Hathersage Churches
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St Michael and All Saints, Hathersage is a medieval church with an unsurpassed location high up on the edge of this Peak District village, commanding an extensive view over the Derwent valley.
The church is said to date back to the 12th century with links to Henry I and his father, William the Conqueror. There are no remains existing of the Norman church and the current church is now very much one styled in the 14th Century, with it's perpendicular tower and octagonal piers. A more recent addition to the church is the stained glass window by Charles Kempe, which was removed from Derwent Chapel, before it was submerged under the Ladybower Reservoir and there has been extensive restoration carried out in the 19th century.
The church has a number of treasures, the main ones being in the chancel. It has a stunning set of brasses from the Eyre family, who owned the manor in the 15th century, commemorating the life and deaths of members of their family.
There are local claims to links with the Robin Hood story. Stones in the churchyard mark what is known as the grave of Little John, who is said to have come from the nearby village of Loxley. In 1780, a James Shuttleworth, claims to have unearthed a thigh bone near Little John’s grave measuring 30 inches, which would have made Little John 8.08 feet tall. The bone has since disappeared.  |  |  |
The church and its choir are well supported by the local community offering Sunday Services and
8am Holy communion (alternate weeks at Bamford); 9.30 am Parish Eucharist.
The Catholic Chapel at Hathersage - St Michael the Archangel
The current Chapel, set within it’s own grounds, has it’s origins on one of a group of farms on the main Sheffield to Hope road, but under the reign of James II, when Catholic chapels were opened for public worship, it appeared at it’s current location, with the village of Hathersage. Adam Furniss head of a Hathersage recusant family, offered the land to allow the chapel to be built and work was completed in 1692.
Shortly after its completion it was vandalised and pillaged by a mob who are believed to have had links with the “Glorious Revolution” deposing the Catholic king James II, and installing the protestant, William of Orange, to the British throne.
It was not until 1798 that the derelict chapel was able to be restored after a legacy from local land owner Thomas Eyre and the priest house was built after further funds were bequeathed by the Furniss family.
The chapel finally reopended in 1806 and now serves the local Catholic community with a full range of services and masses
The current Chapel, set within it’s own grounds, has it’s origins on one of a group of farms on the main Sheffield to Hope road, but under the reign of James II, when Catholic chapels were opened for public worship, it appeared at it’s current location, with the village of Hathersage. Adam Furniss head of a Hathersage recusant family, offered the land to allow the chapel to be built and work was completed in 1692.
Shortly after its completion it was vandalised and pillaged by a mob who are believed to have had links with the “Glorious Revolution” deposing the Catholic king James II, and installing the protestant, William of Orange, to the British throne.
It was not until 1798 that the derelict chapel was able to be restored after a legacy from local land owner Thomas Eyre and the priest house was built after further funds were bequeathed by the Furniss family.
The chapel finally reopended in 1806 and now serves the local Catholic community with a full range of services and masses
Hathersage also hosts a Methodist Church, which celebrated it's 70th anniversary in 2009, has Morning Worship 10.30am every Sunday.