You could help help in a very practical way to help maintain the fabric of this wonderful piece of heritage supporting this local community in its responsibility. Please go to the 'info' page or SECURE ONLINE GIVING WITH CAF CharityCard
Give to St John the Baptist's Church, Ault Hucknall.
Give to St Leonard's Church, Scarcliffe.
Churches
St John the Baptist's Church, Ault Hucknall
This Saxon Grade 1 listed Church is the burial place of Thomas Hobbes.
The Church is Saxon in foundation, a Grade 1 listed building one mile north of Hardwick Hall.
Ault Hucknall is the smallest village in England, clearly the successor to a much larger community in the middle ages. Either the Black Death took its toll, or Bess of Hardwick cleared out most of the residents because their dwellings blighted the landscape she planned nearby in the tree lined paths to the north.
The yew tree in front of the church is variously aged between 2,000 and 4,000 years old, evidence of a very ancient pre-Christian burial ground.
Every generation has added its distinct work to the building, There are Saxon arches one of which is the blocked former west doorway.This latter contains the ancient carvings in the tympanum and lintel. Two green men can be seen in the roof support beams. The tower and north transept are Norman . The south transept, once early English was rebuilt by Smythson, Bess of Hardwick’s architect in 1597. Some of the glass from this former transept windows is in the Savage window in the Cavendish Chapel, so named from its links with the Earls and Dukes of Devonshire. The same chapel houses the renowned 1628 memorial to the Countess of Devonshire and is also the resting place of the great philosopher and secretary to successive seventeenth century Earls and Dukes of Devonshire.
The Victorians restored the church in 1887 lowering the floor and rebuilding the east wall. The small congregation is currently seeking to raise over £100,000 to restore the tower and roofing, windows, rewiring, curing wood infestations, repairing the churchyard walls.
The building is open for tourism 1pm to 5pm on the Saturdays of summer. Sunday Service is 11am.
St Leonard's Church, Scarcliffe
St Leonard’s is a Norman foundation grade two starred listed building and the home or the national monument to the Lady Constantia, whose effigy is one of the few of that age dedicated entirely to a woman and child.
Several traditions surround this lady, including the ancient Bellrope Charity, the intention of which, 800 years later is still being fulfilled. This is to ring the curfew bell for three weeks either side of Christmas.
She later left several pieces of land, the rent from which still endows the charity, paying for the bell ringer in winter, and any expenditure the trustees identify in maintains the bells or the tower in which they hang.
The story has it that the Lady Constantia, as a child was lost in the surrounding Sherwood Forest (as it was then. The forest has receded by many miles now.) The curfew bell sounded, and she found her way home by walking towards it.
The church has recently undergone major works, including the augmentation of the peal to eight from five bells. The charity made a grant to the church accordingly.
This Saxon Grade 1 listed Church is the burial place of Thomas Hobbes.
The Church is Saxon in foundation, a Grade 1 listed building one mile north of Hardwick Hall.
Ault Hucknall is the smallest village in England, clearly the successor to a much larger community in the middle ages. Either the Black Death took its toll, or Bess of Hardwick cleared out most of the residents because their dwellings blighted the landscape she planned nearby in the tree lined paths to the north.
The yew tree in front of the church is variously aged between 2,000 and 4,000 years old, evidence of a very ancient pre-Christian burial ground.
Every generation has added its distinct work to the building, There are Saxon arches one of which is the blocked former west doorway.This latter contains the ancient carvings in the tympanum and lintel. Two green men can be seen in the roof support beams. The tower and north transept are Norman . The south transept, once early English was rebuilt by Smythson, Bess of Hardwick’s architect in 1597. Some of the glass from this former transept windows is in the Savage window in the Cavendish Chapel, so named from its links with the Earls and Dukes of Devonshire. The same chapel houses the renowned 1628 memorial to the Countess of Devonshire and is also the resting place of the great philosopher and secretary to successive seventeenth century Earls and Dukes of Devonshire.
The Victorians restored the church in 1887 lowering the floor and rebuilding the east wall. The small congregation is currently seeking to raise over £100,000 to restore the tower and roofing, windows, rewiring, curing wood infestations, repairing the churchyard walls.
The building is open for tourism 1pm to 5pm on the Saturdays of summer. Sunday Service is 11am.
St Leonard's Church, Scarcliffe
St Leonard’s is a Norman foundation grade two starred listed building and the home or the national monument to the Lady Constantia, whose effigy is one of the few of that age dedicated entirely to a woman and child.
Several traditions surround this lady, including the ancient Bellrope Charity, the intention of which, 800 years later is still being fulfilled. This is to ring the curfew bell for three weeks either side of Christmas.
She later left several pieces of land, the rent from which still endows the charity, paying for the bell ringer in winter, and any expenditure the trustees identify in maintains the bells or the tower in which they hang.
The story has it that the Lady Constantia, as a child was lost in the surrounding Sherwood Forest (as it was then. The forest has receded by many miles now.) The curfew bell sounded, and she found her way home by walking towards it.
The church has recently undergone major works, including the augmentation of the peal to eight from five bells. The charity made a grant to the church accordingly.
