
The Cathedral Church of All Saints, Derby, better known as Derby Cathedral, is a
cathedral
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
church in the city of
Derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
, England. In 1927, it was promoted from parish church status to that of a cathedral, creating a seat for the
Bishop of Derby, which new
Episcopal see
An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...
was created in that year. The original church of All Saints was founded in the mid-10th century as a royal collegiate church, dedicated to All Saints. The main body of the church as it stands today is a Georgian rebuilding by
James Gibbs
James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was a Scottish architect. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transition between English Ba ...
, completed in 1725. The tower dates from the 16thcentury, and a
retroquire was added in the 20thcentury.
History
All Saints' Church
The original church, dedicated to All Saints, was probably built in about 943 by the
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
King
Edmund I as a royal collegiate church, of which building no trace survives. Following the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
of 1066, and according to the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086, it belonged to the king, and was served by a college of seven priests.
The Saxon building probably became structurally unstable, and was therefore demolished. A new building was constructed in the 14thcentury, which surviving drawings show was about the same size as the present building. In 1510–1532, the surviving tower was built in the
Perpendicular Gothic
Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...
style.
On top of the tower are twelve large sculpted grotesque
Since at least the 18th century (in French and German, as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...
animal figures, three per face, and the sculpted stone head of a Green Man can be seen on each side of the main West Door at the base of the tower. The tower is built with Ashover Grit sandstone, sourced from nearby Duffield Bank quarry.
in 1556, during the persecutions of Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
s during the reign of Queen Mary (1553–1558), Joan Waste was tried for heresy within the Church of All Saints, and was executed on the Burton Road in Derby.
The fabric of the church appears to have deteriorated severely from about 1650, and was in a ruinous state in 1700. In February 1723 the vicar, Dr Michael Hutchinson, having decided that a new building was required, made the decision unilaterally to demolish the church, and employed a gang of workmen to accomplish the task overnight. Having accepted this ''fait accompli
Many words in the English vocabulary are of French language, French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman conquest of England, Norman ...
'' handed to them, the Mayor and Corporation of Derby commenced fundraising for the building of a new church by inviting subscriptions for the purpose, and made the first donation themselves. Dr Hutchinson expended much effort in fundraising, which exertion may have adversely affected his health. He made a significant personal financial contribution to the fund, and his efforts are recorded on a memorial tablet in the South Aisle. Having encountered numerous disputes, Hutchinson eventually resigned in 1728 and died about eighteen months later, leaving numerous outstanding debts.
With the original 1530s tower retained, the rest of the church was rebuilt to a Neo-Classical design made in 1725 by the architect James Gibbs
James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was a Scottish architect. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transition between English Ba ...
. In his ''Book of Architecture'', Gibbs wrote as follows regarding All Saints' Church: "It is the more beautiful for having no galleries, which, as well as pews, clog up and spoil the insides of churches ... the plainness of this building makes it less expensive, and renders it more suitable to the old steeple". To offset the rather austere interior, Gibbs introduced a wrought iron chancel screen
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 ...
, extending across the entire width of the church, manufactured by the local iron-smith and gate-maker Robert Bakewell, but not completed until five years after the new church was opened. The first sermon was preached in the new church on 25November 1725.
By Order in Council
An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...
on 1July 1927, All Saints' Church became a cathedral. The new building was later extended eastwards with the addition of a retroquire designed by Sebastian Comper, constructed between 1967 and 1972.
The cathedral was registered as a charity on 9April 2024, with the Registered Charity Number 1207768.
Monuments and furnishings
The cathedral's treasures include the 18th-century wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...
rood screen
The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...
manufactured by Robert Bakewell, for which he was paid £157.10.0d (150guineas); a monument with effigy of Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall
Hardwick Hall is an architecturally significant Elizabethan architecture, Elizabethan-era country house in Derbyshire, England. A leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, the Renaissance architecture, Renaissance style home was bu ...
; and monumental brass
A monumental brass is a type of engraved church monument, sepulchral memorial once found through Western Europe, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional church monument, monuments and effigy, effigies carve ...
es of her descendants the Cavendish family (later the Dukes of Devonshire), including brasses of Henry Cavendish
Henry Cavendish ( ; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable a ...
and of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. The entrance gates, moved to the cathedral from StMary's Gate in 1957, were also made by Robert Bakewell. The gates were refurbished in 2012, and renamed the Queen ElizabethII Gates to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Notable 20th-century additions are stained-glass windows designed by Ceri Richards
Ceri Giraldus Richards (6 June 1903 – 9 November 1971) was a Welsh painter, print-maker and maker of reliefs.
Biography
Richards was born in 1903 in the village of Dunvant, near Swansea, the son of Thomas Coslett Richards and Sarah Ri ...
, and a bronze crucifix by Ronald Pope.
Clock and carillon
In 1927 a new clock was installed by John Smith & Son, Derby clockmakers, replacing one reputed to have been made by George Ashmore in 1738, but by then so worn as to be beyond its useful life. Until March 1976 this timekeeper and associated parts had been mechanically driven by heavy weights that had to be wound manually, some of them daily. This work had been undertaken by John Smith's for many years, but rising costs caused the authorities to install an automatic winding mechanism to both the clock and the carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...
, which sounds the bells.
Derby Cathedral's clock has two dials, one facing West along StMary's Gate, and one facing South down Irongate. Both are of stone and are 8feet in diameter. They were restored and gilded in 1964, then again in the early 21stcentury. The 1964 restoration proved beyond doubt that the long metal tubes driven through the tower walls to operate the clock mechanism were actually gun barrels (cavalry carbines) dating from the 1745 'uprising' of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The carillon is the mechanical instrument that drives the tunes played upon the cathedral's bells each day. It was installed by John Smith of Derby in 1931 to replace a machine of similar design, dating from the 17thcentury and subsequently enhanced towards the end of the 17thcentury by George Sorocold
George Sorocold ( – c. 1738) was an English civil engineer notable for pioneering work on water supplies and hydraulic power systems around Great Britain.
Biography
Sorocold was born in Lancashire in 1666, the son of James Sorocold and El ...
, a Derby millwright. The current machine plays a tune three times a day, and the seven tunes it plays are changed automatically each day. It is known that the tunes of the original machine were varied over the years, first by John Whitehurst at various times between 1745 and 1762, and then by John Smith in 1873.
There is documentary evidence to show that John Whitehurst was paid £3.3.0d (3guineas) for winding and care of the clock and carillon, although he is known to have paid from this sum the amount of £1.11.6d (1½gns.) to a MrFrost, who did the actual daily winding of the carillon.
On 3July 1976, one of the less well-known carillon tunes was replaced with the melody of " The Derby Ram", a regimental march associated with the Sherwood Foresters, so that it would become a permanent reminder of the Regiment's association with the town and county of Derby.
The tunes are currently played at 9am, 12noon and 6pm as follows:
*Sunday — Thaxted
*Monday — Truro
*Tuesday — The Shady Bowers
*Wednesday — All Saints
*Thursday — Lass of Paittie's Mill
*Friday — The Highland Laddie
*Saturday — The Derby Ram
They can be listened to live on a local webcam feed.
(The previous carillon played at 3, 6, 9, and 12 both night and day.)
Tower and bells
Derby Cathedral has the oldest ring
(The) Ring(s) may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV
* ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
of ten bells in the world. Most of them have been there since 1678, when the number of bells was increased from six to ten. The largest bell weighs 19cwt (965kg), its note is D-flat and it is over 500 years old — older than the tower itself.[ It is believed that it came from ]Dale Abbey
Dale Abbey is a village and civil parish in the borough of Borough of Erewash, Erewash in Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England, 6 miles north east of Derby. The population of the civil parish on the 2011 census was 1,351. Formerly known as ...
in Erewash in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The youngest bell, no.3, is dated 1693, so all the bells are over 300 years old. Bell no.8 was in Ashbourne parish church until 1815. A carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...
in the tower uses the same bells to provide a tune at 9am, 12noon and 6pm. The bells used to hang in a wooden frame; when the church became a cathedral in 1927, the bells were retuned and rehung at a lower level in a new metal frame.
On 28October 1732, a Frenchman called Gillinoe 'flew' down on a rope from the top of All Saints' steeple. He did this on a number of occasions, landing variously at StMichael's church and at the bottom of StMary's Gate. On one occasion an ass was sent down the rope, but it broke under the weight and a number of onlookers were injured.
On 25July 1940, a wartime barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a type of airborne barrage, a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe risk of collision with hostile aircraft, making the atta ...
broke loose from its moorings during a heavy storm and, as it floated past, its chain caught round one of the pinnacles on the tower and demolished the top half of the pinnacle.
In late 2005, it was discovered that a pair of peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...
s had taken up residence on the cathedral tower. In 2006 a nesting platform was installed, and they nested there in April of that year. Webcams were installed in 2007, 2008 and 2013 to enable the birds to be seen at close range without being disturbed by human contact. The same pair successfully reared chicks every year up to and including 2016. However, on 27March 2017 it became clear that a new male had taken over the nesting platform and ousted his predecessor who, by that time, was at least 14years old. It is not known whether the first male died of old age, or was chased away or killed by the new one after a fight. The female accepted the new male and together they produced, somewhat later than in previous years, four eggs, three of which successfully hatched into one male and two female chicks.
In 2009, more than 150 members of the Derby Mountain Rescue Team abseiled down the tower for charity. Further sponsored abseils have taken place every year since, and in 2012 this included the Assistant Curate, Andy Trenier, and the Dean of Derby Cathedral, Dr John Davies.
Cathedral Centre
The Derby Cathedral Centre is opposite the west doors on Irongate. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It once included a café, a bookshop and an exhibition space, featuring work by local artists, but since March 2020 the shop and café have remained closed. The Cathedral Centre also houses the cathedral offices and meeting rooms.
In 2017, the Cathedral Café won the annual Derby Food and Drinks Award for Best Customer Service.
Burials
* Bess of Hardwick
* Henry Cavendish
Henry Cavendish ( ; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable a ...
* Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
* John Lombe
* William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough
* William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire (8 May 1720 – 2 October 1764), styled Lord Cavendish before 1729, and Marquess of Hartington between 1729 and 1755, was a British Whig statesman and nobleman who was briefly nominal Prime Minister of ...
* Charlotte Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington
Cathedral clergy
Dean and Residentiary Canons
As of February 2025:
* Dean — Peter Robinson (since 20July 2020 installation)
* Canon for Worship and Music — vacancy
* Canon for Community Outreach and Social Justice — vacancy
Other clergy
* Cathedral Chaplain — Adam Dickens (since 3March 2014; Chaplain to the University of Derby
The University of Derby, formerly known as Derby College, is a public university in the city of Derby, England. It traces its history back to the establishment of the Derby Diocesan Institution for the training of schoolmistresses in 1851. It ...
)
* Associate Priest — Michael Futers
* Associate Priest — Dwayne Engh
Music
Organs and organists
Organ
In 1939, an organ was installed by John Compton
Sir John George Melvin Compton, (29 April 1925 – 7 September 2007) was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first prime minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton ser ...
of London, although it did not gain its impressive case (designed by Sebastian Comper) until 1963. It is played from a four-manual console in the Consistory Court area of the cathedral, and was overhauled in 1992. In 1973, an additional instrument was installed in the new retroquire (east end) by Cousans of Lincoln.
Organists
Between April 2013 and December 2014, Canon Peter Gould undertook a musical pilgrimage of 270 churches, in which he raised £7,478.78 over 39tour days, performing to a collective audience of over 3,500 people. During the tour, three church organs were found to be in a poor state.
On 4January 2015, Canon Peter Gould resigned as Director of Music and was succeeded by Hugh Morris, who was previously director of music at Christchurch Priory. The current Director of Music, Alexander Binns, started on 1 May 2019. Binns was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in April 2024. Edward Turner has been a member of staff at Derby Cathedral since 1September 2017, and is currently Assistant Director of Music.
Events
Luke Jerram's Museum of the Moon visited Derby Cathedral between October and November, 2023.
In 2022 and 2023 the Cathedral hosted and promoted mindfulness
Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through exercises, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. The term ''mindfulness'' derives from the Pali ...
events, some related to the Museum of the Moon, led by BBC Radio Derby presenter Pam Sidhu. In 2025, she was reported as being a recruiter for a messianic cult
Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...
, Educo, that used mindfulness to lure vulnerable people.
Education
In 2017, Derby Cathedral announced plans to partner with the Department for Education
The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...
and local authorities to open Derby's first Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
secondary school under the name Derby Cathedral School. The school opened in 2018 and has maintained close ties to Derby Cathedral since.
See also
* List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
* Grade I listed churches in Derbyshire
*Grade I listed buildings in Derbyshire
There are over 9000 Grade I listed buildings in England. This page is a list of these buildings in the county of Derbyshire, sub-divided by district.
Amber Valley
Bolsover
Chesterfield
City of Derby
...
* Listed buildings in Derby (Arboretum Ward)
Notes
References
External links
Official site
Flickr images tagged Derby Cathedral
Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project
Live webcam feed with audio from Derby Cathedral tower
{{Authority control
Anglican cathedrals in England
Churches in Derby
Carillons
James Gibbs buildings
Grade I listed buildings in Derby
Grade I listed cathedrals
Tourist attractions in Derby
Derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
English Gothic architecture in Derbyshire
Diocese of Derby
Neoclassical church buildings in England
18th-century church buildings in England