Church of St Peter, Edensor

St Peter’s Church stands in the village of Edensor, a short walk from Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. The church was rebuilt in 1867 by Sir George Gilbert Scott after an earlier Norman building had occupied the site. Joseph Paxton planned the new village and church for the 7th Duke of Devonshire, and the church was consecrated in 1870. It has a west steeple, nave with aisles, chancel, north vestry and south-east chapel. The 166-foot spire was added about twenty-five years after the village was completed. The church holds memorials to members of the Cavendish family who shaped the estate. A brass marks the servant John Beton, who worked for Mary, Queen of Scots. The Cavendish Memorial honours Henry and William Cavendish, sons of Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick. Kathleen Cavendish, sister of President John F. Kennedy, is buried here, and her brother visited the grave in 1963. A tablet commemorates Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, on his jubilee. Inside, the pipe organ dates from 1873 and was built by Bishop and Son. The churchyard holds the graves of most Dukes of Devonshire and their families, arranged on the highest spot in the Cavendish plot. Sir Joseph Paxton, who designed the new village, is buried here, as are three Commonwealth war graves from the First World War. The church’s pointed arches and porch include remnants of the earlier Norman church.