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We
would like to acknowledge the contribution of David G.Owen to the development of this section of the website
and for the provision of historical information on other pages. Much of this
material has been drawn from his book "A
History of Fairfield Church and Parish" R & P Printers 2003.
David has also produced two other books relevant to the Parish:
"The Spirit of North Road
School Fairfield" R & P Printers 2006 which documents the
history of Fairfield Endowed Junior School.
"The Day Before Yesterday A
Fairfield Life" R & P Printers 2002 which outlines the
life and recollections of Fairfield resident and current choir member Mrs
Doris Billinge.
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The
Development of Fairfield Parish
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William de Gretton was
instrumental in building the first Chapel in Fairfield which was founded in 1260
by the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield. Up until this time Fairfield was in
the ancient Parish of Hope. The relevant legal documentation is still in
existence today in the British Museum. It explains that the “village of Fairfield is so distant
from its Parish Church of Hope, in winter time when the rain, snow and
other bad weather abound in those parts that they cannot attend Church
without peril of their bodies”.
In 1595 Thomas Dakin of
Bailey Flatt, Green Fairfield and others petitioned Queen Elizabeth I for the
provision of a minister to the Chapelry and for assistance with the church
building which was in a poor state of repair. The Fairfield people made out
a case in support and requested that an Almshouse be built for six poor men
who lived in Fairfield. The resulting grant stated that there was to be one
perpetual Chapelry in Fairfield and that it should be named the Perpetual Chapel of Fairfield and that "in future and forever there may be
and shall be six discreet and honest men of Fairfield who shall be
Governors of the Chapel and Almshouses". This established the
Governors who are still involved with the appointment of incumbents today.
In 1650, the Parliamentary Commissioners proposed, “that Fayrefield parochial chapelry of
Hope, is fit to be made a parish
church, and “the following hamlets also being
members of Hope, shall be included; Pigtor, Cowlow, Baylie Flatt and
Lowfoot".
By
1815 there was a petition to build a new church. In 1837 Fairfield was made
a separate parish from Hope, having full parochial rights from 1852. Little
happened until 1838 when the Reverend George Mounsey, Curate of Fairfield
who was also Schoolmaster of the Fairfield Free School along with Joseph
William Swann, Schoolmaster, led an appeal for the total rebuilding of the
church and within ten months demolition began. Fairfield Church retains its
own Vicar, a Vicarage and its own ecclesiastical identity, ministering to a
population of over 9,500
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The
Chapel/Church
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Led
by the remarkable personality of
Joseph William Swann, the present church was built in 1839. Previously
the village blacksmith - a position he had given up due to ill health -
Swann designed the church and was the driving force behind the project.
The
scheme to add transepts, a chancel, organ chamber, new vestry and south
door porch was launched in the 1880s at an estimated cost of £3,000. In
1893 a new organ was installed and the porch was built in 1897. On November
12th 1901 the foundation for the enlargements was laid, and on All Saints
Day 1902 the extension was consecrated. It was at this time that a
painting of a cherub was found hidden in the enclosed parts of the ceiling.
This may have been part of a mediaeval Madonna scene and was probably
concealed during the persecution under Queen Mary 1553-1558. It is on
display in the church today. Many new internal fittings were provided at
this time.
In 1959 serious
defects, including dry rot and woodworm, were found in the south transept
and the roof trusses. These had to be replaced and the new beams were carved
with the date 1959 in gold. Scaffolding was in place for most of that year
and 1960.
In 1978 the
staircase to the belfry and balcony was altered and the ‘Chapel of the Holy Spirit’ was established in the North
Transept. A number of pews were removed to provide a play area at the back
of church
and the font was moved from under the gallery to its present position. The
font was sited in the original chapel and dates back to the 13th century.
One
of the largest recent projects was
the restoration of the century-old organ in 1994 at a cost of £25,000.
Other recent improvements include the provision of a new choir vestry in
the south transept, a lavatory in the lower tower, and a kitchen. In 2000
the millennium window was installed and in 2002/3 £30,000 was raised to
effect repairs to the tower roof, and the electrical wiring.
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Fairfield
Ministers
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At
least 30 ministers have served the Parish from 1454 until the present day.
The photographs opposite show incumbents from 1815 onwards. Not included is
our current Vicar, Rev. Jonathon Cooper, who appears on the website Welcome
page. Presented below is a brief synopsis of some of the incumbents.
George Mounsey 1815 -1852 served the Parish for over 40
years and oversaw the building of the present church. Joseph Eayrs 1887 - 1915 was chairman of the committee that
raised funds for the church extension, organ and porch. Edward Law Harkness 1916 - 1923 was
instrumental in the procurement of the East Window and also donated the
Crucifix which still sits above the chancel (a gift to him from the
parishioners of Edale). Howell
Saunders Williams 1929 - 1956 is still recalled fondly in the Parish.
He raised funds for the building of the Church Hall and acquired a new hall
on Victoria Park Road. More recently Gordon
Craven 1957 - 1972 saw Fairfield almost double in size during his
incumbency. He supervised major structural improvements to the church and
secured land for the building of Fairfield Endowed Junior School. Robert
Caney 1973 - 1984 will be remembered for his musical contribution and
for delivering internal alterations to the church which led to the creation
of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, kitchen & toilet facilities and
repairs to the bell tower. Andrew
Sidebottom 1991 - 1996 also brought a passion for music and was
instrumental in delivering a full restoration to the church organ in 1994.
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The
Vicarage, Church Hall and Churchyard
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Fairfield Vicarage is one
of the oldest vicarages in Derbyshire and was probably built around 1620. It is built of local stone,
which is cement-rendered and painted black and white. It has been the
Vicarage/Parsonage since 1794 having previously been a coaching inn on the
turnpike road to Sheffield. The Vicarage also has an adjoining building
built around 1800 as a stable.
Fairfield
Vicarage was not officially a glebe house as it was owned by the Trustees
of Fairfield Church until 1927 and has since been maintained by the Diocese
of Derby. The roof was repaired in 1992, resolving a problem that was first
referred to in 1956. Ornate iron railings were fitted to the perimeter
walls in 1994 replacing the original ones that were removed in 1942 as part
of the “War Effort”. During 2006 the Vicarage underwent
substantial internal and external improvements leaving the Vicar
with a home fit for the 21st Century.
St Peter's Church Hall was built
in 1933/34 following
the decision by the Parochial Church Council at their meeting on 17
February 1930 to replace the previous corrugated hall with a substantive
building. Under the supervision of the Reverend Howell Saunders-Williams
work began in September 1933 with the foundation stone being laid by His
Grace the Duke of Devonshire, in the presence of 700 people on Saturday, 30
September 1933.
The
church hall has been used for various purposes including the Church
Centenary Celebrations in 1939 and the provision of hot midday meals for
school children between 1942 and 1971. Recently there has been a renewed
interest in the hall and in 1993 the scullery, kitchen and toilet areas
were completely renovated. In 2006 the external facade was significantly
improved with new windows and doors, new barge boards and a complete
external re- decoration. A significant contribution towards the cost of
this project was made by the people of Fairfield either by direct donations
or by their support of fundraising events. Today the Church Hall is used
for meetings, jumble sales, sales of work, craft fairs, Sunday school,
play-group, dancing classes and is hired out to other organisations.
The Churchyard is the
burial place not only of Fairfield residents but also of people from the
wider locality including Burbage and Fernilee (these areas had no church of
their own until 1861/1871) and Buxton visitors who came to take the spa
waters. Some of the oldest gravestones date back to the late seventeenth
century including two that are located on the left hand approach to the
church which bear the dates 1677 and
1709. Many old tombstones have been removed but some interesting
inscriptions remain including that of Ferdinando Dakin 1775 which makes
reference to the practice of body snatching and reads: ’I chose this place to be my bed, let
no vile hands dig up the dead’. The churchyard was extended in the
early 1950s and again in the 1960/70s. The first placing of
cremated remains took place in 1959 and a few years later a small garden of
remembrance was created along the rear path. New gates were presented to
the church in 1957. There is only one vault in Fairfield churchyard, to the
memory of the Guyler family. The churchyard closed to new burials in 2007.
A
prominent feature of the churchyard is the two-ton limestone rock that is
positioned at the far end of the grassy island. This was originally to be
placed inside church for a flower festival in 1965 but due to its size was
left outside. It signifies the rock on which Christ said he would build his
church. A single oak tree, located to the left of the clergy vestry, was
planted in 1993 to commemorate the centenary anniversary of the organ.
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