At the east end of the church, above the Sanctuary, you will find one of the most remarkable features of St Michael and All Angels: the Derwent Window. This beautiful set of stained glass panels has an extraordinary story, because it once belonged to another church in another village.
The glass originally came from the Church of St James and St John in Derwent, a village in the Upper Derwent Valley. In the 1940s the village was abandoned and demolished to allow the construction of the Ladybower Dam. Houses, farms, the school and the church all disappeared beneath the rising water.
Before the demolition, several important items were rescued from the church, including this remarkable stained glass. The panels were brought here in 1948, carefully rebuilt, and installed in the east window of Hathersage Parish Church.
The Derwent glass fills the east end of the church with rich colour and fine detail. The three main panels show scenes from the life of Christ. Above them, in the tracery, are heraldic shields connected with churches and dioceses linked to Hathersage over the centuries.
Although the window now looks perfectly at home here, its style is slightly different from the other stained glass in the building. It brings a touch of the lost village with it, preserving a piece of Derwent’s identity within the life of Hathersage.
For many visitors, the Derwent Window is one of the most poignant features in the church. It acts as a quiet memorial to a community that no longer exists. Families were rehoused, farms were cleared and the village vanished beneath the reservoir.
Yet the stories, the memories and the church’s stained glass live on here. Whenever sunlight shines through these panels, it lights up the Sanctuary with colours once familiar to the people of Derwent.
Today, the Derwent Window is more than a work of art. It links Hathersage with the drowned village in the valley nearby. It reminds us that places change, communities move, and landscapes shift, but the symbols of faith and shared history can still be preserved.
As you stand before the window, take a moment to imagine its journey. From a rural church overlooking the River Derwent, to safe keeping during demolition, and finally to its new home in this hilltop church, where it continues to inspire all who see it.
