Follow the brown signs

Spectacular memorials and Norman monsters

All Saints’ church is all that remains of the Medieval village of Kedleston, razed in 1759 by Sir Nathaniel Curzon to make way for the magnificent Kedleston Hall.Today, the hall is a beautiful National Trust property and you can easily combine a trip to both attractions at once.

The Curzon family has lived at Kedleston for 700 years and their stunning memorials – created by several famous designers including Robert Adam – fill the church. The grandest was erected in 1909, commissioned by Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, for his wife Mary.

A dazzling marble tomb –– with lifesize figures and watching angels –- floats on a sea of green translucent quartz in its own little chapel with superb stained glass windows. Another monument from 1456 shows Sir John Curzon in full armour with his wife and their two dogs.

Essentially 13th-century, with a classical east end, All Saints is filled with fine fittings including oak box pews, pulpit and communion rails. However, its oldest feature is the Norman south doorway which has zigzag moulding and grotesque birds heads.Look out for the carving of the fiendish little cares of horseman and wild beasts that glare out at you just above the door!

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