went to University Colleg ...

*1718 Thomas Inett *1746 Thomas Harris *1778 Richard Tillard *1787 Richard Kaye *1790 John Chaloner *1815 George de Smith Kelley *1824 Henry Gordon *1831 William Edward Nassau Molesworth *1831 John Harward *1851 Thomas Tunstall Smith *1893 William Harry Arkwright *1902 Hubert Arnold Gem (previously vicar of

All Saints' Church, Nottingham All Saints' Church, Nottingham, is an Church of England, Anglican church in Nottingham, England. The church is Grade II listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as it is a building of special architectural or historic inter ...

) *1913 Thomas Beedham Charlesworth *1917

Herbert Ham Herbert Ham was an Anglican priest and musician. He was born in 1869, educated at Worcester College, Oxford and ordained in 1898. Following curacies in Wormley and Chelmsford he held incumbencies in Derby, Wirksworth and Carsington after which ...

*1925 Arthur Lionel Edwards *1935 Stephen Langrish Caiger *1951 Geoffrey Busby *1984 Robert S. Caney (Rector)

Organ

In 1826 a two-manual organ was installed by Thomas Elliot. It cost £400 (equivalent to £ as of ), raised by subscriptions, and was placed in the tower of the church, but it was removed in 1853 to a more convenient location in the nave. The church had a three-manual 26-speaking-stop tubular pneumatic-action pipe organ installed in the north transept in 1899 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 ...

. It was rebuilt in 1955 by Kingsgate Davidson with electric action. This organ was replaced in 1987 by a three-manual 48-speaking-stop Makin electronic digital organ.

Organists

*George Frederick Simms ????–1832 (afterwards organist of

St Oswald's Church, Ashbourne St Oswald's Church is a Church of England parish church located in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, Ashbourne, in the county of Derbyshire, England. Background The church is named after Oswald of Northumbria. A brass plaque in the chapel on the south s ...

) *Thomas Reeves 1832–60 *Edward Birch 1860–78 *Nicholas Mason Day 1878–98 *Carl Ashover 1899–1916 *F. Isherwood-Plummer 1920–1922 (previously organist of

St Alkmund's Church, Derby Saint Alkmund's Church was a Victorian church, which stood in a Georgian square between Bridgegate and Queen Street in Derby; this was the only Georgian square in the city. The church and its yard were demolished in 1968 for construction of a road ...

) *Edward S. Jones c. 1923–36 *Hingley James 1936–???? *Harold Udall Ogdon *Christopher Dixon 1980–present

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wirksworth Church of England church buildings in Derbyshire

Anglo-Saxon art St Mary's Church