Friends of St Chad's - Church Wilne

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Friends of St Chad's - Church Wilne

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The Friends of St Chad's is a voluntary organisation dedicated to the care of St Chad's Church in Church Wilne, Derbyshire.

This page will post updates of this incredible ancient building as we work to preserve it for future generations.

02/11/2026

An exciting announcement for Saint Chad’s! On the 19th of December we shall be hosting Carl North & The Ponting Dogs for a unique evening of Blues, Country, Soul & Americana.

Our ancient building creates a magical atmosphere, guaranteed to provide an unforgettable festive evening of music. Drinks and refreshments will be available, with profits going towards the upkeep of the building alongside other good causes.

Tickets are £10 plus a small booking fee. The car park will also be open for visitors convenience.

Pre booking is strongly advised for this special event: https://wegottickets.com/f/30556

26/10/2026

Exciting news! we have secured the services of an organist to play two short half hour sessions late morning and early afternoon on the Saturday of the Christmas Tree festival. It will be the first chance to hear our magnificent organ being played after it's recent refurbishment. What could be better? A beautiful old Church filled with stunning Christmas Trees, accompanied by atmospheric organ music, hot drinks and lovely home made cakes. What an event to get you in the Christmas spirit.

20/10/2026

I've just had an idea, It would be really nice to get a better idea of what the Church and especially the Willoughby Chapel looked like before the 1917 fire. I have a few old black and white photos kindly lent to me by Sandra Stock but I wondered if anyone else has any I could scan? or even any recollections passed down from parents or Grand Parents?
Ultimately it would be nice if we could find someone who is proficient with AI to create a virtual walk around of a pre 1917 church and Willoughby Chapel.
This is a before the fire picture of the Willoughby Chapel showing the ornate plaster ceiling.

30/09/2026

I apologise for mentioning Christmas this early in the year, but the Friends are delighted to be holding their second Christmas Tree festival on the weekend of 21st and 22nd November, just in time to get you into the Christmas mood. If your group, Business or Organisation would like to be involved and represented please message us or email [email protected] or [email protected]
Last year we had we had 26 trees from local groups on display can we get more this year?

27/09/2026

An excellent evenings entertainment was had by all, care of The Chapel Park Big Band.
Someone was so knocked over by the Jazz and swing music that they left behind their black pashmina/shawl. The Friends of St Chads have it if it is yours

10/09/2026

Our next evenings entertainment at St Chad's Church will be a performance By The Chapel Park Big Band on Saturday 26th September at 7:30. Come and enjoy an evening of Swing and Jazz in the style of Count Basie and Glen Miller. With the excellent acoustics of the Church this should be a brilliant evenings entertainment.

27/08/2026

A big thank you to the 265 people who have taken the time to fill out our questionnaire. This provides us with vital information which will be essential for our National Lottery Heritage Fund grant application. We desperately need to carry out repairs to the tower roof and act to stabilise the Willoughby monument so it can be seen by future generations.
We are about half way there with regards to the number of questionnaires we need to get back, so if you haven't filled one in yet please do.
It only takes a few minutes of your time but it will help preserve our beautiful historic Church for generations to come.
Please use the link below

https://tinyurl.com/stchadschurchwilne

If you know anyone who doesn't do online stuff and who want's to complete a survey, there will be some hard copies available in St Mary's Church Hall Draycott during the Scarecrow Festival this weekend.

Thank you

17/08/2026

A quick reminder of the event at the Church this Wednesday evening and our request to complete the survey which will help us stand a better chance of getting a grant towards essential building repairs. If you can't scan the QR code to access the survey you can get to it by clicking on the link below or typing it into your phone/computer
Thank you.
https://tinyurl.com/stchadschurchwilne

05/08/2026

Our next event is a talk on the history of St Pancras station on Wednesday 19th August. This talk is not about trains, and not much about railways - it's about an interesting bit of history, amazing engineering and world-class architecture - and a great background story! It describes how the fantastic mid-Victorian Gothic railway cathedral came to be built, and how the long-neglected building underwent a breathtaking transformation.

The speaker is Nigel Lowey from Nottingham, whose original amateur interest in the St. Pancras buildings led to him getting further involved and becoming an expert historian of the building.

There will be the option of a roast pork cob on arrival followed by the talk in the historic church. Bring a cushion to sit on the pews are very hard.
Costs are: Roast Pork cob £5, Entrance to the talk £5
Please bring cash payments.

05/08/2026

A quick thank you to all who attended the St Chads Classic and Vintage bike weekend, a fantastic time was had by all, with wonderful bikes to look at, delicious home made cakes to eat and interesting people to chat to. Thanks to the generous attendees we managed to raise over £5,000 towards the repair of the tower roof and Willoughby monument.
A very big thank you to all that donated and to all that worked very hard baking cakes and serving refreshments.
See you all next year!

Address

Derby

Website

https://checkout.justgiving.com/c/3970289

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