Bridge Chapels were common in medieval Europe, but now there are only six in England. The first stone bridge over the river Derwent was in place by 1230 and the first Chapel built by the 13th century. In the 14th century a cell had been constructed for a solitary ‘anchoress’; later it was home of a hermit; by the 15th century there was a company of the ‘Sisters of Our Lady and Child of the Bridge’.

Chapels of this kind were abolished in 1547 and services ceased. Over the centuries the building was variously a meeting place for Presbyterians, a carpenter’s shop, divided into cottages for domestic use and restored as a religious building in 1873.

In 1588, in the reign of Elizabeth 1, three Roman Catholic priests were hanged, drawn and quartered outside the Chapel for treason. Known as the Padley Martyrs, there are still remembered on 24th July each year.

Even after the 1873 restoration, the Chapel was again allowed to fall into disuse. But in the 1930s it was carefully restored and has been in constant use as a place of worship since then. Today not only Anglicans, but Russian Orthodox and German and Latvian Lutherans, use it on a regular basis.

Features include the medieval squint and fragment of a crucifix, the Restoration gallery and the modern stained glass and stone altar. Opening times at the Chapel are limited.

 

Regular Services at the Bridge Chapel For variations please call Derby Cathedral Office on 01332 341201 ext 20   Sunday 9.15am - Sung Eucharist    A traditional sung service in a very special holy place. 8.00pm - Alternative Worship    On the first and third Sundays The Mass, an experimental alternative worship group meets at the Bridge Chapel.
Tuesday 7.30pm - Eucharist (Healing Eucharist on the first Tuesday, Requiem on the third Tuesday)
Fridays in Lent 7.00am - Dawn Eucharist
Saturday 8.30am - Morning Prayer 9.00am - Holy Communion