St Michael and All Angels Church

Hathersage Parish Church is a Grade 1 listed building dedicated to St Michael and All Angels. This gives it the rare status of being of exceptional interest, shared with the likes of Buckingham palace. It carries a great deal of significance in its heritage as an ever-evolving village church that has served a local community for over 1000 years. Religious or not, there’s much to enjoy looking around as part of your trip to the Peak District.

St Michael and All Angels’ church is a popular destination for tourists because its graveyard has ties to multiple historical influences in British culture.

We’ve all heard the story of Robin Hood and his band of merry men. Little John, trusted in second command, was said to have spent his early and last days in Hathersage where he fired an arrow up in the air to mark the spot he was to be buried. Of course, reports about him are mostly hearsay but his presence in Hathersage has been shared within the local community for hundreds of years. And, at least geographically, if you were to believe the folklore, Robin Hood’s birthplace is Loxley which is not too far away in west Sheffield.

Jane Eyre is one of the most famous novels on the planet with over 2 million ratings on Goodreads. The author, Charlotte Brontë, took regular trips to Hathersage and is said to have based the town of Morton on the village. At the time she visited, the Eyre family were living in the area in North Lees, but the family’s prestige and ties to Hathersage go back a lot further. A Thurstan Eyre is named in the church as vicar from 1442 and members of the prominent family remain buried in the graveyard to this day, helping to bring part of this incredible fiction to life along with other village connections that influenced Brontë.

Join holy communion and morning worship with hymns on a Sunday at 9:30am for an hour. Free tea or coffee is available afterwards.

The war memorial honours those who died protecting the country. There’s plenty on display while walking around the church. Book stands feature everything from the best Peak district trails to children’s books and religious texts including the holy bible. You can learn about the bell tower and history of the many renovations dating back to 1830 that turned Hathersage Parish Church into the expansive wonder it is today.

The chancel with a gothic touch, covered in a royal red carpet leads to a great marvel – the sanctuary. The beautiful stained glass windows were repurposed from an old church in the lost village of Derwent in Derwent Valley, where flooded relics of the past remain at the bottom of what is now Ladybower Reservoir. To the left is Eyre chest tomb, a nod to the Eyre family along with other monuments in the chancel.

Lady Chapel, formerly known as The Eyre Chantry Chapel was added in 1459, now serving refreshments after service. The colourful, intimate space is decorated and includes a table and chairs to relax by the altar. It reads, “be still”, part of a phrase that appears in Psalm 46:10 of the Bible, often interpreted to stop fighting, let things go, and pay attention to God.

The pipe organ was moved to St Michael and All Angels church from Sheffield in 1981, originally built by James Jepson Binns who crafted many organs, especially in the Leeds and Greater Manchester area churches. It is a huge instrument within the nave and creates a resonance and volume that is captivating when played.

An elevated ringing platform sits under the spire. Unlike many churches now using digital sounds, this one includes a series of metal bells with old school mechanisms to control it. Visiting ringers can do the honour of setting them off. Behind closed doors, there is a spiral staircase to the clock room.

Hathersage is arguably the most accessible village in the Peak District being so close to Sheffield. It’s just a 15 minute drive from south west Sheffield around Whirlow. Simply take the 272/271 bus or follow Hathersage Road in your car. Once in the village, head onto School Lane and go left uphill shortly after when reaching The Scotsman’s Pack hotel. There are parking signs by the church.

If you’re coming by train, take the Manchester Piccadilly/Sheffield Northern rail which stops at Hathersage station.

We recommend making a nice little circular walk out of your visit. It only takes 15-20 minutes. Start on the Main Road outside the Alpkit shop and stroll down Baulk lane.

Keep going past the cricket club (on your left) until you reach a wooden gate leading into a field. Walk up the dirt path through a few fields and there will be a stream with a crossing to your right. Go through the gate, up some stairs and it’s on your right. When leaving the church, from the inside entrance go left through the wooden cove and down the hill straight until you’re out at the top of the main road. Then go right down into the village centre again.