Edensor Church, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1867, replaced an ancient structure. The earliest mention of it was in an undated deed made in the time of William Earl of Derby who lived in the reign of King Henry II^[1], so in a document written between 1216 and 1272.

The top photograph of St. Peter's Church is from a carte de visite that was taken by the Matlock Bath photographer William Potter, probably in the 1890s. One's eye is immediately drawn to the distinctive broached spire on top of the tower at the west end of the church. The spire itself is octagonal and made up of eight triangular faces (broaches).

When Sir Joseph Paxton was buried in the churchyard in 1865 "The Derby Mercury" reported that the "The ancient church, long crumbling under the weight of years, was removed about a year ago, and the new edifice which the present Duke of Devonshire is about to erect at a cost of about 10,000li [£10,000] is just rising above the foundations"^[2].

Paxton had lived in the neighbourhood for nearly 40 years and was best known as the architect of the Crystal Palace, designed for the Great Exhibition of 1851. His funeral was supposed to be a quiet affair, but there were over thirty private carriages following the hearse and six mourning coaches. Amongst those attending was the then Duke of Devonshire and his three sons. The brass plate on Sir Joseph's coffin was inscribed with the words:

Sir Joseph Paxton, M.P. Died June 8, 1865, in the sixty second year of his age.^[2]

Edensor, the Graceful Spire

The church is Victorian Gothic, in the Decorated style. Many pieces from the old church were preserved in the new building and included a brass plate, written in Latin, dedicated to John Beton who had served Mary Queen of Scots. He'd been employed as Taster and then as Comptroller of the Household. "In conjunction with others he bravely liberated the most Serene Queen from the chains of a most truculent tyrant at the castle of Loch Leven"^[1].

In the north aisle is a large monument to two of Bess of Hardwick's sons, Henry (d.1616) and William (d.1625) Cavendish,^[1] and a window in the eastern chapel dedicated to Lord Frederick Cavendish who was murdered in Phoenix Park, Dublin, in 1882^[3]. Kathleen Cavendish ("Kick", nee Kennedy), widow of the Marquess of Hartington who was killed in 1944, was buried at Edensor and, more recently, Andrew, 11th Duke of Devonshire, was interred at St. Peter's in 2004^[4].

There is more about Edensor in:
Derbyshire's Parishes, 1811, Parishes E - G
Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, 1891 - Edensor