Building record MDR5863 - St Martin's Church, Church Street, Alfreton
Type and Period (1)
- PARISH CHURCH (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1150 AD? to 1900 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
[SK 40725588] St. Martin's Church [T.U.] (1)
The church at Alfreton, dedicated to St. Martin, consists of a nave, side aisles, south porch, western tower, and chancel with a vestry on the north side. The oldest part appears to be the stilted archway from the nave into tower and may be attributed, from the mouldings of its capitals, to the commencement of the Early English period. The Decorated Period is in evidence in some of the arches separating the nave from the south aisle, probably dating to c.1320, and the moulding of the arch of the south doorway. The tower is early Perpendicular, probably from the commencement of the 15th century. In 1868, the church was enlarged and altered, the north aisle being widened and an extra bay added to the nave and both aisles. The chancel was almost completely rebuilt and extended to retain its former size. The church is first noticed at the endowment of Beauchief Abbey between 1172 and 1176 and it is reasonable to assume that the founder of the Abbey was also the founder of the church. None of the work in the church pre-dates this period. There was at one period a Chantry of our Lady of Alfreton in the north aisle. (2)
In normal use. (3)
Church of St Martin. Parish church. 13th, 14th, and 15th century, restored and north aisle and south chancel bay added 1868 by T C Hine, chancel enlarged 1899-1901, also with c.1930 Hall. Grade II*. (4)
A couple of engravings of the church show its appearance before restoration, at a time when it was described as an 'ancient rude structure … with little regularity of form. (5)
One print shows an outside staircase at the east end of the south aisle by which access was gained to a gallery over the aisle. This was later demolished. (6)
The three-stage, western tower is 15th century in date and contains a bellframe which dates to the 19th century. Four timbers from the belfry floor upon which the bellframe sites were analysed by tree-ring dating. Two were found to have been felled in AD 1575-95, while the other two were felled in AD 1619-39. The two earlier beams were the middle ones and could suggest that the belfry floor was inserted in the last quarter of the 16th century with the later outside beams being added some years later, either to strengthen the floor or to replace beams which had failed. (7)
Two notable bells of historic significance, one large bell dating from 1780 and another dating from the 16th century. (8)
Sources/Archives (8)
- <1> SDR12071 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1937-8. OS 6" 1937-8.
- <2> SDR11673 Bibliographic reference: Cox, J. 1875. Notes on the Churches of Derbyshire, Vol. I. pp 3-13.
- <3> SDR6333 Personal Observation: F1 FRH 27-JUL-66.
- <4> SDR19551 Listed Building File: Historic England. 2011. The National Heritage List for England. List entry number 1335406.
- <5> SDR5028 Bibliographic reference: Bateman, T. 1812. A Descriptive and Historical Account of Alfreton.
- <6> SDR20579 Bibliographic reference: Anon. 1927. 'Alfreton in Olden Days', Alfreton and Belper Journal.
- <7> SDR20580 Unpublished document: Arnold, A & Howard, R (English Heritage). 2008. St Martin's Church, Alfreton, Derbyshire, Tree Ring Analysis of Timbers from the Belfry Floor, Scientific Dating Report.. English Heritage Research Dept Report no. 45-2008. HER Doc. No. 1132.
- <8> SDR23468 Unpublished document: Church of England. 2007. Identification of bells and bell frames of historic significance.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 4073 5588 (43m by 26m) (Centre) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | ALFRETON, AMBER VALLEY, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
- EDR1430
- EDR2623
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Jun 19 2015 3:54PM