St Mary's Church, Crich

St Mary's Church stands on a high point in the surrounding countryside, and its guide book suggests that “we can imagine that this was a hilltop pagan worship site before Christianity came to this part of England, and that round the worship centre a community grew up. Perhaps the curved wall by the Churchyard gate was part of the boundary of that side, for those worship areas were often circular.” The guide book further explains that the settlement spread to the south-east, towards Fritchley in more recent times. In early days of habitation, and when it first became a market town, Crich was based around the church, with the main settlement being the area from the Town End (where the Tramway Museum is) to the crossroads below the church, with just a few buildings and an old manor house where the Market Place is now.

(Information provided by Rosemary Lockie)