Matlock All Saints is a Victorian church, built in the 1880s to provide for the spiritual well-being of visitors to the town's hydros, which were flourishing at that time. The original design for the church was on a much grander scale, with a large tower & spire planned. Sadly, funds ran out & so the west end of the church ended in a temporary wall. The current west end of the church was not completed until 1958 & consists of a baptistry (now the children's corner), gallery & entrance vestibule. These were designed by Charles H Potter, of Matlock.
Many of the church artefacts & fabric has been dedicated to various people over the ensuing years, although the pulpit & font are part of the original furnishings of the church. The lectern was donated by the Sunday School teachers & scholars, whilst the brass screen was dedicated to the memory of Charles Collinson in 1898. Also in that year, the reredos of Caen stone, with marbled pilasters was presented by Thomas P Ryder of Notting Hill, London.
The current altar at the end of the north aisle, which replaced an earlier one, along with the oak panelling on either side of the reredos, was installed as a memorial to the church's first Vicar, Revd Adam Lowe. Above the St. Nicholas altar hangs a tapestry of The Last Supper, made by Dorothy Cowle in 1975 as part of her Bishop’s Certificate.
The Lady Chapel was furnished with its own altar between 1925-27, but was refurbished in 1945 in memory of the Revd W H Nixon. The oak parclose screens were presented in memory of Miss Anne Hodkin by her family. They were designed by Matlock architect W N Statham to fit around the Victorian choir stalls.
Several valuable items are stored in the vestry for safe-keeping. These include a communion plate given by Elizabeth Briggs in memory of her parents, a chalice given by Elizabeth Tysoe, a silver communion bread box presented in memory of the late S N Thorpe & a ciborium donated by Gordon Turner & his wife Mary in 1979.
The cache can be found at the coordinates; N 53 08.ABC W 001 33.DEF. To find the missing figures, you will need to read through some of the history of the church & do some simple research to answer the questions below.
1) What was the cost of the building works in 1958? Answer: £1A,F00
2) When was the valuable artefact donated in memory of a local headteacher? Answer: 195B
3) In what year did Miss Hodkin's family give their gift? Answer: 19C5
4) When was the communion plate donated by Mrs Briggs? Answer: 188D
5) Revd Nixon was vicar of All Saints from 1926 until what year? Answer: 194E
You are looking for a magnetic micro cache. To maintain the integrity of the cache, please avoid searching for it during school drop off or collection times as it is particularly busy with muggles & vehicles in the area. The roads can also be busy around 5:00pm on weekdays when workers from nearby County Offices traditionally leave for home.
Once at GZ, take a few moments to appreciate the view across Matlock, especially due south towards High Tor & Matlock Bath.
Congratulations to cats-eyes for FTF (again)!
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read thePlace your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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