Holy Trinity Church

The parish church of Holy Trinity, Stanton in the Peak, was built in 1838 for William Pole Thornhill. It is constructed of tooled, coursed squared gritstone with gritstone dressings, and has plain tile roofs with moulded copings and a ridge cross to the chancel. The church is in the Early English style, comprising a west steeple, nave, north and south transeptal chapels, and a lower chancel. The two-stage western tower features a recessed octagonal spire, a double-chamfered pointed western doorcase with a heavy flat hoodmould and stepped diagonal buttresses on either side. Above the door is a coat of arms of the Thornhill family, inscribed with the date 1838. Arrow slits and cross windows are above the coat of arms, except on the east side. A stepped plain stringcourse runs over the windows, with Y-tracery, followed by pointed bell openings to the east and west sides, and clock faces to the north and south. Another stepped stringcourse and plain parapets top the tower. The spire has two sets of lucarnes separated by a plain band, and a ball and cross finial. The north and south nave elevations are identical, with central transept chapels having four-light intersecting tracery windows under heavy flat hoodmoulds and diagonal corner buttresses. Within the nave walls are pointed windows with Y-tracery, again with similar hoodmoulds and trefoils between the Ys. Stepped corner buttresses mark the ends of the nave. The north chancel elevation has a chamfered pointed doorcase to the west and a Y-tracery window similar to those in the nave; the south chancel elevation is similar but lacks the door. The east window echoes the transept windows. Internally, a wide chamfered doorcase leads to the nave, with similar arches leading to the chancel and transept chapels. The roof is ribbed and pointed, with a gallery over the west door. Contemporary plain pews, a pulpit and a lectern are present. Stained glass is found in the chancel and a 1879 stained glass window is set within the north side of the nave. Several wall memorials are dedicated to the Thornhill family, including a good Florentine Quattrocento-style memorial to Henry Bache Thornhill, dating from circa 1860-70. The church dedication tablet is housed in a Florentine Quattrocento surround with tiers of praying angels, and includes an inscription detailing dates and key figures in the church’s history, including William Pole Thornhill, Mrs Thornhill, Francis Hodgson DD, George Selwyn DD and Arthur Wolfe Hamilton MA. A Holy water stoup, dated 1596 and of Italian origin, is also present. Stations of the cross are set into the nave walls. An Early 19th-century octagonal stone font with cusped panels and an octagonal stem on a moulded base is located within the tower porch.