Clumber Park Part 1: The Chapel of St Mary the Virgin

On what turned out to be an extremely sunny day at the end of September, we headed over to Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire. The Park is a National Trust property with the only charge being £6.00 for parking (free for National Trust members) and a charge of £3.00 to visit the Walled Kitchen Garden (which we didn’t visit on this trip).

Once the country estate of the Dukes of Newcastle, the mansion was demolished in 1938 and all that remains are the grounds, the lake and the Chapel of St Mary the Virgin.

The Chapel is an impressive building both inside and out and its 180ft spire dominates the surrounding landscape. There is no charge to go inside, but as usual we did put some money into the donation box as we entered.

This is not the original chapel (the first apparently had more of a French design), but the second incarnation in the Gothic Revival style. It was commissioned by the 7th Duke of Newcastle in 1886 and took 2 years to build.

I particularly liked the design of the lights inside, as below,

and of course the stained glass windows.

It’s definitely worth popping in for a visit if you’re already at the Park.