Building record MDR12903 - St John the Baptist's Church, Main Road, Smalley
Type and Period (2)
- CHAPEL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- PARISH CHURCH (Georgian to Early 20th Century - 1793 AD to 1912 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
The chapel at Smalley, which is dedicated to St John Baptist, was erected in 1793, and considerably enlarged in 1844. It is a neat stone edifice in the form of a cross, is well pewed, and has a turret with one bell. (1)
The church at Smalley is dedicated to St John the Baptist. It was erected on the site of an old chapel in 1793. In 1844 north and south transepts were added, but they were removed in 1862, when north and south aisles were erected. The present [1895] chancel was built in 1863 by Mary Buttle Radford. Ms Radford died in 1882, and a three-light window depicting Faith, Hope and Charity was erected to her memory in the south aisle. The brass lectern was presented by Mrs Bradshaw in memory of her husband, who was rector of the parish for 13 years. (2)
Smalley was originally a parochial chapelry of Morley. The old chapel at Smalley was built of light red sandstone, with repairs carried out in brickwork. It also had a 15th century timbered roof, and apparently had a good quantity of stained glass. The chapel was replaced in 1793, although this 18th century building has since had substantial alterations. Norman style transepts were added in 1844, but were removed again in 1862 when the north and south aisles were added. A chancel was built in 1863 to replace the original apse. The west tower was designed by Curry & Thompson, and is in the Arts and Crafts style with a pyramidal top. (3)
St John the Baptist's Church is a grade II listed parish church dating to 1793, with the aisles added in 1844, the porch added c. 1850, the chancel rebuilt in 1863, and the tower added in 1912. It is built of sandstone ashlar, with random coursing to the tower, and sandstone dressings. It has slate roofs with stone coped gables, except the belled pyramidal tower roof, which is of plain tiles. It comprises nave with north and south aisles, lower chancel with side bay to the west, south porch and tower to the north-west corner of the nave. Inside are three-bay north and south arcades of wide, double chamfered pointed arches on columns with moulded bases and capitals. There is a similar style chancel arch, except that the soffit moulding rests on polished marble corbels with stiff leaf capitals. The roofs are all 19th century. The pews, choir stalls, reredos, octagonal stone pulpit and screen to the eastern part of the north aisle all date to c. 1863 with cusped panelling. There is a 15th century style stone font to the west end of the nave, on an octagonal stem, which is also of c. 1863. There is vivid c. 1863 stained glass to all chancel windows, and a Pre-Raphaelite style east window to the south aisle of c. 1882. See list description for more details. (4)
The bell in St John the Baptist's is of historical significance. Dated to 1796, it is the example of the work of a rare London founder, Old John Warner. (6)
Sources/Archives (6)
- <1> SDR19516 Bibliographic reference: White, F & Co.. 1857. History, Gazetteer & Directory of the County of Derby. p 299.
- <2> SDR3507 Bibliographic reference: Bulmer, T and Co.. 1895. History, Topography and Directory of Derbyshire. pp 596-7.
- <3> SDR20951 Bibliographic reference: I A H Combes. 2004. Anglican Churches of Derbyshire. p 154.
- <4> SDR19551 Listed Building File: Historic England. 2011. The National Heritage List for England. List entry number, Original UID: 78833.
- <5> SDR15672 Index: TPAT. 2548. 2548.
- <6> SDR23468 Unpublished document: Church of England. 2007. Identification of bells and bell frames of historic significance.
Map
Location
Grid reference | Centred SK 4063 4413 (25m by 19m) |
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Civil Parish | SMALLEY, AMBER VALLEY, DERBYSHIRE |
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Record last edited
Jun 3 2015 3:28PM