St. Martin's Church in Stoney Middleton

A general view of St. Martin's church from the north-west

When preparing my trip to Baslow, I knew that St. Anne’s church was open every day, but I hadn’t checked the opening times of St. Martin’s church, because I hadn’t made firm plans to visit Stoney Middleton – due to the infrequency of the bus service that would get me back to Sheffield - and I was therefore pleased to to discover that this very unusual church was open, when I decided to visit this historic village, to look at some more of its geology and architecture.

A view of the tower

Originally commissioned by Lady Joan Eyre, in thanks to God for the safe return of her husband from the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the original church was burned down in 1757 and rebuilt in 1759 by the architect James Paine, whose work includes Paine’s Bridge and the Stable Block at the nearby Chatsworth House.

A general view of the east end

From the point of view of an architectural historian, this church is very unusual in that an octagonal nave, with a lantern, has been added to the squat C15 tower; however, the combination of Carboniferous limestone and Millstone Grit just provides a further example of the building materials used throughout the village, and there is very little ornamentation.

The war memorial

Quickly walking around the churchyard, the sandstone war memorial is in the form of a wheel cross, with attached plaques in grey granite, and there is a Grade II Listed table tomb, with hour glass and two upturned armorial shields below.

A Grade II Listed table tomb

The interior of the church is plastered throughout, with a few marble memorials on the walls and a C20 sandstone font but, by far, the most interesting feature is the memorial to the Reverend Urban Smith, who died in 1887.

A general view of the interior

A white marble inscribed panel is surrounded by squares of various Derbyshire ‘marbles’, some of which were familiar to me but with others that I had not seen before. In the corners, hemispheres of fluorite have been used to add further decoration and the whole monument has a moulded alabaster surround.

The memorial to Reverend Urban Smith