All Saints Church, Kedleston facts for kids

Quick facts for kids All Saints' Church, Kedleston
All Saints' Church, Kedleston, from the east
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OS grid reference	SK 312 403
Location	Adjacent to Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Churches Conservation Trust
History
Dedication	All Saints
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	13 February 1967
Architectural type	Church
Style	Norman, Gothic
Groundbreaking	12th century
Completed	1908
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, Welsh slate roofs

All Saints' Church, Kedleston, is a church that is no longer used for regular services. It is an Anglican church located a few miles northwest of Derby in Derbyshire, England. This church is all that remains of the old village of Kedleston. The village was taken down in 1759 by Nathaniel Curzon to make space for the large country house next door, Kedleston Hall.

All Saints' Church is a very important historical building. It is listed as Grade I on the National Heritage List for England. Kedleston Hall is looked after by the National Trust. The church is cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust. The Curzon family has lived at Kedleston Hall for more than 700 years.

History of the Church

The village of Kedleston was first written about in the Domesday Book, a very old record of England. The church itself was first mentioned in 1198–99. The only part left from that very first church is the Norman (an old building style) south doorway and the wall next to it.

Most of the church you see today was rebuilt in the 13th century. Later, between 1480 and 1510, the top of the tower was rebuilt in the Perpendicular style. From 1700 to 1720, pretty decorations like vases and a sundial were added to the east side.

In 1759, work began on the current Kedleston Hall. The area where the village of Kedleston stood was turned into parkland. In 1884–85, John Oldrid Scott did a big "Victorian makeover" of the church. This included making the roof higher, putting in a new wooden ceiling, adding a new west window, and laying a new floor. He also removed the old-fashioned enclosed seats (called box pews) from the main part of the church (the nave).

In 1908, Lord George Curzon added the Kedleston Chapel to the north side of the nave. This chapel was built over a burial vault. It was a special memorial for his wife, Mary, and was designed by G. F. Bodley.

Between 1910 and 1912, the stained glass in the windows was replaced and more was added. The church stopped being used for regular services on April 1, 1983. It was then given to the Churches Conservation Trust on April 18, 1989, to look after. Today, two people help care for and protect the church during its opening hours.

Church Design and Features

Outside the Church

The church is built from sandstone with Welsh slate roofs. It is shaped like a cross (called cruciform). It has a tower in the middle, a main hall (nave) with a chapel on the north side (the Kedleston Chapel), and arms on the north and south sides (transepts). There is also a main altar area (chancel) with high windows (clerestory) and a room for clergy (vestry).

The south doorway is in the old Norman style. It has a round arch with a zigzag pattern. Inside the arch, there's a stone carving (tympanum) with old, worn-out pictures of animals. To the right of the door are two windows, each with two lights and flat tops. Each transept has supports (buttresses) and a window with three tall, narrow windows (lancets) that step up in height.

On the south wall of the chancel, there is a door for the priest. To its left is a lancet window, and to its right is a two-light window with a flat top. The high windows (clerestory) have two-light windows on both the south and north walls. The east wall has diagonal supports (buttresses) and a three-light window. At the top is a low wall (parapet) with a sundial in the middle. The sundial has the words "We shall" and pictures of skulls and crossbones. At the very top are hourglasses. At the ends of the parapet are decorative urns.

On the north wall of the chancel is a two-light window. The north wall of the vestry has two pairs of lancet windows. The Kedleston Chapel has three sections (bays) separated by supports. Each section has a three-light window. Below these windows are three small, clover-shaped openings (trefoils) that help with air flow.

Along the top wall (parapet) of the chapel, there is an inscription that says "QUIA MULTUM AMAVIT". The west wall has diagonal supports and a three-light window. Above this, there is a lancet window in the pointed part of the wall (gable). The tower has two main parts. The lower part has two lancet windows. The upper part has two-light openings for the bells on each side. The very top of the tower has a battlemented wall, with pointed decorations (pinnacles) at the corners.

Inside the Church

Between the main hall (nave) and the Kedleston Chapel, there is a series of three arches (arcade). In the chancel, there is a small cupboard (aumbry) and a basin for washing (piscina). There is another piscina in the south transept. The organ is in the north transept.

The font (where baptisms happen) is from the 18th century. It has a round bowl on a many-sided base and a wooden cover. The wooden pulpit (where sermons are given) is from the 19th century. The brass lectern, shaped like an eagle, is from 1886. The chancel has box pews, which are enclosed seats. The altar is in the Jacobean style.

In the arcade, there is a beautiful screen made of wrought iron with gates. The church also has light fittings and a large hanging light (corona lucis), both made of wrought iron. There are five hatchments, which are special painted boards remembering people who have died.

Some of the stained glass in the chancel windows is from the 17th century and was moved into the church in 1910. Other stained glass is from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The organ, which has two keyboards (manuals), was built in 1899 by W. Hill and Son of London. The same company rebuilt and made it bigger in 1910.

Tomb of the Marquess Curzon of Kedleston and his wife Mary in the Kedleston Chapel

The church has 35 memorials to the Curzon family. These include tombs that stand alone, wall memorials, and floor tablets. They date from the 13th to the 20th centuries. The biggest memorial is a free-standing tomb in the Kedleston Chapel. It has statues (effigies) of the 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, who died in 1925, and his first wife Mary. The chapel was built for Mary, who died in 1906 at age 36. This tomb is made of white marble. Two angels holding the "crown of life" lean over the statues. This memorial was designed by Sir Bertram Mackennal.

In the south transept, there is a tomb chest with statues of Sir John Curzon and his wife, from 1456. Sir John is shown wearing armor. At the feet of the statues are dogs, and on the sides of the tomb are figures of their 17 children. Also in this transept is a plain stone slab with a cross and leaves, remembering Thomas de Curzon, who died in 1245. There are wall memorials for Sir John Curzon, 1st Baronet, who died in 1686, and his wife, Patience, who died in 1642. Another is for Sir John Curzon, 3rd Baronet, who died unmarried in 1727.

There are more memorials in the north transept. One was designed by Peter Scheemakers for Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 2nd Baronet, who died in 1719, and his wife Sarah. Another memorial is for Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 4th Baronet and his family, dated 1758. This one was made by Michael Rysbrack following a design by Robert Adam.

Outside the Church Grounds

The churchyard has war graves for two soldiers. One was an officer from the Derbyshire Yeomanry (a member of the Curzon family). The other was a soldier from the Royal Pioneer Corps who died in World War II.

See Also

• Grade I listed churches in Derbyshire
• Grade I listed buildings in Derbyshire
• Listed buildings in Kedleston
• List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in the English Midlands