Listed Building record MDR4910 - St Mary's Church, Cromford Road, Crich

St Mary's Church, Cromford Road, Crich, originally a 12th century building. 'The Church of Crich was dedicated to St. Mary, this name being repeatedly mentioned in the Crich Chartulary and the chartularies of Darley Abbey. The alleged dedication to St Michael is due to an error in Kelly's "Post Office Directory" of 1855 being persisted in by other publications. The church consists of nave, side aisles and south porch, chancel with north vestry and tower and spire at the west end. Of the church that seems to have been erected by Ralph Fitzralp temp. Stephen (1135-54), there are considerable remains. The church was renovated and rebuilt in the 14th c in the Decorated style. The Perpendicular period is seen in the clerestory and the porch. The church had two chantries founded in 1350 and 1368 by Sir William De Wakebridge. [Cox gives a detailed history and description of the church.]' (1) 'The original dedication of Crich Church was to St. Mary… but in modern directories and also in the Diocesan Calendar it is styled St Michael's. The change is supposed to have taken place about the time of the Reformation but there is no clear record." There was formerly a chapel at the east end of the south aisle the piscina of which remains and there are indications of another chapel against the north aisle.' (2) 'The church is definitely dedicated to St. Mary. The supposed dedication to St Michael presumably arose from the local market and fair being held at Michaelmass. The church is in use for public worship.' (3) From the National Heritage List for England: 'SK 35 SW 3/20 13-2-67 PARISH OF CRICH CROMFORD ROAD Church of St Mary (Formerly listed as Church of St Michael) I Anglican Church. Medieval, with C12 core, additions and alterations in late C13, C14 and early C15, and recent C20 vestry extension. Ashlar and coursed rubble gritstone, with quoins, coped gables to nave and chancel, low pitched leaded roof to nave and aisles, and concrete tiles to chancel and south porch. Square west tower with recessed octagonal spire mid to late C14, nave with Perpendicular clerestory, north and south aisles and a perpendicular south porch. Decorated chancel, with vestry to north wall. Three-stage tower rising from a triple stepped moulded plinth, with angle buttresses with set-offs, terminating at bell stage. Moulded string courses delineate tower stages, two-light Decorated belfry window with moulded string above, incorporating grotesque spouts to corners. Deep unpierced parapet with a wave moulding with trefoils, below a moulded parapet coping. Octagonal spire with lucarnes at three levels. Tower west wall with C19 two-light window below hoodmould with stops. Above, an empty niche sets below a clock face to the second stage. South aisle with Perpendicular three-light flat-headed west window and two south wall pointed arched windows below hoodmoulds with carved stops, one with intersecting tracery, one with reticulated tracery, both with moulded surrounds.Three-light windows with intersecting tracery to east end. Shallow stepped buttresses with set-offs between windows and to east corner. Gabled south porch rising from plain chamfered plinth, with double chamfer arch to doorway, with hoodmould. Deeply recessed flat headed two-light windows to side walls, and stone porch seats to interior. Stepped arch to south aisle doorway with hollow and quadrant mouldinqs rising from chamfered responds with simply moulded capitals below a hood mould. Four bay nave with ashlar crenellated parapets, above a continuous stringcourse. Deeply recessed. Perpendicular three-light clerestory windows with four centred arched heads to lights, and one two-light chamfer mullioned window. Sanctus bellcote above chancel arch. Three bay Decorated chancel, with full-height buttresses with set-offs delineating the bays, and east angle buttresses to east end, rising from an elaborate moulded plinth. Two three-light ogee-reticulated windows within deeply moulded surrounds to south wall. Set-offs in south wall masonry runs horizontally above pointed arched priests door to central bay and is carried up as hoodmould above pointed arched windows, continuing around along east wall, and above five-light ogee reticulated east window. Vestry to chancel without windows, but with diagonal buttresses with set-offs. North aisle with deeply recessed Perpendicular three-light east window and angle buttress to north east corner. Three three-light Decorated pointed arched windows with flowing tracery and hoodmoulds with stops, beneath a chamfered string course and with shallow buttresses with set-offs between windows, all rising off a shallow plinth. At the west end, an ogee-headed tomb recess in the outer wall. C20 flat roofed vestry projects to north. Two-light Decorated window to north aisle west wall. INTERIOR: narrow tall, pointed tower arch, chamfered, and with responds for three bay nave arcades against tower east wall. North arcade lower and earlier than south, with elementary chamfered square capitals, and scalloped respond capitals supporting asymmetrical stepped unchamfered semicircular arches, with continuous hoodmould above. South arcade with chamfered semicircular arches rising from moulded circular capitals, and continuous hoodmould above arches. North aisle circular piers are more substantial than those to south. Junctions between arcades and later chancel are narrow half bays with stepped pointed chamfered arches, that to north arcade lower, and running into chancel wall masonry, that to south aisle rising from a moulded impost, matching those of the chancel arch which is double chamfered, below vestigial traces of a steeply pitched former nave roof. Within chancel moulded eaves string course with carved corbels for earlier chancel roof. Triple ogee-headed sub-cusped sedilia to chancel south wall, and also drain to former piscina. Former squint to chancel north wall, now with C17 carved cover. Above squint, a rare stone bible rest. Piscina to south aisle side wall with cusped head, and at west end of aisle, a Romanesque drum font with cable moulding. Tomb recess in north aisle wall with recumbent effigy believed to be of Sir William de Wakebridge d.1369. Chancel south wall has alabaster table tomb with the figure of a knight in armour, to Godfrey Beresford d.1513. Chancel north wall has alabaster table tomb to John Clay d.1632 and two wives. Alabaster slab set in wall, with carved full height portraits to German Pole d.1588 and his wife. Classical wall monument to German Wheatcroft d.1857 to chancel north wall, and an inscription board nearby seemingly associated with the Clay Monument. C14 chancel screen, with three-light side bays, cusped headings to lights, and pierced panel to base. Two benches with poppy heads to end against chancel arch wall. Listing NGR: SK3480154660' (4)