HISTORY

HISTORY
The church of All Saints consists of a chancel,
nave, north aisle, south aisle, west tower and spire, and south porch. The walls
are of rubble with stone dressings and the roofs are covered with tiles and
lead.
The church is mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086, but the
earliest parts of the present church are the 12th century eastern angles of what
was probably an aisle-less nave. The south arcades and south aisle were built
towards the end of the 13th century; the tower and spire around 1300, and the
chancel, north arcade and north aisle about 1310. The south aisle and north wall
of the north aisle were rebuilt around 1400, and the clearstory and porch were
added about the same time.
The church was restored in 1862 when it was
reroofed, and the spire in 1884. The tower was repaired in 1908 and the spire
was repaired again in 1925 after being struck by lightning.
Very little was
done to the Church until the 1980’s when a programme of repairs to the roof was
started following a storm. The insides of the organ were also destroyed by the
leaking roof. Fund raising started in earnest in 1989 with yearly music
festivals and, since that time, the whole roof has been re-leaded, the inside of
the tower re-plastered, complete redecoration of the inside of the Church with
repairs and refurbishment to all of the windows now completed. The Church now
has a limited electricity supply, although oil lamps are still used in the
majority of the building.
The lime trees at the front of the Church need
regular pollarding. It is hoped to continue restoring and repairing items noted
in the last quinquennial inspection,as funds become available. Huntingdonshire
District Council awarded a grant to the Parish Council for the provision of a
path to the Church door and the refurbishment of the fence. In 2010 major works
had to be undertaken to make the bells safe..this work was undertaken by
Huntingdonshire Bell Restoration Society leaving one bell in use and safely
storing the other 4, until such times as they can be re-hung. The tower and
spire has now had holding repairs completed…louvres and bird guards have been
installed to help minimise further deterioration from the weather and bird
damage.