The church building
Melbourne Church in the context of the Anglican Church now
It is surprising to find the cathedral-like Melbourne Parish Church, described by Pevsner as ‘the most ambitious surviving Norman parish church in England’ in this small market town of South Derbyshire - but there it stands, surrounded by its Rectory, Church House and St. Michael’s House, in the centre of Church Square, astonishing in so many aspects. Close by is the twenty-acre Melbourne Pool, a wild-life haven, a natural pool of water and itself of great antiquity, mentioned in The Domesday Book of 1085.
With many services a week – sometimes three on Sundays and mid-week services, this Church which has borne witness to Christianity for 900 years. It has a nationally acclaimed ring of 12 bells, a choir that performs around the country as well as every Sunday, a Junior Church, a good charitable record and a vibrant society of Friends. The previous Archbishop of Canterbury The Most Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams visited a few years ago to reflect upon this witness.
A brief background to Melbourne Church’s history and architecture
Henry I, King of England 1100 to 1135, fourth son of William the Conqueror, planned and caused to be built, probably in 1125 (1), a great church in Melbourne on land that was a royal manor. It was conceived as a symbol of Royal power and an affirmation of the importance which he attached to the northern as well as the southern parts of his kingdom. The River Trent, flowing East to West across England is barely three miles north of Melbourne and with the medieval Swarkestone Bridge is an effective border and crossing between the north and south. Professor Henry Mayr-Harting, in his time Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Oxford University, has made a cogent case that this influenced King Henry’s instruction to build a splendid church on royal land as close as possible to this notional border to encourage movement between the two parts of his kingdom. This was at a time when the Scots under King David (King Henry’s brother-in-law) were relatively peaceful. Henry established Carlisle as a Bishopric and appointed Atheolwold, friend of his and King David’s, as Bishop, later giving Melbourne to Atheolwold to emphasise the geographical union of south and north. The long held local belief that the church was built as an escape for the Bishops of Carlisle from the troublesome north would therefore not seem to be associated with this period.
Henry had arranged the politically astute marriage of his daughter Matilda to the Holy Roman Emperor and could thus project a triumphant expression of strength in a strategic location, using building styles found in the churches of the Holy Roman Empire, seldom in the parish churches of England. The ‘grandeur’ of the church is emphasised not only by its enormous size in the context of a small town, but by these architectural features including the West Gallery – a ‘private pew’ for nobles, the Double Chancel and grand Clerestories as well as the remarkable Crossing with arches to all four sides.
The 900th anniversary of the founding of the church will be celebrated in 2025.
Other things of note in the Church include
· Many intricate and lively carvings including the ‘Melbourne cat’ and a rare and striking Sheela-na-gig on the capitals around the crossing.
· A medieval fragment of wall painting showing a devil treading on two women –perhaps of women ‘scrying’ (crystal ball gazing) which was condemned by the church as superstitious and evil
· The squint in the Lady Chapel
· The medieval Parish chest where once church silver and books were kept
· The ring of twelve bells which are rung from the ground
· The 12th or 13th Century font
· The Australian flags which stem from the founding of the state of Victoria, named for Queen Victoria and of its city Melbourne, named for her Prime Minister William Lamb Lord Melbourne, whose family were proprietors of Melbourne Hall.
· Hatchments (coat of arms displayed in honour) for the Cokes, Leventhorpes and Lambs, owners of Melbourne Hall since the seventeenth century.
(1) Dr. Richard Gem ‘Melbourne Church of St. Michael and St. Mary’ Archaeological Journal (1989).
The Church and its place in the town
Two well-known people have their place in the Melbourne story. Thomas Cook, the founder of modern tourism, was born here in 1808; and in 1837 Lord Melbourne, Queen Victoria's first Prime Minister, gave his name to the small Australian settlement which is now a great city.
Market gardening, shoe making and light engineering have all played their part in the story of Melbourne, now a town of about 6,000 people. Melbourne Hall has an essential place also, with society and political figures of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries gracing its rooms. Pride of place, however, must belong to this church. Many generations of Melbourne folk have gone to worship between these massive walls and columns for nearly nine centuries. Today there is a lively congregation which uses the building to the full and which takes its Christian witness and the responsibilities of maintenance seriously.
To see the church and its surroundings from the air, click here.
The Organ
The Bells