1. The History
The short and tall of it is that I can’t find any specific history about this little church. Searched high and wide but nothing came up on this delightful twin chapel at the east end of the graveyard in the north Derbyshire town of Staveley. There’s very little history about the graveyard as a whole beyond that it was founded in 1884 and there are 25 Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) graves here; 11 from WW1 and 14 from WW2. It was under the supervision of the Rural District Council of Chesterfield, and by 1932 it had been increased in size from its initial 3.5 acres to 7 acres. Old Maps show two mortuary chapels, one for Church of England, and the other for Non-conformists.
2. The Explore
Purely a speculative explore of the back of a picture that came up on Flicker. As I was passing close by, thought I’d pop in and see what was there. Glad I did as this turned out to be an absolute gem of a place. There are two separate chapels either side of the central tower – one labelled Gentlemen, the other Ladies. The gentleman’s side was accessible and still have some chapel furniture in. It was only a single room with a store cupboard off to the side but this place was so peaceful and really atmospheric.
3. The Pictures
View from the approach road:
img1422 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Staverley 19 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Ladies side:
img1417 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1415 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Staverley 18 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Currently closed off so a peek through the door:
Staverley 17 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Central tower/spire:
img1409 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Gentleman’s side:
img1407 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1392 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Central altar:
Staverley 12 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1390 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Stained glass windows:
Staverley 05 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Staverley 04 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1400 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1399 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Detail of some of the cast-iron railings:
Staverley 11 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The original pews:
img1385 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Staverley 08 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The roof:
Staverley 15 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Door that leads to the central recess and the Ladies’ side:
Staverley 10 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Which is sealed up:
Staverley 07 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Answers on a postcard as to what this is or was:
Staverley 09 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Enchanting little place:
Staverley 03 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Staverley 02 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The short and tall of it is that I can’t find any specific history about this little church. Searched high and wide but nothing came up on this delightful twin chapel at the east end of the graveyard in the north Derbyshire town of Staveley. There’s very little history about the graveyard as a whole beyond that it was founded in 1884 and there are 25 Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) graves here; 11 from WW1 and 14 from WW2. It was under the supervision of the Rural District Council of Chesterfield, and by 1932 it had been increased in size from its initial 3.5 acres to 7 acres. Old Maps show two mortuary chapels, one for Church of England, and the other for Non-conformists.
2. The Explore
Purely a speculative explore of the back of a picture that came up on Flicker. As I was passing close by, thought I’d pop in and see what was there. Glad I did as this turned out to be an absolute gem of a place. There are two separate chapels either side of the central tower – one labelled Gentlemen, the other Ladies. The gentleman’s side was accessible and still have some chapel furniture in. It was only a single room with a store cupboard off to the side but this place was so peaceful and really atmospheric.
3. The Pictures
View from the approach road:
Ladies side:
Currently closed off so a peek through the door:
Central tower/spire:
Gentleman’s side:
Central altar:
Stained glass windows:
Detail of some of the cast-iron railings:
The original pews:
The roof:
Door that leads to the central recess and the Ladies’ side:
Which is sealed up:
Answers on a postcard as to what this is or was:
Enchanting little place:
