Monument record MDR8141 - Ruined 'chapel', Terrace Wood, Glapwell

A ruined structure standing in Terrace Wood on Scarsdale Edge, Glapwell, is believed to be the remains of St Andrew's medieval chapel. It was built of limestone and consisted of nave and chancel. The nave comprised 3 identical walls 20ft high, and measured 15ft inside. Each wall had 3 upper and 3 lower windows. The 3 lower windows were surmounted by a flat arch resembling a tympanum. There were doors in the south and north wall. The upper windows were 4ft 2ins wide and 8ft high and were surrounded by an arch. The walls were reinforced by buttresses at the corners and between the windows. The chancel was semi-circular, 6ft in diameter and 8ft deep, with a lancet window 5ft high and 1ft wide which was flanked internally on each side by a semi-circular niche. The remains of a stone altar rail was still evident in 1960 when the structure was examined and measured by a local amateur historian. The chapel is said to have later been converted into a shooting lodge, with the insertion of an upper floor between the lower and upper windows. It has experienced considerable deterioration in recent years. (1) The presence of a chapel at Glapwell is recorded in the Cartulary of Darley Abbey, with an agreement made in c. 1260 between the Abbot and the inhabitants of Glapwell about roofing the chapel. They agreed to give five acres of land, as an endowment, to keep it in repair. It probably fell into disuse and was demolished at the Reformation, for no mention is made of it by the Commissioners of 1650. (2) In 1440 the Abbot of Darley petitioned the Bishop of Lichfield that the fruits and proventions of the chapels of Glapwell and Whaley may be united to the vicarage of the parish church of Bolsover as the proceeds were so small that they did not suffice for the sustenance of the chaplains. A decision was made in favour of the application, as the chapels were not far distant from the church and the road there was level and in fair condition at all seasons (3). For an alternative chapel site, see SMR 6002. The building was inspected by Derbyshire County Council in 1966 who concluded that the building was not a medieval chapel but rather a late 18th/early 19th century belvedere or summerhouse. (4) It is shown as 'Summer House' on a map of 1835. (5)