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St John's, Marchington Woodlands

"Marchington Woodlands Church was built at the instigation and largely at the expense of Thomas Webb of Smallwood Manor. It was built to serve a scattered parish, most of the inhabitants of which, until the erection of the new Church, were compelled to walk two and a half miles either to Marchington or to Newborough in order to attend divine service. This had long been felt to be a great evil, entailing much inconvenience upon devout worshippers, and fostering a feeling of indifference in the minds of many too ready to plead as an excuse for not attending church that there was, in fact, no church for them to attend.

"The premature death of Thomas Webb's wife Lucinda, in 1858, strengthened his resolve to fill this need. A London architect, A.D. Gough, was engaged and two and a half thousand pounds was raised from the local land owners, gentry and public at large. Webb donated the land and £1050 and his immediate family gave considerable donations. A list of people making donations can be seen on the board at the back of the Church.

"Mr. Evans of Ellastone was contracted to build the new church of Hollington stone. The foundation stone was laid by the Vicar of Hanbury, the Reverend James Riddell, on October 26th, 1858 and the finished building was consecrated by the Bishop of Lichfield on September 6th, 1859. It is quoted that the large sum of £137 9s. 1d was collected at the consecration service and an elegant lunch was served at Smallwood Manor for all who attended.

"The new incumbent was to be the former rector of Cleobury North, Shropshire who had made a handsome contribution towards the cost of the new church. He was the Reverend J.B. Webb, the brother of the new patron. He remained curate for only two years and four other incumbents followed him in quick succession. Stability was achieved with the appointment in 1870 of Alfred Boddington, who remained curate for the next thirty two years. But he began badly, as this rather tetchy entry in Thomas Webb's diary shows "Afternoon service, Our new clergyman preached an extemporary sermon, very badly delivered and not eloquent, We should much prefer that he would write his sermons."

"It was originally planned to build, north of the church, a parsonage and a school. The parsonage was never built, a persistent local belief being that Thomas Webb determined never to have a resident parson in the parish under a separate roof, but the school was to follow some ten years later on a site below the new church, largely through the efforts of Webb and the Bagot family.

"The close link between Marchington Woodlands Church and Smallwood continued more or less unbroken through the change of ownership in the 1880's. The rebuilding of the new Smallwood Manor and its conversion to a school in the 1920's. For fifty years Smallwood boys made the journey toWoodlands church across the fields in every sort of weather. Late arrivals for 11 o'clock matins most winter mornings would have to pick their way through a porchful of steaming Wellingtons. The school, during these years provided organist, choir and the majority of the congregation at morning service and the parents gave generously when necessary repairs and improvements were made to the fabric of the building. The link effectively came to an end in 1979 when Smallwood opened its own chapel, a development regretted by many in the Woodlands. Congregations have fluctuated since this time, especially since the closure of the Village school in 1981, whilst, as the building ages, it requires continued maintenance to keep this wonderful and beautiful building in good heart for the future. I hope that we can keep it so."

– John Bostock

St Peter's, Marchington

Marchington is mentioned in the Domesday Book.

Tutbury Priory and the Priory Church were founded in 1089 and endowed by Sir Henry Ferrers, Lord of about 100 manors in the area, including Marchington, where it is believed that Sir Henry also donated the land on which St Peter's church now stands. It is possible that a Saxon chapel stood on or near the site previously, but so far no information has been found to verify this supposition.

In 1089, or even earlier, the site for the church must have been carefully chosen. The church is located on low ground between what is now the village centre around High Street, and Hound Hill, where the original Vernon family residence was built. This part of the village has always been prone to flooding, but in living memory, and so far as is known since the original church was built, it has never been flooded. The flood waters have been known to reach close to the main door, but have never encroached on the nave or chancel.

Based on the limited information now available it is believed that the original Norman church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, consisted of a chancel, nave and a north aisle, and a tower which had a spire. The spire may have been a later addition.

In 1254 Marchington and its chapel is referred to in a deed forming part of the Vernon family records, now in the Derbyshire County records office in Matlock. The deed refers to a gift made by the parson of Hanbury to Thomas Helias, Priest of Marchington, of 2 bovates of land belonging to the Chapel of Mercutton.

In 1291 references are made in the "Taxatic Ecclesiasticus" of Pope Nicholas 1V to Hanbury Church and its chapels (almost certainly Marchington & Newborough) being assessed at 50 marks, a tenth of which was to be paid to King Edward 1 to help finance a crusade.

In 1374 in John of Gaunt's register there is a record of an order for "a useful or convertible oak" to be delivered to the Chapel of Marchington. It is believed that the old oak chest still standing in the church was made from this oak.

In 1385 there are references to chapel Bells in the vicar of Hanbury's book. By the year 1553 there were 3 bells. (1553 inventory), and in 1626 these 3 bells were recast, and still have that date marked on them. A fourth bell was added in1765, and the peal was brought up to the present 6 in 1939.

In 1592 Walter Vernon of Houndhill (the family subsequently built Sudbury Hall) was buried in the church, in an alabaster tomb that is still there, located in front of the pulpit. The tomb must have been protected during the demolition of the Norman building and incorporated into the new church. The inscription assumed that Walter's wife, who survived him, would be interred with him at a later date. This never happened because she remarried, and is interred elsewhere.

The Norman church building became dilapidated in the 18th century when it was already several hundred years old. It was demolished in 1743 and replaced by the present building, dedicated to St Peter, in 1744. The reason for the change of dedication is not known. The architect for the new building was Richard Trubshaw, a notable church architect of that time. He designed the red brick church, apparently standing on the foundations of the original church, to include an unusual cupola capped tower and a musicians gallery. There was no organ in the church at that time.

In 1892 a letter from the vicar, the rev A Bodington referred to improvements including "Removal of ceiling and caring of rafters, Removal of gallery, Reconstruction of fittings by lowering and removal of pew doors, using any waste panels as wainscoting for the walls". This appears to confirm that the church originally had a flat ceiling below the main cross beams. The "caring of rafters" probably refers, amongst other works, to the roof truss joint near the north wall, which is secured by metal banding / bolting. This must have been a major worry at the time.

The same letter from the rev Bodington also refers to the need for a faculty to construct the chancel that was added in that year (1892), and included a small vestry for the vicar on the north side. Part of the vestry is built over a burial vault. Just over 100 years later the vestry was extended to provide additional space for meetings, and incorporating a much needed toilet and basic kitchen facilities. The enlarged vestry was dedicated in 1999 to Wilfred Appleby, who had given a lifetime of service to St Peter's church as a chorister, sexton, and bell ringer. He was for many years the tower captain. Wilfred received the Royal Maundy money from the Queen at Lichfield Cathedral on Maundy Thursday in 1988. Upon his death on Christmas Day in the same year (1988) the family of Wilfred donated the coins to the church. A special casket is mounted on the wall to display the coins, assembled in the shape of a cross, on special occasions.

There is no reference to music before the latter half of the 18th century, when a barrel organ was said to be used. Early in the 19th century this was superseded by a church band. In 1858 a harmonium was introduced, and this was replaced in 1882 by an American organ, which was itself replaced by a positive organ 1903. The present organ was given some 10 year later in 1913 by a Mr Pickering. It had previously been used in Newborough church, and was built in 1805. The last major overhaul and modification took place in 1963. No doubt influenced by the 1913 organ acquisition the 20th century witnessed the development of a well trained and enthusiastic tradition of church choral music that continues to this day. Marchington is especially proud of the cross membership of choir and bell ringers.

The book entitled The History of Marchington, published in 1989 by Peter Woolley and John Ellwood to mark the 900th anniversary of the church, is the source for most of the historical data quoted above.

– Gordon Whitehead