St. Werburgh's Church, Spondon is a parish church in the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 located in Spondon

Spondon

Spondon is a ward within the city of Derby. Prior to this, Spondon was a separate village which dated from before the Domesday Book of 1086.-Description:The name Spondon is Anglo-Saxon and describes a gravelly hill....

, Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

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History

The present church dates from around 1390, when it replaced an earlier church destroyed by fire in 1340.

The main body of the church, both nave and chancel, along with the 35 metre high tower and spire, date to 1390, although the north wall of the nave had been damaged by subsidence and was rebuilt in 1826.

Features

Adjacent to the main altar is a recessed sedilia, nearby a priest's sanctus window and there are four piscinas within the church.

There is a lady chapel dedicated to St. Mary, with a First World War memorial. The royal arms displayed over the north door is dated between 1702 and 1707 because it displays the arms of Queen Anne

Anne of Great Britain

Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...

 before the union with Scotland

Acts of Union 1707

The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...

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Externally can be found the remains of a decorated cross shaft said to date to around 870.

In the nearby former vicarage grounds is what is considered to be a holy well.

The most famous and beloved Vicar in living memory was the Reverend T.E.M. Barber (Vicar 1939 - 1986)who was renowned for his work with the youth of the parish. His dedication to the parish and his ministry to the sick and dying will never be forgotten as long as there are people alive to recall this truly great and saintly man. He was a priest of the 'old school' and a true gentleman, dedicated to maintaining the historic faith of the Church of England as enshrined in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Since his retirement and death in 1988 many changes have taken place in the Church of England of which he would not have approved.

Bells

There is a peal of six bells, one of which is 16th century, one 17th and the remaining four of the 19th century.

Organ

The church has a long history of organ music. In 1812 it is reported that Mr. F. Roome, formerly a bookseller in Derby died, in his 73rd year, organist of St. Werburgh's Church for upwards of 46 years.

The organ by the builder James Jepson Binns dates from 1909 and has a case by John Oldrid Scott

John Oldrid Scott

John Oldrid Scott was an English architect.He was the son of Sir George Gilbert Scott and Caroline née Oldrid. His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, were also prominent architects. He married Mary Ann Stevens in 1868, eldest daughter of the Reverend Thomas...

, but with an electric action fitted by M.C. Thompson in 1989. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.