Annesley Old Church or the Church of All Saints, Annesley Park, is a disused church in a ruinous condition which stands on a mound near to Annesley Hall, Nottinghamshire, England. The building remains are

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and are surrounded by a graveyard. The site is scheduled as an

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. The church is built in stone and measures approximately by . The standing remains include the roofless west tower,

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and a large 14th-century

lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...

to the south. The Lady Chapel, known as the "Felley Chantry” after the priory at Felley to whom the patronage once belonged, contained three fine

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, typically made of stone, located on the liturgical south side of the altar—often within the chancel—intended for use by the officiating priest, deacon, an ...

and a

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

and a large east window with reticulated stone

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

. The surrounding graveyard contains a variety of mainly 17th- and 18th-century grave markers.

History

The present building, constructed by the Annesley family in 1356, replaced a previous Norman building on the same site. After the Annesley estate had passed by marriage to the Chaworths, Patrick Chaworth, 3rd Viscount Chaworth, in 1686 built the flight of steps leading up to the church and arranged for a carving of his coat of arms, or Achievement, to be fixed one of the tower walls in the church. As the village of Annesley developed into a mining community it was decided to build a new church on a site nearer to the growing colliery community. The new church,

All Saints' Church, Annesley All Saints' Church, Annesley is a parish church in the Church of England in Annesley, Nottinghamshire. The church is Grade II* listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as it is a particularly significant building of more ...

, was consecrated in 1874. Occasional services, especially Harvest Festivals, continued to be held in the old church until 1942. Following the cessation of use the building deteriorated and Viscount Chaworth's achievement was transferred to the new church. When the Annesley estate was sold in 1973 the buildings fell into a state of total disrepair and were sold by the Church Commissioners to Ashfield District Council for a nominal £1. In 2012 Ashfield District Council completed a programme of preservation and restoration to make the site safe and accessible to visitors. The ruined building was Grade I listed in 1966 and scheduled as an Ancient Monument in 1977. It is also on the Heritage at Risk register. In 2011 it was announced that the Heritage Lottery Fund would make an award of £450,000 to help Ashfield District Council to fund its conservation. The project was intended to conserve what remains of the church buildings and make the site more accessible for visitors. The Annesley Old Church Project was a three-year project that included phases that sought to restore the ruins and promote the use of the site for community events and activities. The church is mentioned in the writings of both

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

and

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...

References

* {{coord, 53.0661, -1.25, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade I listed churches in Nottinghamshire Church ruins in England Grade I listed ruins