St. Mary, Bolsover, Derbyshire
Description
The church of St. Mary, a building of stone, consists of chancel, nave, south porch, aisles and a western tower with a low broach spire, containing a clock and 8 bells, of which 6 were renewed in 1898, and the octave completed in 1902: the early Norman edifice, erected about 1020, was partly rebuilt about 1200: the piers of the chancel arch and a doorway and window in the south chancel wall are the principal remnants of the old Norman building: the tympanum of the south chancel door bears a representation of the "Crucifixion," with figures of St. Mary and St. John: the tower was built during the Early English period: the whole of the north aisle and porch are also in this style, and in the north aisle are two Perpendicular windows: on the south side of the chancel is a large slab roughly incised with the figures of a man and woman with five children kneeling below them, and a defaced inscription to William Woodhouse, 1310: in the south aisle is a recess, inclosing a stone slab, discovered in 1704 outside the north door, placed face downwards, and used as a doorstep; it is rudely carved in high relief with a representation of the "Adoration of the Magi," once richly coloured and probably originally stood above the altar in the Norman church of William Peveril: at the east end of this aisle is another recess, and a door opening into the Cavendish chapel, which is filled with monuments to members of this family, fourteen of whom are here buried; these memorials include one to Sir Charles Cavendish kt. of Welbeck Abbey, erected by his wife Catherine, Baroness Ogle, in 1617, with an epitaph by Ben Jonson, and another of larger size in the Italian style, erected in 1691 by Henrietta (Cavendish-Holles) Countess of Oxford, to her grandfather, Henry Cavendish, and Duke of Newcastle, ob. 1691, and his daughters: there is an ancient aumbry and modern sedilia: the font is remarkable for its admixtures of styles: the roofs were lowered and various alterations made in Queen Anne's reign; in 1834 other changes took place, but the church was fully restored in 1878, under the direction of Mr. William Mitchell-Withers, architect, when the galleries were removed, the interior reseated, an organ chamber and north aisle added, and a rood screen of old carved oak erected: on Sunday, Jan. 24th, 1896, a fire broke out in the vestry, which severely damaged the interior of the church as well as the clock and bells: the church has since been thoroughly restored at a cost of £10,000, including new seats, bells, clock and organ, and was reopened Sept. 21st, 1898: there are 850 sittings.
Church Records
The register of St. Mary's dates from the year 1603.