St Bartholomew’s Church in Osmaston, Derby, continues to thrive and welcome parishioners old and new. This is how it has been since it first opened its doors.

2026 marks 100 magnificent years in Osmaston, Derby.

A truly special service and event was held to mark this milestone and reflect on the life of this church and the wide-ranging community that it serves.

The service was led by Rev Fr Alasdair Kay and the Ven. Matthew Trick, Archdeacon of Derby City and South Derbyshire, preached. Special guests Derby South MP Baggy Shanker and Councillor Nadine Peatfield, leader of Derby City Council, joined the service and celebrations.

The church was built to serve the Osmaston area, as people had moved to the area to work at the developing Rolls-Royce factory in Nightingale Road, and the church survived a bombing during the war

Since its consecration, St Bartholomew’s has welcomed thousands of people through its doors to worship.

Later in the year, the celebrations will continue with the planting of an oak tree in an area of wildflowers in the church grounds created by Fr Alasdair.

He said: "Osmaston is a very multicultural place, and we wanted to celebrate that with the planting of the oak tree, of which there are more than 100 different species”.

"I am a Franciscan friar, and so wildlife and nature are very important. The church is a thriving example of having green space and grounds despite being in an urban environment.

"Its links with the Rolls-Royce factory have been very strong over the years, and we have volunteers from the company come to the church grounds and help to keep our green space flourishing."

Fr Kay said, "I have been here for 10 months, and our congregation is building once again. It has been part of a proactive project to revitalise churches around the city and represents an investment by the diocese into the future of the churches, and we, along with some others, are bucking the trend in church attendance."

St Bartholomew’s is a brick-built structure in the Arts and Crafts style, designed by Derby architect Percy Heylin Currey and completed in 1927. It was largely funded by a £1,000 request from local man Colonel George Newdigate. It was extended in 1968 and can seat approx 200 people.