Background

The church is widely known due to its size and splendour as the 'Cathedral of the Peak'. It is one of the most famous churches in 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...

. It is a Grade I listed building.

The church, which replaced a small Norman church, was constructed between approximately 1320 and 1400. The building work was delayed by the Black Death. There are two main styles – the nave, aisles and transepts are in late gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 style, and both the chancel and tower are in perpendicular style.

There was major restoration

Victorian restoration

Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...

 in 1875 which was a genuine restoration rather than a reconstruction. In 'Churches and Chapels in The County of Derby', Rawlins described St John's as being

without exception the most perfect and beautiful specimen of pointed architecture to be found in the County, - or perhaps in any other parish church of its size in the entire Kingdom.

Memorials

There are brasses to Sir John Foljamb, d.1383 (restored) and to Bishop Robert Purseglove, d.1579, who is depicted in pre-English Reformation

English Reformation

The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....

 vestments.

In the middle of the Chancel

Chancel

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

 there is an altar tomb. Within lies Sir Samson Meverill (1388-1462) allegedly one of the victors of Agincourt

Battle of Agincourt

The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...

. The tomb has a marble slab beneath which is a stone cadaver decorated with an alabaster frieze. The tomb was restored in 1876.

In the South transept

Transept

For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...

 there are two chapels. The Lytton chapel has one of the old bells on the floor while nearby is the tomb of Robert (d 1483) and his wife Isabel (d 1458) Lytton. But perhaps the church's most notable features is the Bower chapel. This contains the rather impressive tomb of (probably) Sir Thurstan and his wife Margret de Bower. Their recumbent alabaster figures are well worn but remain impressive.

Features

The ends of the pews have intricate carvings by the local, curiously named, Advent Hunstone

Advent Hunstone

Advent Hunstone was the most famous of a family of wood carvers from Tideswell Derbyshire. He worked in late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work is notable for the clever combination of natural, representational and symbolical material...

. These show the sacraments; baptism, confirmation, communion, marriage, absolution, ordination and the last rites.

The tower screen 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...

 and dates from 1904.

Stained glass

The Tree of Jesse

Tree of Jesse

The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the Ancestors of Christ, shown in a tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David; the original use of the family tree as a schematic representation of a genealogy...

 east window is by Heaton, Butler and Bayne

Heaton, Butler and Bayne

Heaton, Butler and Bayne is the name of an English firm who produced stained glass windows from 1855 onwards.-History:Clement Heaton originally founded his own stained glass firm in 1852, joined by James Butler in 1855. Between 1859-61 they worked alongside Clayton and Bell and were joined by...

 of Nottingham and dates from 1875.

Organs

The church possesses two pipe organs. The main organ dates from 1895 and is by the builder Forster and Andrews

Forster and Andrews

Forster and Andrews was formed by James Alderson Forster and Joseph King Andrews , who had been employees of the London organ builder J. C. Bishop.They opened the business that bore their name in Hull in 1843...

of Hull. A specification of the main organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register

The chancel organ dates from 1979. It is an extension organ by the Johnson Organ Company. A specification of the chancel organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.