St Mary's Church, Bolsterstone

However, by the later part of the 18th century it had fallen into disrepair and was deemed unsafe, with the congregation unable to assemble “for the public worship of Almighty God without manifest danger to their lives”.

The new building was unpopular from an architectural point of view with the local historian Gatty saying it was “more like a factory than a church”, other sources call it “plain but substantial”.

The foundation stone was laid in August 1878 by the lord of the manor Rimington Wilson and the construction was completed in May 1879 by local builder John Brearley at a total cost of £7,200.

A series of important changes were made to the church before the turn of the 20th century, a new organ was installed in July 1885, a new peal of eight bells was fitted in 1892 from the bellmakers John Taylor of Loughborough and in June 1897 a lychgate was erected to mark the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria.

[2] In 1921 a war memorial was erected by the side of the lychgate; it takes the form of a Celtic cross and records the names of 48 people of the parish who were killed in conflicts in the 20th century.