Church of St Martin

St Martin’s Church stands in the quiet village of Osmaston in the Derbyshire Dales. It is a Grade II* listed parish church built in the 19th century to replace an earlier building. The new church was designed by Henry Isaac Stevens and constructed from local limestone. The builder was William Evans of Ellastone, and the stone came from quarries near Ashbourne. Francis Wright of Lenton funded the £9,000 cost of rebuilding and the attached school-rooms. The church is worth visiting for its fine stonework and historic features. Its nave, aisles, chancel, west tower, south porch and vestry form a complete early Victorian church. Five of the six bells in the tower date from 1845, cast by Charles and George Mears, with the treble added in 1914. The pipe organ, installed in 2000, was originally made for a different church. A Grade II listed war memorial by Walter Shirley, 11th Earl Ferrers, stands in the churchyard. Inside, visitors find a spacious nave with clear glass windows. The chancel retains its original fittings and the tower houses the ring of six bells. The church shares its parish with four other churches nearby. The stone walls and buttresses show the careful craftsmanship of the 1840s. The setting among mature trees and farmland adds to the calm atmosphere of the village.