Church History
Parts of the church date back to the 11th century however the majority of the church is 17th century. It is a Grade 2 listed building, and Grade 1 listing is being sought.
The Domesday Book of 1086 records that Calverton had a church and a priest. Nothing for certain remains of this Saxon Church, but it was probably on the same site. The present church is built on rock, and the local sandstone is one of the chief building materials. The Norman piers supporting the chancel arch are the oldest standing parts of the present building. They have been dated as pre-1160, but in the capital of the north pier is a carved panel that takes us back to a far more remote period of history. This records the first establishment of Christianity in Calverton, when St Wilfrid of Ripon, patron saint of Calverton (as of many other villages in this area) accepted the invitation of Wulfhere, Christian King of Mercia, to assist in the evangelisation of his kingdom in about the year 666 A.D. St. Wilfrid, who was Bishop of York, is shown giving the blessing after the baptism of a convert, who is depicted naked, ‘new born’ from the waters of baptism.
The Norman church was probably not much wider than the present tower but when the round Roman Chancel arch was replaced in the 13th century by the present Early English pointed arch, the nave and chancel were probably both enlarged to the north. In the 1760s the whole of the nave and tower were extensively altered so that they were virtually as we see them today. The tower was completely rebuilt using stone from the previous Norman tower.
The chancel by its appearance dates from the 1830s and further extensive building works were carried out in 1881 and an organ chamber built in 1888.
The William Lee Annexe built in 1962 commemorates the traditional link between Calverton Church and the inventor of the stocking frame. It presently houses a toilet and kitchen. The plan drawn up in 1983 shows the layout as it is found today.
The church bells date back to 1623. The Church originally had 4 bells the oldest dating back to 1623 but more recently in 1997 the bells were augmented from 4 to 6 with the assistance of a grant from the Millennium Commission and a local fund raising campaign. The Treble is a new bell, which was purchased with the money from the fund and is called ‘the Millennium bell’ and weighs 3.2 cwt. The second bell was given to us by the Southwell Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers to celebrate their 50th Anniversary and weighs 4cwt. The 4 remaining bells weigh 4cwt, 5.1cwt, 6.2cwt and finally the weight of the Tenor is 8.1cwt. Local artist Sheila Wood designed a window for the chancel depicting the ‘Light of the World’. This was installed in 2000.