All Saints Church (Bakewell)
All Saints is the parish church of the delightful Derbyshire town of Bakewell, in the Peak District.
It has a fine tower, and stands on a hill leading out towards Buxton, so that it dominates views of the town.
All Saints was built in the 14th century, on a site that had been used as a church for centuries.
It is a big church, and contains an impressive collection of tombs of the Vernon family.
Goerge Vernon, of nearby Haddon Hall, was so rich that he was known as King of the Peak. His daughter, Dorothy Vernon, eloped with John Manners. They were married at St. Andrews Church, Aylestone, now a suburb of Leicester. Their descendants are the Dukes of Rutland.
There is an amazing collection of Anglo-Saxon artefacts in the porch, and wall carvings from the same period.
The churchyard has two Anglo-Saxon crosses. The taller and better known of these has a story to tell. Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII and heir to the throne, fell asleep beneath the cross, while staying at Haddon. He dreamed that he would marry a lady from overseas, but that she would soon be widowed
He was married to Catherine of Aragon, and they went to live at Ludlow Castle. But he died soon after, and his widow married Arthur's brother, the future Henry VIII. This marriage had far reaching consequences fo England.