As an avid reader of crime fiction, I thought it would be good to try this real life crime. From the start it has that TV drama/film feel, with captions like “The chilling true story they don’t want you to read” and “the case they tried to bury”. Some chapters also end with a “cliffhanger”. I notice that the author has been a journalist, and TV writer, and therefore this dramatic, sensationalist style is not a surprise, but it does make it read like a serialisation!!. Derbyshire, Chesterfield: St. Mary and All Saints, Church Way (N01874)". UK: National Pipe Organ Register. 2005 . Retrieved 10 October 2021.

murder at church - BBC Chesterfield man guilty of screwdriver murder at church - BBC

In 1911, it was reported that the custom of ringing a 'Prentice bell – an old Angelus bell, used but once a year – was still rung from the Crooked Spire every Shrove Tuesday at a quarter to eleven as a pancake bell. [13] This was a strange read for me as I knew all the areas spoken about in the book. I usually read fiction books so to read something true in the area you have lived all your life was unusual for me. Fire at Chesterfield Church". Sheffield Independent. Sheffield. 16 March 1861 . Retrieved 8 April 2015. Chesterfield Parish Church. Appointment of Organist". Derbyshire Times. England. 3 January 1874 . Retrieved 18 July 2023– via British Newspaper Archive.They surveilled the Rhodens to study their habits and sleeping locations, according to an indictment, then killed them under cover of darkness and tried to make the murders appear drug-related. The killer or killers had spared Frankie’s three-year-old son; Frankie and Hannah Gilley’s baby, who was found covered in blood, trying to nurse at his mother; and Hanna Rhoden’s newborn. (Hanna and Jake’s two-year-old daughter, the subject of the custody dispute, was staying elsewhere.) In 1984, to mark the church's 750th anniversary, new stained-glass windows depicting the town's history from the 11th century onward were installed in the south aisle, a gift from the people of Chesterfield. [16] Preservation and restoration work on the older stained glass was carried out from 2007 to 2012. [17] Bowen, Rhys (28 June 2014). "Tales Of Virgins, The Devil And The Crooked Spire". Chesterfield Post . Retrieved 10 October 2021. Medieval Builders' Wheel". Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016 . Retrieved 10 October 2021.

The Crooked Spire: John the Carpenter (Book 1) (Medieval The Crooked Spire: John the Carpenter (Book 1) (Medieval

a b c Historic England. "Church of St Mary and All Saints(Grade I) (1334708)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 October 2021. During the Reformation in the 1500s, the church lost much of its medieval decor. It was rebuilt in the 1700s, including of the north transept in 1769, and restored and embellished by Neo-Gothic architect George Gilbert Scott in the 1840s. [2] A new ceiling was installed and new east window inserted with stained glass by William Wailes of Newcastle. [ citation needed] A new font was donated by Samuel Johnson of Somersal Hall. [ citation needed] After a nine-month closure, the church reopened on 9 May 1843. [7]Created by Ashgate Heritage Arts, comprising Mary Hennessy (script), Martin Coslett and Peter Gray (music and lyrics). Detectives investigating the death of a man after an altercation in a churchyard are looking to speak to a potential witness.

The Crooked Spire Killings by Alan Hurndall | Waterstones The Crooked Spire Killings by Alan Hurndall | Waterstones

A unique opportunity to see this home-grown ‘West End musical’ directed by Jake Smith (Sting’s Last Ship/Sleepy Hollow) and featuring local and London stage performers. Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shown The spire is open to the public, via organised tours [29] and can be climbed partway up. [30] The views from the top of the tower on a clear day stretch for miles. The spire, which is used as a symbol of Chesterfield, can be seen from the surrounding hills jutting from a sea of mist, on a winter morning. The Crooked Spire Medieval, Murder-Mystery Musical is set in 14 th century Chesterfield. This family-friendly show revolves around the story of John, a carpenter who has travelled from York to help with construction of St Mary and All Saints church spire. The same day, Chris Sr’s brother Kenneth Rhoden, who lived about 15 minutes away, was also found murdered.Chronological History of Chesterfield". Chesterfield & District Local History Society . Retrieved 10 October 2021. Popular Chesterfield Organist's Death". Alfreton Journal. England. 4 March 1910 . Retrieved 18 July 2023– via British Newspaper Archive. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2011) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) The murders were discovered on the morning of 22 April 2016, when Bobby Jo Manley stopped by the Rhodens’ cluster of trailer homes to see her ex-brother-in-law, Chris Rhoden Sr. Entering his trailer, she found the bloody bodies of Chris and his cousin, Gary. Chris’s ex-wife, Dana, was dead nearby, as were their children – Hanna, Chris Jr and Clarence, known as “Frankie” – and Frankie’s fiancee, Hannah Gilley. Tragically, the master carpenter is killed and John is accused of the murder. As he gets closer to the truth further murders are committed and John’s life is in danger. John is helped along the way by new friend, Walter, the brother of a local seamstress, Katherine, who has caught John’s eye.

The Crooked Spire Killings: The chilling true crime story

As a Chesterfield resident I only knew about the Pottery Cottage murders. This book, so well researched, opened up a whole new Chesterfield, the likes of which we hope never to see again. But as Alan says, we need to understand the person that committed the crime, to prevent things like this happening again. The information should not be witheld for the sake of protecting 'one of their own' to the detriment of maybe countless of victims. A further fire erupted on 22 December 1961, this time engulfing the north of the church. [14] A clerk at the town library noticed smoke from the north transept window and raised the alarm, enabling firefighters to save much of the historic church, including the south transept screen from c. 1500, the Norman font and a Jacobean pulpit – but the flames melted the glass in the north window and destroyed the roof, the choir room, and the majority of a rare 1756 John Snetzler pipe organ. [1] In 1963, a replacement organ was installed, a 1905 T.C. Lewis organ sourced from Glasgow City Hall, incorporating what remained of the 18th-century Snetzler with a couple of tonal additions since. [15] Organ of the Month 71: May 2008". Birmingham Organists' Association. 2008 . Retrieved 10 October 2021. When eight members of the Rhoden family were murdered in rural Ohio, in 2016, Edward “Jake” Wagner and other members of the nearby Wagner family denied any involvement. Dr. J.F. Staton". Halifax Evening Courier. England. 9 May 1938 . Retrieved 18 July 2023– via British Newspaper Archive.

Emotions ran high at the Pike County Courthouse as members of the Rhoden family gathered to listen to Edward ‘Jake’ Wagner during his plea hearing. Photograph: Robert McGraw/AP Edward ‘Jake’ Wagner wipes tears away after apologizing to the Rhoden family during his plea hearing at the Pike county courthouse in April 2021. Photograph: Robert McGraw/AP