Chesterfield Parish Church

Today's the day .................................... to travel through Derbyshire

It's a long time since I have been in Derbyshire and so it was lovely to travel home to Kendal today through that beautiful county. We came upon the incredible spire of the Parish Church of St Mary and All Saints in Chesterfield. The spire is both twisted (45 degrees) and leaning (2.90 m) from its true centre.

There are several theories as to how this has happened but the one which is most widely believed is that it was caused by the lead that covers the spire, which was added 300 years after it was built - before this it was covered with oak tiles. When the sun shines during the day, the south side of the tower heats up, causing the lead there to expand at a greater rate than that of the north side of the tower, resulting in unequal expansion and contraction. This is compounded by the weight of the lead which the spire's bracing was not originally designed to bear.

Of course there are much more fanciful reasons for the twisting to be found in folklore. One is that the spire was so shocked to learn of the marriage of a virgin in the church that it bent down to get a closer look. Should this happen again, it is said that the spire will straighten and return to its true position. Another is that a Bolsover blacksmith mis-shoed the Devil, who leaped over the spire in pain, knocking it out of shape.

I just wonder how it got past Building Control and what their Health and Safety policy looks like ...................................