Memorial Inscriptions: Belper St. John's

The church of St John's is an ancient one. It is a simple stone building set in a tranquil corner of Belper, and dates from around 1250. It was built by William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, the lord of various manors including Belper. He also owned castles at Tutbury and Duffield.

In the 13th Century Belper was a village in Duffield Frith, one of the many Royal Foresters' hunting grounds providing deer, wild hogs and other hunting sport. The Chapel spared the Foresters and their families a long walk to their Parish Church in Duffield.

When it was first built the Chapel was a plain rectangle with no vestry, porch or bel-cote. As it was not a parish church, baptisms, weddings and burials could not take place there. Throughout the next two or three centuries the Chapel was used by the people of Belper as the centre of their religious life, the services varying between Catholic, Anglican and Puritan as monarch, parliament and local magnates decreed.

In 1634 the porch was built, the stone lintel still bearing the date and churchwarden's initials. The bell-cote was added in 1699.

The late 18th century saw a great increase in the population of Belper, with the addition of mill-workers to the farmers and nailers of earlier years. The Chapel became almost a parish church, with baptisms in 1783. The baptismal font can still be seen inside. Burials began in 1793. A wooden gallery was built in 1806 at the west end of the nave; a vestry was added about the same time. Further changes and extensions to the Chapel were precluded by the building of St Peter's Church as the main Anglican church in 1824.

The old Chapel was restored in 1870's. The gallery was removed and the window openings rebuilt to their original shape. Care has been taken to restore the pristine building as far as possible. The original piscina and sedilia remain in the chancel, and an unusual altar. The mediaeval priests' door also still exists. A new roof was added with beams dated 1700 and 1704, with the chapel warden's name inscribed.

Today the building is not used for religious ceremonies, and burials are no longer permitted. Council meetings and various historical and community meetings take place in the Chapel.

Memorial Inscriptions

These Memorial Inscriptions appear by kind permission of the Derbyshire Family History Society. Their website is located HERE. Books, fiches and other materials on Belper, as well as other Derbyshire districts, may be obtained from the Society.