All Saints Church, Bakewell

A Treasure Trove of Anglo-Saxon Art on the Peak Pilgrimage Trail

Highlights

• Saxon Cross and Carvings

Worn by time and lashings of Derbyshire rain, the Bakewell Cross still retains enough detail to touch the soul. If you stand with your back to the church, you can just make out Christ’s legs and feet depicted during the Crucifixion. They hang limply on the cross, the simple shapes evoking suffering and death.

The cross stands in the graveyard downhill from the church. It has been dated to the 9th century and has other saints and animals artfully depicted along its front and flanks. Another cross shaft of the same date stands a few metres away, carved expertly with interlace patterns.

The church is a Saxon foundation and contains further treasures of early mediaeval carving. Many were discovered in a hidden crypt during the 1840s, while others have been gathered from the surrounding area. A delicate row of bare feet still peeking out from one piece is all that remains of a gathering of humble saints, on show at the back of the nave.

Further pieces are kept in the porch, some well-preserved and others mere shapes, suggestions of ancient emotions. The church is on The Peak Wesley Way, its open doors inviting any pilgrim to pray among the silent witness of the stones.

Directions

All Saints Church- North Church Street, Bakewell DE45 1DB

www.bakewellchurch.co.uk

W3W: riding.save.chairing

GPS: 53.2128N 1.6784W

The church is uphill from the town centre, open daily. From the main roundabout, follow Buxton Road (the A6) northwest towards Buxton. After 20m this road bends sharply right: continue straight ahead up North Church Street, and the church is in front of you.