Holy Cross Church, Epperstone

Holy Cross Church stands in the village of Epperstone in the East Midlands, built largely of local Epperstone stone with Mansfield stone around the windows and arcade. The oldest parts date from the 13th century, while the tower and spire were added in the 14th century and the nave roof comes from the 17th century. It serves a joint parish alongside three neighbouring churches in Gonalston, Woodborough and Oxton. The church contains several notable memorials, including a 17th-century reclining effigy on the east wall and gravestones for local families such as Robertus Squire from 1701 and John Odingsells from 1655. A 14th-century buttress on the north wall and the aisle doorway survive from the church’s early years. The nave wall was raised and buttresses added when the arcade, tower and spire were built later in the same century. Inside, a clock made by Richard Roe in 1686 once marked the hours before being replaced in 1854. Four bells hang in the tower, three of which can be rung; the fourth strikes the clock chime. The oldest bell bears the words “Jhesus be our spede” from 1590, while others carry inscriptions from the 17th and 18th centuries. The churchyard holds a collection of headstones alongside the building’s historic stonework.