Church of St Mary, Rolleston-on-Dove

A church is thought to have stood on the site since at least the early Norman period as a priest is recorded as residing at Rolleston in the 1086 Domesday Book, though the present structure is later. The advowson was owned by the lord of the manor of Rolleston. In 1261 the lord of the manor, Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, gave the advowson to the priory at Tutbury but it was reclaimed in 1272 by Robert's successor, Edmund, Earl of Leicester. It passed to the Crown in 1399 as part of the Duchy of Lancaster. It remained in crown control until the early 17th century. Sir Edward Mosley, 1st Baronet acquired the advowson shortly after becoming lord of the manor in the 1620s. The Mosley…

The chancel features stained glass by the Victorian designer Charles Eamer Kempe and a window in the south aisle contains medieval stained glass. The chancel roof is supported by scissor trusses, the nave roof is on collar and arch braces. There are two octagonal pulpits at the western end, one of fretted oak on a stone base and one 19th-century in date of stone with quatrefoil panelled sides. The font is also octagonal. The tower is behind a wooden screen. The interior was extensively remodelled in 1884 with new pews installed, recycling oak from the former seats; rendering and whitewash removed from the walls; the tower arch exposed and a gallery removed. The tower houses eight bells…