Perlethorpe Churchyard, gargoyles and graves.

 

Above: “The Dukes Graves”, painting by Ian Gordon Craig, (2017).

Above: This is just a selection of the splendid gargoyles to be found placed around Perlethorpe Church, the Church of St John the Evangelist. They remain in excellent condition, sadly not the case with some other areas of the graveyard.

Above: The Dukes’ graves as seen from the rear, placed together in specific formation.

Below:  The grave on the left is that of the 3rd Earl Manvers (1825 - 1900) who was responsible for so many of the buildings we see on Thoresby Estate today, such as Perlethorpe School. The grave in the foreground is that of both the 6th and final Earl Manvers (1881 - 1955) and his wife Lady Manvers, (Marie-Louise Roosevelt Butterfield) (1889–1984).

Meaningful photography / research beyond the Duke’s graves has now become impossible. A new burial area behind the church is well maintained, but this ancient site is now overgrown and occasionally, economically “mowed” by the nearby sheep. That is not intended as a criticism. However, three stones in particular are worth a mention:

Above: The Carpenter’s Grave. It is well documented that successive Pierrepont / Manvers families held their estate workers in high esteem. Of some prominence in Perlethorpe Church graveyard is a remarkable headstone for one such man, carpenter Alfred Middleton. Buried there after his death in January 1935, the tools of his trade are carved into the base of a rustic cross.

Above: Two rather beautiful gravestones, their names long since faded, but the detailing suggesting someone special? Someone very young?

Above: Environmentally economic grass cutters. Below: A misty morning in December 2024.

Perlethorpe’s earlier church and the Pierrepont mystery.

 

Above: The memorial tomb of the mysterious Major Charles Alphonso Pierrepont.

There were two churches in Perlethorpe before the present one. In 1744, Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston, laid the foundation stone from the first to commemorate the rebuilding of a second. That stone (long since gone), used to lay in the right east end of the current graveyard and read: "The Church of Peverelthorpe, The Noble and Generous Prince Evelyn, Duke of Kingston, Knight of the Garter, Rebuilt in the year 1744".

Perlethorpe did not have its own vicar. An agreement was reached in which the vicar of Edwinstowe would receive a small fee from the Duke to hold a service in Perlethorpe once a fortnight, but not be able to claim the tythe he received from other villages. (A tythe barn was a place where 10% of a farm's produce was stored and given to the church). The site this church was built upon was called Pinfold Close. The church itself was described as being of elegant stone, with some stained glass, and carved figures of "Hope" and "Meekness" in the western end. At the east end, actually inside the building and near to the High Altar, stood the memorial tomb of the mysterious Charles Alphonso Pierrepont. His monument stands there to this day, outside and exposed to the elements.

In 1836 an Act of Parliament allowed Charles Herbert Pierrepont, 2rd Earl Manvers, to combine Perlethorpe and Thoresby as one parish, supported by his Estate, and granting him and his heirs the right to select their own vicar. In 1837 an endowment was made by Charles Herbert of £100 a year. This would be the only source of income for the Vicar of Perlethorpe, and would be charged to Whitemoor Farm.

The church of 1744 was still standing when in 1876 the 3rd Earl Manvers built the present one, designed by Anthony Salvin, one year after building the present Thoresby Hall. It was not until 1877 that permission was granted to demolish the old church. This would mean that, for a while at least, two churches were standing end to end? I find that hard to believe. But interestingly, it also suggests the tomb of Charles Alphonso Pierrepont itself was never moved.

But who was Major Charles Alphonso Pierrepont? His imposing "tomb" in Perlethorpe Church graveyard, and dated 1812, tells us he was "A Major in the British Service who lost his life so gallantly while storming an outwork near Burgos". This would suggest Wellington’s Burgos Campaign of the same year. It goes on to describe him as "Of an ancient and respectable family on whom, by his excellent conduct, he conferred honour. He was interred on the field where he fought and fell, September 19th 1812." So, if he was “interred on the field” then this is not really a tomb at all, but a monument.

Although Major Charles Alphonso Pierrepont military records are quite detailed, apparently no-one has established exactly who his parents were, nor where he was born.

Perlethorpe Church of St John the Evangelist.

 

Above: Church of St John the Evangelist, Perlethorpe. The low surrounding wall pre-dates the current building. Below: Centenary plate.

Perlethorpe Church of St. John Evangelist, was built in 1876 by Sydney William Herbert Pierrepont, 3rd Earl Manvers, at a cost of £17,000. A memorial to the Earl can be found on the inner north wall. Designed by Anthony Salvin, the church stands across the road from Perlethorpe Church of England School (now Perlethorpe Environmental Education Centre). Some features within its grounds are said to date from the previous church, such as the "dwarf boundary wall" (1861), and gas street lamp (c.1861) by the western gate, several of which once illuminated the path leading to Thoresby Hall, the route the Duke and Duchess’s carriage would take when attending service. (Note: The gas lamp seen in the photograph has been removed).

Above: In the early 1900's the 4th Earl and Countess Manvers would arrive at these gates in a carriage drawn by a white horse. After the service the Countess would find out from her Estate Agent which of the village's children were missing. She herself would then visit those families in her carriage to ascertain how poorly the child was, before instructing the manager of Home Farm to send that family fresh milk, eggs and butter, whilst providing hot soup direct from Thoresby Hall.

As early as 1904 very extensive repairs were made necessary to the church due to the poor construction methods used in the walls. Bonding stones had not been placed across the cavity in the walls, and the infill of rubbish there was causing serious decay. As the decades passed and mining subsidence occurred, the strain caused by the six bells in the tower was also a cause for concern. In 1952 five of these bells would go to West Bridgford.

Above: The present entrance to St John's is the lychgate, on the south of its grounds. This was added in 1922 as a memorial to those men from Thoresby who fell in World War 1. (Budby village organised their own large cross). This lychgate was designed by A. Gleave, Nottingham, but the work was carried out by Thoresby Estate, and the carving by Tudsbury, Edwinstowe.

Above: Sunday School classes were held in the area to the left as one entered. To encourage Sunday School attendance in the 1950's the children would receive attendance stamps. These richly coloured illustrations of passages from the Bible were then stuck inside small albums. Miss a week, miss a stamp!

Above: Water colour painting of Church of St John the Evangelist, Perlethorpe, by Reverend “Pa” Barton. This was done on the inside cover of a prayer book he gave to my elder sister in the early 1950s. He did this for children attending his Confirmation classes.

In 1951 Reverend Barton, took over the Parish. He had been Principal of the Theological College in Newfoundland and his study was brim full of fascinating artifacts from this distant land, which engrossed the imagination of every child who stood patiently in his study awaiting his entrance so communion classes could begin. Nicknamed "Pa", Mr Barton lived in a house by The Kennels until 1968, before retiring to move to Oban, Scotland.

In 1956 Bill Langstaff stoked the boilers at the church, succeeded in 1959 by Jack Kenyon, a plumber at the Woodyard who lived in the Almshouses. Perlethorpe Church's weather cock was removed in 1960 as a safety precaution. That same year school headmaster Mr Pierpont (no relation to Pierrepont) took a small group of the older boys from the school (including myself), across the road and out onto the tower at the base of the spire to experience the view. Such was the quality of education at Perlethorpe, always enriched by unexpected little initiatives

 Below: The Dukes' Graves, oil painting by Ian Gordon Craig.