St Mary's Church

Story

St Mary's Church is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Derby, England. A Grade II* listed building, it stands on Bridge Gate overlooking St Alkmund's Way. The church was designed by architect A. W. N. PuginHistoryThe church was designed by Augustus Pugin in 1837 to replace a small Gothic building in nearby Chapel Street. It was Pugin's first expression of his Gothic Revival style. He originally planned for the tower to have a 100ft spire, but budget restrictions prevented this from being implemented. His final design was presented on 17 March 1838, and construction began that same year, with the foundation stone being laid in July 1838. Building was completed by 9 October 1839, when the dedication service took place. The cost of construction had been £1,400. The wood sedilia in the sanctuary was donated to the church by Pugin.Eight years later St Alkmund's Church was built on a site directly opposite St Mary's. The position of the larger St Alkmund's was such that the view of St Mary's from King Street was totally obscured.In 1850, a chapel was added dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. Some years later a floodlit statue of Mary was placed on the tower, forming a landmark, although it has subsequently been removed. The church was partially restored in 1927 when it was discovered that damp had taken hold on much of the plasterwork. St Mary's was enlarged slightly in 1932 with the building of the Lady Chapel and several pieces of stonework were added to both the interior and the exterior of the building.