from a booklet by the late Revd. Derek Buckley, former vicar of Fenny Bentley, Thorpe and Tissington

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THE VILLAGE

Fenny Bentley stands some two miles north of Ashourne, on the Buxton Road, in a pleasant valley watered by the Bentley Brook. Its name is thought to derive from the Old English ’beonet’- bent grass - and 'leah’- a clearing, with the prefix ‘Fenny' to distinguish it from another Bentley a little to the south of Ashbourne, Hungry Bentley, one of the ‘Lost Villages’ of Derbyshire.

At the time of the Domesday Survey of 1086, Fenny Bentley was listed as being part of the King's lands, and an outlier of Ashbourne. In l297 it was listed as belonging to Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, the brother of King Edward I, but by the reign of Henry VI, a younger branch of the Beresford family who lived further up the valley of the Dove, towards Hartington, settled there, and became Lords of the Manor for many generations. In 1821, the village is recorded as containing 49 houses, 51 families, and 242 inhabitants. Of the 51 families, 42 were employed in agriculture, and eight in trade or handicraft connected with the land.

It is interesting to compare this with the present-day situation, in which we find a population of 145 adults and about 20 children, living in some 56 houses. This evidently reflects the modern decrease in the size of the average family. Although a small estate of council houses has been built. this increase in housing is balanced by the fact that many of the old cottages have been joined together to give better accommodation, and one or two very small primitive dwellings have been demolished.

 

THE CHURCH

As far back as 1240, there is a record that Ferny Bentley was one of six chapelries attached to St.Oswald's Church, Ashbourne, but shortly after that date it appears to have been established as an independent Rectory, although still keeping a token attachment to its mother church in that there still had to be a payment of a pension of l3s.4d. on the Feast Day of St.Oswald. to the Dean of Lincoln, as Rector of Ashbourne. As the total value of the Rectory of Fenny Bentley shown in the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicnoias IV, as drawn up in 1291, was only £6.l3s.4d., this 13s.4d. must have been a rather sore point, being ten per cent of the benefice income. By the same token, the Dean of Lincoln had the right of presentation to the living. The resentment felt from this imposition is perpetuated by a small carving in the spandrel to the left of the door of the chancel screen, showing a fox carrying off a goose.

Although it has always been dedicated to St.Edmund, King and Martyr, there was a period of some 380 years when the dedication was thought to be to St.Mary Magdalene. Reference to the original Chantry deed shows that it is St.Edmund's Church beyond any doubt whatever, and it has also been pointed out that the orientation of the church is East South East. - the direction in which the rising sun is seen on St.Edmund's Day, the 20th.November. St.Mary Magdalene's Day is 22nd.July.

There are no traces of the early church remaining, except perhaps the plain arch of the door within the south porch, which is Norman in appearance, and the font, which also may just possibly have come from an earlier church. Otherwise, the present building appears to have been re-built in the Decorated style of the early fourteenth century.

The level of the window sills on the south side of the nave indicate that the floor level has changed over the years, and some notes made at the turn of the century mention that earlier in the 19th.century there were no less than nine steps down from the porch to the floor of the nave. To reduce the dampness that this must have caused, the nave floor was raised considerably and made to slope down from west to east. At a later date, when the screen was moved to its present position, the chancel floor was raised as well, and the overall fall reduced. It is now some sixteen inches from tower arch to screen.

The church was much restored between 1847 and 1850, when the north aisle was added, Mr.H.J.Stevens being the architect. A spire was added to the original tower in 1864. It was about this time that the present beautiful hammer-beam roof replaced the old one. A north aisle to the chancel was added in 1882 in memory of the late Jeremiah Barnes, who had been nominated to the Rectory in 1877, but had withdrawn and was never inducted. The Revd.Jeremiah Barnes and his wife Harriet lived with Harriet’s sister, Mass Van Tuyl; at Bentley Cottage, now the Bentley Brook Hotel. Mrs.Barnes died in 1879 and he in 1882, both leaving substantial benefactions to the church and the school.

THE CHANCEL

The chancel is separated from the nave by a magnificent oak screen. This has been moved to and fro over the years, but dates from the end of the fifteenth century and said to have been erected by the Beresford family as a thank offering for the end of the Wars of the Roses in 1485. The upper canopy was much restored in the l9th.century, but the remainder is original.

The Altar was made in 1939 by Mr.S.Nash of Cubley, and carved by Advent Hunstone Brothers of Tideswell. It was given by Mrs.Howell of Bentley Cottage in memory of three priests - the Revd.Jeremiah Barnes; her father, the Revd.E.J.Hayton, Rector of Fenny Bentley from 1877 to 1889; and her husband, the Revd.Twiss Howell, Rector of Thorpe from 1878 to 1888.

The Altar Cross and Candlesticks were also made by Advent Hunstone Bros. and were provided in 1957.

A wide footpace which raised the altar rather too much was removed in 1939 and the sanctuary re-floored in Hopton stone. At the same time, the pulpit, which had partially obscured the Priest’s Stall, was re-sited in its present position, and the old brass lectern replaced by a carved wooden one, a replica of a mediaeval one in York Minster. The cost of all this was defrayed by Mr.Tattersall, the one time owner of the silk mill at Woodeaves.

The Turkish carpet in the Sanctuary was given by the then Rector, the Revd.R.K.Bolton, together with the parishioners in 1904, to mark his 50 years in Holy Orders.

The old Oak Benches in the chancel, bearing heraldic devices on their ends were made up out of an old bench and an oak desk by the Revd. R. K. Bolton. He notes in his manuscript book:

"I carved a cusped back for a second bench and on the plain shield on one of the bench ends I carved a bear collared, muzzled and chained (Beresford): on this shield there had evidently been originally, but a long while ago, arms carved as on the other, viz: those of Kniveton of Kniveton. The other very damaged square headed ends of these two benches were the ends of an old desk; and, of the carved cuspings on the back of the latter, three are now on the oak carved work below the Beresford heralrdic window, and a fourth I made up into an altar desk, of which I carved the side brackets. I also carved the oak altar shelf or retable, to the pattern that runs across the old screens."

 

THE BERESFORD CHAPEL

Until 1894, there was a Chapel of St.Katharine and St.Anthony enclosed by a parclose dating back to about 1511 situated in the south-east corner of the nave, bounded on its eastern side by the chancel screen. This was the Chantry founded by Canon James Beresford mentioned above, in 1894 the parclose was moved to enclose the north aisle to the chancel, built in 1882, so that it continued the line of the chancel screen, and the new chapel so enclosed was reconstituted as the Beresford Chapel by the Beresford family, in particular by the Revd.E.Aden Beresford.

It was provided with a new hammer-beam roof in keeping with the rest of the church and the ceiling was divided into panels, painted by Miss Alice M.Erskine. Centrally, is the Agnus Dei in glory, attended by angels, and a line of angels extends along the wall plate. Other panels contain the emblems of St.Katharine and St.Anthony, representing the dedication of the original chantry chapel in the reign of Henry VIII. Roses remind us of the chancel screen commemorating the end of the Wars of the Roses, and the armorial bearings are those of members of the Beresford family at the time of the work being done. The wooden bosses at the intersections of the panels were carved by the Rector’s village wood-carving class, one showing the date of the work, 1895.

The panels themselves are painted on sheet aluminium, a remarkable detail for in 1888 the price of aluminium produced at Stoke-on-Trent was £3,000 a ton, with a production rate of about 85 tons a year. But thanks to the introduction of the electrolytic process, production by 1896 had increased to over 1,000 tons a year and the price per ton had fallen to about £163. So it would appear that Fenny Bentley must surely be one of the very first places to have sheet aluminium used in building - but why this should have been, no-one seems to know, unless one of the Beresford family was concerned with the British Aluminium Company in those days.

All the work was given in memory of the late head of the Beresford family, Mr.Henry Browne Beresford, and his sister Judith, the preacher at the service of dedication being the Revd..Wiliiam Beresford, Vicar of St.Luke's, Leek. The black and white marble floor of the Beresford Chapel was also given by the family, in 1909.

THE BERESFORD TOMB

No doubt the best known feature of the church is the Beresford Tomb with its shrouded figures of Thomas Beresford and his wife Agnes Hassall. On the one side and one end of the tomb are incised figures, also in shrouds, of the sixteen sons and five daughters, and all round the cornice of the tomb top are incised military accoutrements, helmets, shields, gauntlets, halberds and the like. Agnes died in 1467 and Thomas in 1473, but the various accoutrements all seem to be of a style dating from the following century, so that it would appear that the tomb was not erected until a considerable time after their death, and indeed, as all 21 children are also shown in shrouds, probably after their deaths as well.

Of the sixteen sons, only Hugh is mentioned. He lived at Newton Grange until his death in 1524, and had a son, Laurence, who died in 1577. As the inscription fails to name any of the other children, could it not be that it was Laurence who was determined that his grandfather, the Agincourt soldier, should not be forgotten, and he also included his father’s name?

Many people have wondered why the figures are shown in their shrouds, and it has even been suggested that this was because the tomb was carved a century after their death, and as the sculptor did not know what they looked like, he took the easy way out and put them in shrouds. But surely, effigies up to about the 16th century were never accurate likenesses in any case. It seems much more likely, to me that it was simply an indication that earthly splendour had passed away, and that we all appear the same before our Maker.

The tomb has been moved about considerably over the years. A plan of the church dated 1863 shows it against the north wall of the chancel, by the communion rail. In 1864 it had been moved a little to the west, still against the north wall of the chancel. By 1889 it was in the new north aisle to the chancel, but behind the organ, until the Beresford Chapel was set up in 1895, when it was removed to its present position. So that the incised figures on the base can still be seen, and the figures can still have their feet towards the east, the top was turned 180 degrees with respect to the base during the last removal.

An inscription extends over one side arid both ends of the tomb, as follows:-

"Here lies the corps of Thomas Berisforde Esquire the Sonne of John Berisforde late Lords of Berisforde in the countie of Stafford Esquire and Agnes his wife the daughter And heir of Robert Hassall in the countie of Chester Esquire who had issue XVI sonnes and five daughters Thomas departed this life the XXth day of March in the year of our Lord God 1.4.6.7. here alsoe lyethe corps of Heughe third sonne of the sayd Thomas and Agnes."

"As you now are, soe once were wee,

And as wee are, soe shall yoe bee."

A further inscription on the tomb in Latin, reads:

"Quem teget hoc marmor si forte requiris amice, nobile Beresford tu tibi nomen habes.

Luce patrum clarus. proprio sed lumine major, de gemina merito nomina luce capit.

Largus, doctus, amans, alvit, colvit, recreavit, musus, jus, vinctus, sumtibus, arte, domo,

Militiae Excellens, strenuus dux, fortis, et audax, francia testatur, curia testis Agen.

Nunc jacet in tumulo resolutus pulvis in isto, lutum, bulla, fumus, pulvis, et umbra sumus.

Dum loquimur morimur subito vanescimus omnes, si sapiens homo sis, disce memento mori."

The above differs somewhat from the version set out in Dr.Cox’s 'Churches of Derbyshire' and is taken from a manuscript written by the Revd.R. K. Bolton at the turn of the century. The main differences appear to have arisen because of the Latin 'v' for 'u', 'i' for 'j', and occasional confusion in the Gothic lettering.

A translation, also by Mr.Bolton, reads:

"Friend, if you ask me whom this marble hides, thou hast thine answer, Beresford’s high name.

By his father's light he shines, his own besides; from this twin source he well deserves his fame.

Generous, learned, kind, he nursed, upheld, renewed, letters, right, captives, with purse, skill and home;

Mighty in war, what dash, strength, fortitude, let France, let Agincourt, as witness come.

Now lies he in this tomb, a heap of dust. Clay, bubble, smoke, dust, shades, we are. We fly

From life even while we speak; Puff! go we must! Man, if thou art wise, learn this -"Mind thee to die"."

THE BERESFORD CARVED STONE

In the north wall of the Beresford Chapel will be found a stone carved with with a shield of arms. This consists of: in the 1st.quarter - a bear salient, collared, muzzled and chained. (Beresford of Bentley); in the 2nd. - 3 fleurs de lys (Beresford of Beresford); in the 3rd. - between 3 pheons a chevron (Hassall); and in the 4th. - a bear as in the first. The shield is surmounted by a helmet from which the crest has been broken. This stone was inserted in its present place in 1892, and two authorities have independently dated it as being from 1680 to 1690. The Hassall quarter is incorrect, and "chevron" should be "per chevron" -, in other words, the chevron should not be on its own in the centre of the shield, but should mark the boundary between the upper and lower fields of the shield. The stone is said to have been found lying about in bentley Hall in the middle of the nineteenth century and bought at an auction by the tenant of the Old Hall (Cherry Orchard Farm) and given to the church. It is supposed to have surmounted the door, or perhaps the mantelpiece, of the Old Hall.

The third quarter of 3 fleurs de lys does not appear on the arms carved on the Beresford Tomb (where it 15 shown as 3 pheons, being a simple quatering of the Bentley Beresfords and the Hassalls) As a cadet branch, the Bentley Beresfords were entitled to introduce the ancestral arms into their shield, and this obviously has been done by 1680-90. Nowadays the Bentley Beresfords are in fact the senior line and the arms of the present head of the House of Beresford have been amended to promote the fleur de lys to the 1st. and 4th.quarters, the bear is placed in the 2nd.quarter and the Hassall pheons continue in the 3rd.quarter.

It is not known when the Beresfords adopted fleur de lys, although it has been suggested that this occurred after the battle of Crecy - a period when they were actually the arms of the Beresford family of Warwickshire.

THE WINDOWS

None of the glass dates earier than the 19th century, although some pre-reformation pieces from the old east window are still to be seen in St.Oswald's Church at Ashbourne, in the north window of the Boothby Chapel. This glass was replaced by the present east window in 1877 as a memorial to Miss Van Tuyl, the sister-in-law of the Revd. Jeremiah Barnes and who also lived at Bentley Cottage. The artist is unknown, but the quality is good for that period.

The old glass was apparently put in a sack and left in the tower, where it was discovered and rescued by the Vicar of Ashbourne.

The south window of the chancel represents the martyrdom of St.Edmund. and was given in memory of her father, Captain Hans Busk, by Mrs. E. Aden Beresford. Captain Busk was the founder of the Volunteers - predecessors of the Territorial Army.

The east window of the Beresford Chapel was given by Mr. Edward Aden Beresford in memory of his father, and shows Thomas Beresford as a youth dressed in armour, as he might have gone to war. To one side of him is Agnes, his wife, also in her youth, and on the other side is James Beresford, their fifteenth son, shown in mature years as the benefactor of the Chantry and of St.John’s College, Cambridge, where he founded scholarships and fellowships. The window also contains a number of armorial bearings showing some of the ramifications of the family.

The north window of this chapel, called the 'Henson Window', replaces the old north door and was given in 1894 by Thomas Wright Henson, whose mother Miriam was the only daughter of Richard Beresford of Cold Eaton. the work was carried out by Edward Reginald Frampton (1845-1928) a pupil of Clayton and Bell, and shows a kneeling figure dressed in chain mail, representing Faith and Prayer. The Tau cross represents St.Anthony and bears the legend 'For God and St.Anthony'. In the background is shown Combermere Abbey, which held the Lordship of Newton Grange, occupied by the Beresfords, who were stewards of the outlying possessions of Combermere Abbey in that district. A shield above shows the Beresford bear, muzzled and chained, and the whole is surrounded by a border containing the Creed, suggested by a similar one of mediaeval date in Norbury Church.

The west window, under the tower, was given in memory of Major Beresford Havelock killed in action at Baku on the Caspian Sea in September 1918. He was the grandson of Major General Sir Henry Havelock (1795-1857) who distinguished himself in the Indian Mutiny by relieving Lucknow. and his mother was a Beresford. The window is the work of Miss Erskine of Stamford, who painted the Beresford Chapel ceiling and the reredos, and depicts St.George and the dragon, together with a wealth of other detail.

The lancet window to the west of the south porch was given in 1919 by the sons and daughters of the Rector, the Revd.Wm.Maples, in thanksgiving for his recovery from a severe illness at the age of 80. Incidentally, his sight had failed in 1917, but he was able to carry on his ministry until his resignation in 1925 with the help of a Lay Reader, Mr.J.Snaith, who was also a Churchwarden and the village Schoolmaster.

THE FONT

The font may possibly pre-date the present building, although there is no firm evidence to date it either way. It is in two parts, the lower being of grey gritstone and the upper of red gritstone. Facing east and carved on the base, is what Cox refers to as "... some foliage growing from a pot" - but could it perhaps be the best effort of a local stone-mason to depict the fleur de lys or the lily growing from a vase, symbolising the Blessed Virgin, or Purity?

The base on which the font now stands was subscribed for by the children of the parish as a Jubilee memorial in 1898.

The canopied wooden cover, by Advent Hunstone Bros. of Tideswell, was presented in 1940 by relatives of the late Frank Beresford, of Mottram, Cheshire.

THE BELLS

There are three bells inscribed as follows:

1 - "C & G, Mears. Founders, London, 1850"

2 - "God save this church, 1614." with the mark George Oldfield.

3 - "God save our church, 1617." with the mark Henry Oldfield.

OTHER ITEMS

THE ORGAN is a two-manual instrument, by Brindley and Foster, installed in 1879. It is typical of its period, but of good quality. The electric blower was added in 1949.

IN THE CHURCHYARD the Beech trees were planted about 1855, the avenue of Lime trees in 1890, and the Arbor Vitae in 1905 to replace some beech trees that were were felled because they were causing problems with adjacent cottages.

THE SUNDIAL on the wall of the tower was given by the Revd. Sir Richard Fitzherbert in 1898. It is dated 1766 and came from a ruined cottage. It bears the inscription "Vigil ora, transit hora" ("watch, pray, the hour passes"), and incidentally, it was in finding the correct placing of the dial that led the Rector to discover that church is actually oriented East South East.

THE REGISTERS date from 1604, but the earliest ones are badly damaged. All of the old records are deposited in the County Records Office at Matlock.

THE PARISH CHEST is of considerable importance, and has been thought by some authorities to date from the 13th.century, judging by some of the ironwork. It bears traces of the usual three locks - a primitive form of security to ensure that one person could not open it without the consent of the other two key-holders, no doubt the Rector and two Churchwardens.

THE PORCH has marks on the door jambs showing where arrows have been sharpened, similar to those at Thorpe, Tissington, and many other mediaeval churches.

After the Black Death of 1348-50, the population was so seriously depleted, that there was grave danger that a call to arms would not produce sufficient archers to defend the country. Under Edward III from 1363 there were several acts of Parliament passed exhorting all able-bodied men to practice archery on the south side of the church on Sunday afternoons - and where better to sharpen arrows than the gritstone sides of the door.

"A MAN DISAFFECTED"

We cannot mention every detail shown up by a perusal of the old registers, but one item is outstanding, and must be mentioned. This is the story of William Bott, Rector from 1642. He added a number of additional notes in the register, from which we can gain an insight in to the life and times of his day. The entries are in Latin, but again thanks to Mr Bolton, we have a translation. William Bott begins: -

"Register of the church of Fenny Bentley in the year of our Lord 1660 - William Bott being Rector in the same place who also wrote out with his own hand for his own private use and deposited this memorial or schedule of his own affairs and of things hereunder written - viz:

He was inducted 10th April in the year 1642.

Elizabeth eldest daughter of the same William and Elizabeth his wife born on the 5th.day of December 1644 at Fenny Bentley in Derbyshire, her father at that time serving in the Royal army."

(Whether he was serving in the army at the time of his induction to the living is not clear, but he evidently felt that Church and King must stand together.)

"Anna the second daughter of the same born in that place on the 29th day of January 1646. She died on the 10th day of the following February and was buried at Ashbourne."

"Anna their third daughter born also in the same place on the 12th day of August 1646, whom I most humbly pray that God most good most great may preserve and sanctify."

"Maria their fourth daughter born at Tissington which is also among the Derbyshire folks on the 22nd.November 1650."

This move to Tissington is confirmed by the records at Lichfield, which show that in that year James Hollinghead was inducted to the living of Fenny Bentley and William Bott removed. The Parliamentary Survey of Livings, also of that year, records Mr.Bott as '... curate of Tissington, a man disaffected'. It would appear that his Royalist sympathies and his continual absence in the army had resulted in him being replaced by a Puritan. Tissington, as the home of the FitzHerberts, would be a Royalist sanctuary and no doubt William had been able to seek shelter there for his wife and family. His wife was evidently a Buxton, a Bradbourne family, many of whom are buried at Tissington. As a private estate, Tissington would have been relatively safe, and he would have been able to act as chaplain to the FitzHerbert family. Here he found two years of comparative peace for his family, until he has to record:-

"Judith their fifth little daughter also born there on the 19th.day of April and she died on the 28th day of August in the same year buried at her mother's feet in the same place, for, oh my sorrow, also Elizabeth my dearest wife their mother and daughter of Edward Buxton Gent being wasted away by chronic disease to my exceeding grief closed the last day of her life on the 30th.day of May 1652, and falling asleep in the Lord, rests so far as her dust in concerned in the chancel of the church in the same place near the south wall."

"Which same William after a widowhood of nine years entered second wedlock and married a lady of excellent merit namely a second Elizabeth daughter of Bartholomew Griffin formerly Rector of the same church and his own predecessor on the 23rd day of April 1661, that is on the day and year of the most auspicious enthronement of the most illustrious Charles the Second, through whose most happy return William himself was restored to his own Rectory aforesaid after an expulsion of almost twenty years, the most foul rebellion being now everywhere quelled and peace restored."

(What happened to the unhappy Hollingshead is not recorded! But evidently William was so thrilled at getting back to his beloved Fenny Bentley that he is moved to record:-)

"The same William immediately repaired and adorned the chancel of the church in the same place as he vowed to God when he was in poverty, and the Rectory house which he found not only ruinous but ruined, nay, destroyed, he rebuilt from the foundation and restored at the cost of at least £50 or the income for one year. Remember me, Jesu my God and Lord, and spare me according to the multitude of Thy mercies."

(He then goes on to record in a considerable amount of detail the extent of the Rectory boundaries, and the various taxes due.)

So William Bott settled down at last to a long ministry at Fenny Bentley, in the course of which he is able to record the marriages of his daughters Elizabeth and Ann in 1675 and 1676. It is good to note that his family was spared in the plague year of 1666 when he buried nine people as compared with the normal number of one or two. Maria appears to have married in 1685. Gradually, the handwriting deteriorates, though still maintaining its noticeable characteristics, until finally in 1701, another hand records that William Bott was buried on the seven and twentieth day of November. His wife lived another two years, and was buried or the 4th.April 1703.

William Bott had been very nearly sixty years at Fenny Bentley, with his brief exile to Tissington, and had seen many changes during his long lifetime. It is a pity that his grave is not known, for it would have been pleasant to be able to show the present generation the last resting place of one who so faithfully and loyally served his God and his King

 

CONCLUSION

Although the writer was Rector of Fenny Bentley for seven years in the 1960s. it must be obvious that his knowledge of the church owes much to those who have gone before. First, to Dr.Charles Cox, whose four-volume work 'The Churches of Derbyshire' has been for years the starting place of any who are interested in Derbyshire's great heritage of churches; but above all, the numerous references to the Revd.Richard Bolton are an indication of how much is owed to his painstaking work during his incumbency - from 1889 to 1909, at the end of a half-century of priesthood. No doubt many will have had similar or even better scholarship, but he left a record of what he discovered, and future generations will always be indebted to him for that.

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