DERBYSHIRE HERITAGE

HEATH OLD CHURCH
The church is the last remaining building on the site of the deserted village of Lound. It is to be found off the old road to Palterton which would have been severed by motorway construction and replaced by the major intersection M1 junction 29. It is set on a hilltop plot with a stone edged path leading to a ruined south porch. It was pulled down in 1852 leaving the ruined south porch and south doorway of the nave. Some of the masonry was used to build a small mortuary chapel to serve the burial ground which was still in use.
entrance doorway
	Although it is unknown exactly when the church was built it can be traced from at least 1307 and may be as old as the late 12th century, about 1161. The building consists of two small rooms. There is an entrance with stone side seats. It is difficult to ascertain if one room is older but the wall of the North room appears to have more eroded masonry.
looking north	chevrons on door pillars
the blocked window inside the church	no sign of the window on the outer wall, therefore it was blocked up prior to reinforcing the wall
these were probably the roof beams
Part of the window frame from the North wall is lying on the ground in front of the wall.
Inside the church is a tombstone and almost all of it can be deciphered thus - HERE LIES THE BODY OF THOMAS ?---? WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE NOVEMBER THE 20. 1697 AND IAMES IEFFEREY HIS SON DEPARTED THIS LIFE IVIY 20 ???5 the 'J' is carved as an 'I' hence IAMES represents JAMES and IVIY would be July
Churchyard head stones seem to date from the eighteenth and nineteenth century One particularly interesting one appears to be directed at the ‘SPECTATOR’. It is a sad reflection on the times with infant mortality	SPECTATOR THIS STONE IS ERECTED IN Memory of William. Son of Robert and Zilpah Thompson who died May 24th. 1827. Aged 11 weeks. Also Samuel their Son who died Sep 2nd 1828 Aged 9 Weeks Also of the above named Zilpah Thompson who died Aug 30th 1831 Aged 31 Years and on the right hand panel - ALSO Jemima who died in her infancy
There is a worn Government Ordnance mark on the wall. Churches were considered to be good datum points and often marked. Not so far away is Ault Hucknall church which is similarly marked.
The newer Heath All Saints church is ¼ mile away, was built in 1852 and dedicated by the Bishop of Lichfield on 18th July 1853, with restoration work carried out 1882-86. The old church was then used as a mortuary chapel. In the new church porch are two coffin slabs, one dating from the 11 or 12th century, which came from the ruins of the old church.