HUNTINGDON : CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS
Church Post Code PE29 3LD
Church open for 'Chatty Cafe' most Saturday mornings
It was a warm Saturday morning in August 2023, and a revisit to the church of All Saints, Huntingdon. I have made a few visits here over the years, with my previous time here coming on a bright but chilly morning back in 2014, for a midweek communion.
Huntingdon can be found alongside the left bank of the river Great Ouse, just over 20 miles south of Peterborough; a large market town which recorded a population of 25,600 at the time of the 2021 census.
There is plenty of history here, with Huntingdon situated alongside Ermine Street, a major Roman road which connected London to Lincoln. Oliver Cromwell was born here in 1599 and was the town’s Member of Parliament in 1628; with eight of Cromwell’s nine children being baptised at All Saints.
There has been no shortage of churches in the town over the years with there being no fewer than 16 medieval churches to be found in the town during the centuries. By the mid 17th centuries there were four remaining with St Benedict and St John the Baptist each being pulled down during that period; leaving St Mary and All Saints that we see today. There were two churches and two priests recorded at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086.
All Saints can be found on the market square, on which there is the ‘Thinking Soldier’ war memorial, and the church that we see today consists of north west tower, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, south porch and chancel with north vestry and organ chamber.
It is thought that there was a church here as far back as the 10th century but the earliest surviving part of the present structure is the south tower arch which dates back to the 13th century. The tower dates from the end of the 14th century and an almost total rebuilding took place during the 15th century with the chancel being rebuilt around 1500.
The tower was partially rebuilt during the 17th century, possible repairing damage inflicted during the English Civil War. The church was restored in 1859, at which point the north vestry and organ chamber were added. There was a further extensive period of restoration in the 1950’s.
There is mention made that the body of Mary Queen of Scots rested here in 1612, after she was exhumed from Peterborough Cathedral and reinterred at Westminster Abbey. We are to be grateful that the two surviving medieval Huntingdon churches are still standing as in 1802 there was a proposal to pull down both All Saints and St Mary, but this was thankfully never carried out.
All Saints can be found on the market square, on which there is the ‘Thinking Soldier’ war memorial, and the church that we see today consists of north west tower, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, south porch and chancel with north vestry and organ chamber.
It is thought that there was a church here as far back as the 10th century but the earliest surviving part of the present structure is the south tower arch which dates back to the 13th century. The tower dates from the end of the 14th century and an almost total rebuilding took place during the 15th century with the chancel being rebuilt around 1500.
The tower was partially rebuilt during the 17th century, possible repairing damage inflicted during the English Civil War. The church was restored in 1859, at which point the north vestry and organ chamber were added. There was a further extensive period of restoration in the 1950’s.
There is mention made that the body of Mary Queen of Scots rested here in 1612, after she was exhumed from Peterborough Cathedral and reinterred at Westminster Abbey. We are to be grateful that the two surviving medieval Huntingdon churches are still standing as in 1802 there was a proposal to pull down both All Saints and St Mary, but this was thankfully never carried out.
Looking at the exterior from the south east, the church here seems tall for its length; the top of the tower only being visible above the clerestory stage of the nave. The tower is patched up in several places with much 17th century red brick. The tower has very large buttresses to the north and west sides, and in fairness the result does not make the tower a thing of great beauty, especially when viewed from the north. The pinnacles, parapet and bell openings were rebuilt during the 19th century.
The south porch, nave, clerestory and chancel are all battlemented. A small image niche over the porch door contains a seated crowned, mutilated figure which may be Christ in majesty. Crocketed pinnacles run the length of the nave, these leading down to ancient image niches which contain more modern statues.
A variety of stone heads, both human and grotesque, and of varying ages can be seen throughout the exterior. On the Victorian additions to the north, a band of angelic musicians play a variety of instruments.
Owen, in his study of the church bells of Huntingdonshire, which was published in 1899, notes that there were four bells in the ring here; with an aside saying that these were not the most tuneful of rings. The first three of the ring were all inscribed ‘Newcombe of Leicester made me 1606’. The fourth of the ring was cast by Tobias Norris of the Stamford Bellfoundry. The situation is very different today, with there now being a ring of six, with all being cast by Mears and Stainbank in 1904.
The August 2023 revisit coincided with a regularly held Saturday morning Chatty Café. There was a pleasant buzz of conversation on entering, and an even more pleasant smell of bacon. An order for a bacon roll and a cuppa placed, it was time to take a look at the interior. On each occasion that I have been inside the church here, the light quality has been excellent; a bright and welcoming space!
There used to be galleries in the interior here, these dating from the 18th century, but these were removed during the restoration of 1859. The north arcade is of three bays with the north tower arch forming a fourth bay. The south arcade is of four bays; with quatre foil piers and moulded capitals to north and south.
The chancel arch dates from the late 15th century and the eastern end of the north aisle and a bay against the north wall of the chancel lead in to the organ bay. The altar is plain and simple, with just two candlesticks and an open Bible. The altar cloth on top was white with a green cloth below reaching to the ground. Green is the scheduled liturgical colour for ordinary times between Pentecost and the start of advent. I have a slight query about this green cloth as I am slightly colour blind and the cloth might be a shade of blue, in which case please disregard the second half of this paragraph!
The reredos dates from the late 19th century and has Christ in Majesty central. The risen Christ is flanked by several figures in gilded, cricketed, ogee headed recesses. To the left as we look at it are King David with harp, Pail and Peter who carries the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. To the right we have St Andrew with saltire cross; then it starts to go wrong… I think that the character second from the far right is Moses and the crowned figure far right, I have no idea!
The east window in the chancel is from Kempe, but this one is dated after Charles Eamer Kempe passed away in 1907. At that point, the business was run by Walter Tower and Kempe’s traditional signature wheatsheaf was kept as part of the design, but with a black tower on top of it.
As you would expect, the quality of design is superb, with angels depicted with wings edged in peacock feathers. Part of this window includes four scenes from Holy Week. From left to right we have Jesus, in a blood red robe, receiving the cup that he has to drink from as the disciples sleep in the foreground. Next to that Jesus, wearing the crown of thorns carries his cross. Thirdly we have the crucifixion, with the three Mary’s and John by the cross. Far right we have Jesus’ body being prepared for burial.
On my previous visit to this church the sunlight was streaming through the south windows of the chancel; multi coloured shadows being cast. At the east end of the south wall of the chancel is a depiction of the last supper. Jesus obviously is central with the bread and wine. Jesus is flanked by the 12 disciples, 11 of whom are shown with nimbus. Judas, who betrayed Jesus is shown without nimbus, looking down, hands clenched and lost in thought.
Close by we have a depiction of the nativity. Some poetic licence here, with the shepherds and wise men all present at the same time. Jesus is on his mother’s knee wrapped in a swaddling cloth.
The chancel has much in the way of Victorian fixtures and fittings and the eye was caught by some fine oak carvings of angel musicians in the choirstalls. There is some real age to be seen though in the shape of a 14th century piscina set against the south wall, which would have been used to wash the holy vessels used in the mass in pre reformation days.
The four light east window at the end of the south aisle shows four scenes from Jesus, post crucifixion. From left to right we have Jesus talking to Mary Magdalene, instructing her not to touch him as he had not yet ascended to his father. Next we see Jesus explaining the scriptures to the two he met on the road to Emmaus. We then see ‘Doubting’ Thomas inspecting the wounds of the risen Christ. Far right we see the reinstatement of Peter; ‘Feed my sheep’ reads the text below.
The easternmost bay of the south aisle was converted in to a chapel in 1923 and there is a fascinating restored reredos, which shows traces of the desecration of the reformers. Here we see defaced angels supporting four more modern shields, upon which are symbols associated with the crucifixion. On one we have Christ’s tunic, with spear, hyssop stick and dice. One another we have three nails and the crown of thorns. On a third we have a money pouch and thirty pieces of silver. Finally we have the whipping post and scourge.
Over to the south west there is a Te Deum ‘We Praise Thee’ window. Here over several panels we have a variety of characters, Biblical and non-Biblical, lining up to praise God. We have Peter and Andrew, with Stephen close by holding the stones that were the manner of his martyrdom. St Francis can be seen, as can St Thomas A Beckett, who is depicted with a sword sticking out of his head. A female figure with long hair carries a lamb; this appears to be St Agnes. Queen Victoria is present with Prince Albert.
Given the fact that there were a good number of people inside the church, there were a few things that I didn’t get to take a close look at. I didn’t get a good look at the west window, which looked to be by Kempe, a 17th century monument and the font! It was good to sit for a while with a bacon roll and tea. The food was lovely and the company was good.
There is little in the way of gravestones to be found here but one surviving stone, to one Thomas Jetherell, who died in 1774, has an interesting inscription, extolling the moral virtues of the deceased after ‘bankruptcy brought his character for a while under a cloud’.
This was the end of the three church mini crawl and it was good to revisit an area that I had not been to for a few years. Photographs used on this page are a mix of those taken in 2023 and 2014. There was a little excitement on the way home when I realised that the bus home was operated by Dews Coaches, a company that I had not travelled with before. The church here is well worth taking a look at if you have the chance.