St Mary's Church, Derby
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St Mary's Church is a Roman Catholic centre of worship in Derby. The building stands on Bridgegate overlooking St Alkmund's Way. The church was designed by architect A.W.N. Pugin in 1837 in a gothic style. Construction begun in 1838 and completed in October 1839 at a cost of £1,400 to build.
Eight years later St Alkmund's Church was built on a site directly opposite St Mary's. Such was the position of the larger St Alkmund's, that it obscured St Mary's from view from King Street. The church was partially restored in 1927 when it was discovered that damp had taken a hold to much of the plasterwork. St Mary's was enlarged slightly in 1932 with the building of the Lady Chapel and several pieces of stonework were added to both the interior and the exterior of the building.
The late 1960's brought sweeping changes to Derby's cityscape. Demolition work was done to St Alkmund's Church and it's churchyard, exposing St Mary's to full view for the first time in 120 years.
A second restoration was undertaken in the late 1990's. This included re-roofing of the Lady Chapel and extensive cleaning of the interior and exterior of the church.