All Saints Church in Bakewell

A general view of  All Saints church from the east

When I lived in Bakewell, I had fantastic views of All Saints church from my 'office' – and photos that I took included colour transparencies and black and white prints when the town was covered in snow - but I never made the attempt to fully explore this church and I only took a few quick snaps of its exterior when passing by or through its churchyard on the way to somewhere else.

A general view of All Saints church from the south-west

A few years ago, when working as an English language teacher, I visited Bakewell with my Spanish students and, finding that the church was open, I took a very quick look inside and was struck by the array of mediaeval grave slabs in the porch and the various large alabaster monuments in the Vernon Chapel.

Work in progress to the tower

Having spent a very long hot day exploring Haddon Hall, and with one side of the church being cast into deep shadow and the other partially obscured by scaffolding, I didn't take much time to further photograph its exterior and I much preferred to cool off inside instead - on this occasion.

A detail of a Norman doorway at the west end

Dating back to at least Norman times as seen in its west end - with further 14th and 15th century additions – All Saints church has a typical mediaeval appearance, with windows, battlements, parapets and other details in various Gothic styles; however, the tower and transepts were rebuilt and faithfully reproduced in 1841-52 by William Flockton, the nave arcades were replaced in 1852 by Weightman and Hadfield and the chancel restored in 1879-82 by Gilbert Scott the Younger.

A sundial by White Watson

The sandstone used to build the mediaeval church was probably quarried from the nearby escarpments of the Ashover Grit and, looking at the uniform characteristics of colour and texture throughout, it is highly likely that these Victorian architects took advantage of other quarries that had since sprung up on this particular rock, which is still worked for its top quality building stone.

A shaft of an Anglo-Saxon cross in the churchyard