The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
St Michael and St Mary (now)
Parish church
Melbourne is a market town in the South Derbyshire district, 7 miles S of the centre of Derby. The church is on the S side of the town centre, alongside Melbourne Hall. It is by far the most ambitious Norman parish church in the county, perhaps the whole country. It was built entirely of the local millstone grit, an Namurian sandstone similar to Ashover Grit (Stanley, 175), and has a 5-bay aisled nave with a 2-tower W narthex, a crossing tower with transepts and a 2-bay unaisled chancel. The original chancel was of 2 storeys with blind arcading on the upper storey that survives for one bay on either side, and steep roof with 2 registers of openings into the crossing, which were removed and their arches blocked and windows inserted, apparently at different dates in the 14thc (S) and 15thc (N). It is substantially Norman except for the upper stages of the crossing tower, and windows in the aisles, transepts and chancel. It was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott from 1859-62.