Eyre Chapel stands at the highest part of Newbold village, the age when the first place of worship was erected here is uncertain but, in the mid 1200's, the Abbot of Welbeck became Lord of the Manor & he may have converted an existing building into a chapel. The tympanum above the small doorway has been dated as being from the 11th Century.
The Chapel's present name comes from the Eyre family who acquired the manor of Newbold in 1570. After the Revolution in 1688 in the reign of Mary & William the Chapel was ransacked, monuments were destroyed & tombstones were removed, the chapel became derelict & was used as a cow house.
The Chapel was renovated in the 1850s by the Eyre family, after the Catholic Emancipation Act. In the 1950s as many as four masses a day were being held here but the new church built nearby & opened in 1965 took over & the Chapel was closed & fell into disrepair once more.
The Chapel was once again restored, this time by the Chesterfield Civic Society & is now a protected listed building of historical & architectural interest.
The Chapel is available to hire for events, details can be found for booking this on the Eyre Chapel web site.
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