Ashover All Saints was built between 1350 & 1419 by Thomas Babington; the great grandfather of Anthony Babington, who was executed for his part in the plot to murder Elizabeth I in 1586. However, there has been a church here since at least 1086 when it was recorded in the Doomsday Book & the oldest part of the church is the south doorway, which dates from 1275.
The church houses a Norman lead font, dating from the 12th Century, one of only 30 in England. It is decorated with 20 figures in pairs, sculpted in bas-relief. During the English Civil War (1642-1651) & English Interregnum (1650-1660), the font was buried to safeguard it from the Commonwealth, before being reinstated after the Restoration. There are reports of the lead from the stained glass windows of the church being stolen to make bullets by Roundhead soldiers during the Civil War.
To find the northings, look for the bench in the churchyard donated by the Women's Institute. The year of this donation can be added to 7798 to find N 53' A.BCD
The octagonal spire stands approximately 39 metres (128 feet) high. Several metres were blown off & had to be rebuilt in 1715. If you look carefully you can see these & later repairs. There are ten bells in the belfry, the oldest two of which date from 1625, whilst the heaviest weighs around 880kg. The fifth bell is the only bell in this country to bear Napoleon's name & broke & had to be recast when it was rung to announce the news of his first abdication, following his retreat from Moscow.
In the churchyard, near the east gate are four tombs of the Nightingale family who are direct ancestors of Florence Nightingale, who lived at nearby Holloway.
To find the westings, look for the information board at the west door & find the telephone number of The Rectory. Subtract 561442 from the last six digits of the number to give W 001' EF.GHI
We hope you have enjoyed your visit to Ashover church & good luck finding the cache!
Congratulations to cats-eyes for FTF!
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place 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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