The Chapel of St. Mary on the Bridge

Within walking distance of the Cathedral, The chapel, or St. Mary’s on the Bridge, is one of Derby’s hidden treasures. One of the very few surviving bridge chapels in England, it still continues to be used as a place of worship. This beautiful and fascinating building dates from the 14th Century and houses many architectural clues to the Chapel’s intriguing and varied history. Although a separate building, it serves as a chapel of the Cathedral, as well as having a regular congregation of its own.

A truly historic building, the Bridge Chapel stands masked by trees by St Mary’s Bridge with the chapel house adjacent, just a few minutes walk from Derby Cathedral and the Cathedral Quarter area of the city.

It has enjoyed a chequered history, with alternating periods of disuse and restoration and varying uses that included a Presbyterian meeting room, cottages, a prison and a carpenters’ workshop, before being restored as a religious building and place of worship in the 1930’s.

Particularly worth seeing, apart from the building itself, are the modern stained glass windows, the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Ronald Pope altar and the icon of St Michael.
In days gone by, travellers leaving derby would call at the chapel to pray before setting out on a hazardous journey into the countryside beyond.
There was mention of a stone bridge over the river Derwent in 1230, although this may have replaced a wooden structure dating back to the Saxon era. A Chapel would have existed at the end of the 13th century, built by the burgesses of Derby. A cell was added in the 14th Century to house a woman who had withdrawn to live a solitary life.