St. James' church, Edlaston
History
EDLASTON, that has now for many centuries been an independent rectory, was originally a chapelry of the important church of Ashbourn. The first mention that we have found of it occurs in the formal ordination charter of the vicarage of Ashbourn, granted in 1246, by Hugh Pateshull, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, with the consent of the Dean of Lincoln as rector of Ashbourn. This charter provides that the Dean should present suitable persons to the Bishop for institution to the six chapelries of Kniveton, Mapleton, Thorpe, Bentley, Bradley, and Edlaston, as they fall vacant; reserving the customary pensions due to the Dean from the chapelries.
Four out of these six parochial chapelries had become rectories by 1291, as
we find they are entered as eccelesiae in Pope Nicholas' taxation roll, but
neither Edlaston nor Thorpe obtain separate entry, so that it is only reasonable
to suppose that these two were still considered to be chapelries of Ashbourn.
But between 1291 and 1310 Edlaston must have been constituted a rectory, for
in the latter year Edlaston is entered on a list of Derbyshire livings, ecclesiae,
that were in the patronage of the Deans of Lincoln. It still, however, paid
a pension of £1 to the Dean, as rector of Ashbourn, on the recurrence
of the feast of S. 0swald. Another inventory of the Derbyshire property of the
Deanery of Lincoln, taken when Anthony Beck was Dean, in the year 1829, shows
that the pension. was still paid, but at what time this customary payment fell
into abeyance we have not been able to determine. The Valor Ecclesiasticus (27
Henry VIII.) gives the clear annual value at only £3 18s. 3d. The rectory
remained in the patronage of the Dean of Lincoln, until legislation of the present
reign transferred it to the Bishop of Lichfield.
The registers, which are in good condition, commence in 1573, and are perfect
from that date downwards. The following memorandum occurs under the year 1680:
Memd that whereas there is a House and Barne with a little croft and garden
belonging thereunto in Wyaston in the Parish of Edlaston in the county of Derby,
which was formerly in the possession of one George Wood of Wyaston aforesaid
and after him for a while in the possession of one Godfrey FouIjamb of Bakewell
in the said county of Derby, Barber, and by him sold to Mr. John Buxstone of
Ashburne in the aforesaid county of Derby, Attorney at Law, and by him leased
to one Richard Heath, wheelwright, for the terme of one and twenty years, which
was looked upon as a member of the parsonage by the aforesaid FouIjamb as his
owns free land unto the aforesaid Buxton. For the recovery of which back againe
to the Church there was a suite commenced & likewise E Tryall had at the
Assize at Derby holden the 14th day of March 1680 by Abraham Smith the then
present incumbent under the fained name of Thomas Oldam plaintive. At which
Tryall the house, barns, croft, and garden &c. was recovered to the Church
againe as its clue right, & afterwards set to Alice Heath widdow (to the
aforesaid Richard Heath) by the present incumbent for 30/ per annum. The truth
of this for prevention of future troubles is certified by us the present inhabitants
of the parish of Edlaston. Some of us being not only present hit witnesses at
the Tryall the same time."
Here follow several signatures, the first being that of 1. William Ashton, gent.,"
and below this is added in a later hand "By a proper authority from the
Bishop & with the Patron's consent the materials of the said Building in
a ruinous condition were applied to the repairs c the Parsonage House in 1758.
(Signed) T. Gell, rector."
The church which is dedicated to St. James, is a simple homely structure, consisting
of nave and chancel, with a square wooden ball-turret on the west gable. The
dimensions of the nave, as given by Mr.. Rawlins, are 44 ft. 10 in. by 16 ft.
7 in., and the chancel, 19 ft. 4 in. by 14 ft. 7 in. We believe the date of
the greater portion of the masonry to be of the early part of the fourteenth
century, when the Decorated style prevailed. This is certainly the date of the
pointed arch between the nave and the chancel, and of several of the external
buttresses; but the tracery of the windows shows that they were inserted at
least a century later. The flat massive tie-beams of the roof of the nave cut
off tie upper part 'of the Chancel arch, and seem to be of sixteenth century
workmanship.
At the east end of the chancel, on the outer wall, is "An. S. 1682,"
carved on a stone, which would doubtless be the date when certain alterations
were made by the rector in that part of the church. The nature of the "restoration"
then effected can be gathered from Mr. Rawlins' south-cast sketch of this church,
taken 17th July, 1883, which shows that the upper part of the chancel gable
was constructed with intersecting beams of timber, and that the east window
was a two-light square ' -headed insertion, destitute of tracery. The south
porch had also a similar timber front. There is a square-headed doorway in the
north ' wall, but it has been for many years built up.
Considerable repairs were done in this church about 1840, when this old timber
work was removed, and brick inserted in its place. But further judicious alterations,
including removal of the brick gable and the insertion of a new east window,
wore effected in 1870, at the. time when this living was held by Bishop Hobhouse.
There are no monuments of any interest or antiquity in the church. Close to
the door is a small stone font, of plain octagon design, and in the closely
adjacent rectory garden is the upper part of another octagon font of wider construction.
We learn from Bishop Hobhouse that he found this font bowl under a water butt.
It had been removed by his predecessor from the base, now standing in the church,
and replaced by a new bowl of smaller diameter, simply to widen the gangway
And even then the only use made of the lessened font was as a cupboard for dusters
and small litter; for the old rector, in spite of the remonstrances of his flock,
refused to use anything 'but a basin for baptism.'
On entering the garden from the churchyard, a considerable portion of the original
churchyard cross may be noticed, fixed in the ground on the right hand side.
From the north chancel wall projects a triangular piece of old moulded oak,
that serves as a credence table. This is a portion of the old seventeenth century
communion table; it was placed in this position during the alterations of 1870.
To the south of the church is a remarkably fine, wide-spreading yew tree. It
is sixteen feet in diameter some four feet from the ground.
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