Kirk Hallam is a village in the Erewash district of SE Derbyshire, 7 miles NE of Derby and just over a mile from the border with Nottinghamshire, to the E. It is an ancient village, but is now regarded as part of Ilkeston, a larger settlement to the NE. The village expanded dramatically from the 1950s onwards when public and private sector housing was built to the S, and later to the N of the village centre, driven largely by employment opportunities at Stanton Ironworks. The church is thus in the old village centre, but surrounded by mid-20thc housing to the N and S. It is built of coursed gritstone with slate roofs and consists of a nave with a S porch, a higher chancel and a low W tower. The earliest fabric is in the 14thc straight-headed windows of the nave, while the tower is 15thc and later. The church was reported to be ruinous in 1778 and shortly afterwards it was repaired and repewed. There were restorations of the nave and chancel in 1858-59 by Place of Nottingham under the direction of G E Street. Traces of a 12thc church survive in the form of two beakhead voussoirs and two carved with the chevron ornament, and an arcaded font.

In 1086 Kirk Hallam was held by Dunstan from Ralph de Buron, when it was assessed at 2 carucates. Apart from the ploughland there were 16 acres of meadow and woodland pasture 7 furlongs by 6. A church is known to have existed in the reign of Henry II (1152-89), when it was held by Sir Peter de Sandiacre. The manor passed from him to his son, Sir Richard, and his grandson, Sir John, and it was Sir Richard who gave the church, along with lands and tenements, to Dale Abbey in the reign of Henry III (1216-72).

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the rectorial tithes were given to Sir Francis Leeke, who already held the manor and the advowson of the vicarage, and in on the death of his descendant Sir Nicholas Leeke in 1736 the manor and the advowson were bought by the Newdigate family

Arcaded tub fonts are commonly found in Derbyshire, and those at Somersall Herbert and Ockbrook have the intersecting arcading. The lily motif I have not seen elsewhere in this context. The font is illustrated in Cox (Pl.X) and in Smith (fig.2). These show the bowl on a 13thc moulded stem rather than the present octagonal one, and in fact Smith remarks that the pedestal 'has greatly added to the richness' of the general effect. It is not known when the 13thc stem was replaced by the present one.

The chevron and beakhead voussoirs are probably from 12thc doorway: either a lost N doorway or the original S doorway (the present one is later). All of this work is likely to date from c.1130-50. Cox dated the font to the time of Henry I or Stephen, and suggested that the beakhead voussoirs were from the former chancel arch, but they do not appear big enough for this location.