Church History

Our first Church building – and a fire

Our Parish dates back to the time of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) and we know that a church has stood on the present site for over 800 years, being built before 1189.

Having been through extensive alterations around 1270, it was mostly destroyed by fire in 1676 and as such the registers we have only date from this time.

A board in the tower today tells us that the church was rebuilt in 1680 by John Altfield Richard Cotherell.  It looks as if that the church was re-dedicated to John the Baptist after the rebuild as, before then, the dedication seems to have been to All Hallows or All Saints.

Part of the walls, one or two windows in the South Aisle, and the Tower survived and remain as part of the present building, albeit with brick cladding.

The Victorian era

Further enlargement and building took place in 1838 costing £,379 2s 1d and a clock, manufactured in 1840, was added in the west side of the tower.

However, due to poor workmanship, much of this work had to be demolished in 1874 and the Church was rebuilt as it is today. The cost for this was £2,712 14s 2d.

The church of today

Not a great deal has changed to the building since 1874.The west doorway was rebuilt in 1898, and in 1901 the old sanctuary and chancel were restored to their original use when they were made into a side chapel – the St. John’s Chapel. This chapel was restored and refurbished in 1955 and in 1928, tall pinnacles on the Tower became unsafe and were removed, leaving the battlement appearance that is seen today.

The church of tomorrow

As with all old buildings, the upkeep and maintenance requires both funding and management. Our regular church giving and offertory monies support this and we take advice from the diocese on its care. 

We are committed to ensuring that the building is looked after responsibly both for the current and future worshippers. 

There are two central bodies within the Church of England with the responsibility for the care of churches and cathedrals. The control systems used are comparable to those used by the Government to regulate work to historic buildings whilst recognising the mission and spiritual dimension of churches.  This means that they are working to conserve churches by allowing adaptations sensitive to the heritage of the building and that meet the needs of Church goers today and the future.