Image ID: 42569

St Mary Magdalene's Parish Church, Hucknall

Market Place
Hucknall
Nottinghamshire
England

North west facing, c 1830. See NCCC001073 for view c 1890. St. Mary Magdalene is located overlooking the market place in the centre of the town. The building itself is of great architectural interest and is built on the site of an old Saxon church. The church tower was constructed in stages between the 12th and 14th century whilst the porch was built in 1320. The rest of the building is the result of extensive restoration work which began in 1872. In 1888 the Lady Chapel was re-built, a beautiful example of nineteenth century craftsmanship. The Victorian baptistery which used to contain the 14th century font has now been converted into a Visitor Centre where display boards and wall panels give visitors a chance to find out a little more about the Church. There are also many beautiful carvings and wall mosaics around the church. St Mary Magdalene has a ring of eight bells installed in 1958 plus a 14th century Angelus bell. The mechanically driven clock with a face on all four sides of the tower dates from 1882. Hucknall Parish Church is home to one of largest and best collections of stained glass windows by the artist C. E. Kempe in England, with no less than 20 impressive examples of his work. St. Mary Magdalene is the burial place of Lord Byron, the greatly influential poet who was renowned for his flamboyant and scandalous lifestyle. Infamous and charismatic, Byron became hugely popular during his life and his undisputed talent lives on today. Buried in 1852 next to Byron at her request is his daughter Ada, Countess of Lovelace. She worked with Charles Babbage who created one of the world's first 'computers' and Ada is considered by many to be the writer of the first computer programme.

Date: c 1830

Organisation Reference: NCCC002699

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