St. Edmund's Church, Fenny Bentley
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- painting by Margaret Smith click to enlarge |
Vicar: vacant
for enquiries about baptisms, weddings etc please contact Miss Ros Hunt on 01335 350221 or Mrs Faith Hanson on 01335 350412
St. Edmund's church is set at the centre of the ancient village of Fenny Bentley, two miles north of Ashbourne. Services are largely traditional and take place mostly in the afternoon (winter months) or in the evening (spring, summer and early autumn). Visitors are always welcome, and the church is normally open during daylight hours.
The church has long-standing associations with the Beresford Family, and there is an annual Beresford Family Gathering, with a service in the church, in the early summer of each year.
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Inside the church is the tomb of Sir Thomas Beresford and his wife Agnes, which dates from the fifteenth century. It is one of the few tombs in this country whose effigies are covered in burial shrouds. |
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The painted ceiling of the Beresford Chapel is made from aluminium and dates from the late 1800s - this is one of the first known commercial uses of aluminium. |
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Sketch of Fenny Bentley Church in 1790 Image supplied courtesy of Manchester Archives and Local Studies. Taken from "Tour of the Midlands", 1790, by John Byng, 5th Lord Torrington (ref: MS Q 942.5.T1). Copyright: Manchester City Council. |
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Fenny Bentley church around 1954 |
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Fenny Bentley church interior around 1954 |
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The organ at St. Edmund's church was restored in the summer of 2008. A concert was held to celebrate this in November of that year - to hear Christian Cartwright playing a variety of music at that concert, click here .
Links to other local churches:
Alsop Parwich Thorpe Tissington Ashbourne Deanery
Service Times Beresford Family Society Recent Sermons