St. Peter's Church Edensor Revisited

Medusa's head

The winter of 2019/2020 ended up being the wettest in England since records began in 1766 and many of the places that I had visited in the lowlands of Doncaster during the summer were severely flooded, with the village of Fishlake attracting particular attention in the news.

The walk from Edensor to Rowsley

After completing my stone matching exercise for Aldershot Town Hall in late October, I just settled in for the coming winter to continue writing my Language of Stone Blog and, apart from trips to Doncaster as an English language teacher and a couple of indoor meetings with the Sheffield U3A Geology Group, my next day out was in March 2020. 

St. Peter's church in Edensor

With Storms Ciara and Dennis having wreaked further havoc in February 2020, I had by then undertaken considerable preparation work for my forthcoming talk at St. Peter’s church in Edensor on 28th March and wanted to check a few details. 

The Devonshire Marbles

Taking advantage of a spell of unusually mild and dry weather, I decided to take the bus to Edensor, where I would have another quick look at St. Peter’s church and then follow the River Derwent from Chatsworth Park to Rowsley. 

The tomb of the 6th Duke of Devonshire

Apart from taking a few photographs of the tomb of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, which I had missed during my previous visit, I wanted to have another look at the various Derbyshire marbles that have been used in the font, pulpit and the sedilia. 

The sedilia

When I arrived the church was being cleaned and, after briefly talking to Reverend Canon Dave Perkins, he switched on the main lights so I could also get a better look at them. To my surprise, the chequerboard floor to the nave, which I had previously assumed in poor light to be pale and dark varieties of Hopton Wood limestone, actually has a reddish gritstone as the darker material. 

The old font

Now that the lights were on, I could also better see the old font that is set at the east end of the south aisle and the Norman column and capital at the west end of the north arcade, which is the only surviving part of the original church. 

The Norman capital

I finished by taking a few general photographs of the magnificent Cavendish Chapel and details of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, who carries a shield bearing Medusa’s head and has an owl beside her feet.

Athena's owl