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Funeral Garland in Matlock Church
At one time the Matlock garlands were considered to be the best in the country
 

In St. Giles' Church there are some relics of romantic and historical interest, even if the underlying reason for their existence is a sad one. There are some wonderful and very old funeral garlands, all that remain of an old custom.

These were described in the nineteenth century:

'From the cross-beams of the Church are suspended some funeral garlands, which it was the custom - now obsolete here - to deposit on the burial of young maidens, in accordance with a practice thus noticed by Washington Irving, as prevalent in remote villages. "A chaplet of white flowers is borne before the corpse by a young girl, nearest in size, age, and resemblance, and is afterwards hung up in the church. These chaplets are sometimes made of white paper in imitation of flowers, and inside of them is generally a pair of gloves. They are intended as emblems of the purity of the deceased, and the crown of glory which she has received in heaven". The allusions to the custom of laying "garlands on the hearse" are very frequent in the writings of the old poets'.[1]

  
Engraving of funeral garland at Matlock from 'Bemroses' Guide to Matlock, Bakewell, Chatsworth, Haddon Hall, &c' by John Hicklin, Third Edition, pub Bemrose and Sons, London (no date, but about 1869)

 
About Matlock and Matlock Bath's Churches
About St Giles
About Matlock
Funeral Garland at Matlock Church
Pastors of Matlock Congregational Church
Rectors of Matlock St Giles
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Matlock MIs
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St. Giles' Church was Matlock only church for several centuries

Stan Norris has reminded me that Shakespeare uses the word in 'Hamlet'. On Ophelia's burial the priest says to Laertes "Yet here she is allowed her virgin crants, her maiden strewments..." as a reassurance to her brother because she committed suicide.

By the beginning of the twentieth century the garlands that remained at St. Giles' Church were preserved in a glass case by the south west porch. Benjamin Bryan[2] wrote that the six Maidens' Funeral Garlands or Crantses were 'all that remain of a much larger number that formerly hung under the old western gallery'. He described them as 'made of paper cut into rosettes and other patterns and ornaments. One garland contains the representation of a pair of white gloves'. The decorations have clearly been wrapped round and tied to a wooden framework that must have been bent to shape.

This crantsey, which has been restored and preserved by the church, is made up of rosettes. Photograph © Julie Bunting, 2001
Photograph © Julie Bunting, 2001		   Crichton Porteous described the Matlock garlands as being 'only 12 or 14 inches high'.[3] He used the word 'crantses' for the plural, but when he described just one garland he called it a 'crantsey'.

In recent times the church has paid £600 for one crantsey to be conserved and this is now displayed in a glass case in the church. Sadly, conservation of this kind is a costly exercise and there is no further funding available for more, so the remaining five garlands have to be stored in a box.

Julie Bunting, who writes for the "Peak Advertiser", was given permission by the Rector to photograph the restored garland and has very generously allowed her photograph to be published here.

This crantsey is made up of rosettes.

At one time the Matlock garlands were considered to be the best in the country. There are similar garlands at Ashford in the Water and Trusley and at Ilam, just across the county border in Staffordshire. There was also a garland at South Wingfield, but according to Porteous, it 'was allowed to' disappear around 1940 or so. I have also found a reference to garlands still existing at Edlaston church some time during the last century, but I am unable to provide an accurate date for this.

Derbyshire's Parishes, 1811 - descriptions of these parishes

About St. Giles Church has a further quotation extracted from 'Bemroses' Guide to Matlock' about the interior of the church
Bemroses' Guide is onsite

The GENUKI site has more about Derbyshire's garlands and several pages are recommended reading.
Ashford in the Water by Rosemary Lockie
Julie Bunting's Take a look at
Crant1 } Rosemary also has photographs of the Crantz in Ashford Church.
Crant2 }

As for other church 'oddities', there's a picture onsite of a gargoyle in the Oxfordshire church of Ardington
Ardington Church - see the bottom of the section on the church.

You may like to view more onsite information
About St Giles' Church
St Giles' Church, about 1904
St. Giles' Parish Church, Matlock, 1908, with a short description by J. Charles Cox written in 1915
Rectors of St Giles' from 1300
Matlock St Giles', MIs in the Church


With very grateful thanks to Sonia Addis-Smith, Julie Bunting and the Rector of St. Giles' Church, Matlock

References:
[1] "Bemroses' Guide to Matlock, Bakewell, Chatsworth, Haddon Hall, &c" by John Hicklin, Third Edition, pub Bemrose and Sons, London (no date, but about 1869)
Reproduced here with the very kind permission and help of Sonia Addis Smith
[2] Bryan, Benjamin (1903) "History of Matlock - Matlock, Manor and Parish" London by Bemrose & Sons, Limited
[3] Porteous, Crichton "The Ancient Customs of Derbyshire", Derbyshire Countryside Ltd., Derby