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St Michael's Church,
Church Street, DE56 0TD,
Holbrook, Duffield, Derbyshire.

Cemeteries

This Church has (or had) a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded in 1761, and we understand it is still open.

Kelly's Directory of 1895 describes Holbrook as a township, chapelry and picturesque village, formed into a parish from the civil parish of Duffield in 1863. It was 1 mile north-east from Coxbench station on the Ripley branch of the Midland railway, 6 north east from Derby and 3 south east from Belper. The church of St Michael was erected in 1761 by the Rev. S. Bradshaw and rebuilt and enlarged in 1841 by the late William Evans esq. M.P. and "a plain fabric of stone in the Italian style, consisting of nave, north and south porches and a western turret containing one bell … in 1887-8 it was thoroughly renovated and reseated; a new vestry erected on the north side and the circular east window filled with stained glass in memory of the Rev. William Leeke, late vicar, and his wife … a clock was erected on the east wall over the window in 1842, the works being at the west end and the connecting apparatus running the entire length of the church". The parish registers of baptisms and burials date from 1835, and of marriages from 1863. The living was then a vicarage in the gift of, and held since 1863 by the Rev. Edmund Carr M.A. of St John's College, Cambridge and hon. canon of Carlisle.

As it happens, the Rev. Canon Edmund Carr M.A., like his predecessor Rev. Bradshaw, was also resident at Holbrook Hall, described by Kelly as "delightfully situated on an eminence, commanding fine views of the surrounding hills and valleys, with the ancient church of Horsley in the distance". There is no mention of this by Kelly, but an account on a former website of St Michael's recorded that it was built originally as a private chapel for the Hall. However at some point, the villagers themselves began using the building for worship, as a nearer alternative than walking to their parish church in Duffield.

The chapel was consecrated as St Michael's in 1835, so perhaps it was around this time the relationship was formalised.

What is rather intriguing about Kelly's account is that in describing St Michael's as built in the Italian style, it really does not do it justice. Though factually true, as it reminds me of the "designer" houses in Edensor, it is rather more spectacular to my eye, particularly its bell turret, which seems to be a work of art in its own right. It is possible to see this in the photograph of the Holbrook - St Michael's Church on the Geograph website, by courtesy of Dave Bevis.

Denomination

Now or formerly Church of England.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church is located at OS grid reference SK3639244646. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• St Michael's Church, Holbrook, Duffield shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Duffield shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Holbrook, Duffield, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• You may like to see photograph(s) of Holbrook - St Michael's Church on the Geograph website.

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.