All Saints Church, Dale Abbey (2)

The description of the “Church of All Saints” in the National Heritage List for England (NHLE),^[1] coupled as it is with “Vergers Farmhouse” suggests the the right hand (west) side of the building was originally a smallholding serving as a residence for significant church personnel. The account also suggests that whilst the history of the chapel is uncertain, it may have been the infirmary, and infirmary chapel to the Abbey. Certainly it seems more than a coincidence that the Abbey Ruins are close by, as is the case elsewhere, for instance at Flaxley, and Hailes Abbey, in Gloucestershire, where the connection between Abbey and Church is documented.

Pevsner's Buildings of England for Derbyshire (pp.162-163) dismisses the notion, saying there is no provable way of connecting All Saints with the Abbey. Indeed, he suggests that it was “perhaps the chapel of Depedale, mentioned in the late 12th century”; and “one of the smallest and oddest of English churches”. There is a footnote to his account also, attributed to “A. Gomme” that the house was once the Village Inn!

(Information provided by Rosemary Lockie)

References
[1] “The only official, up to date, register of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites” - the National Heritage List for England.