The parish church of St. Mary the Virgin, properly
a chapel of ease to neighbouring St. Andrew’s Church, Thornhaugh
is of considerable antiquity being Saxon in origin and certainly 11th
century if not earlier. A “chapel of ease” is a subordinate
place of worship to a mother church, in this case St. Andrew’s
at Thornhaugh, which is sited for the ease, or convenience, of worshippers
where the mother church may be a distance away.
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| Church of St. Mary the Virgin,
Wansford,
prior to the addition of a new chancel in 1902 |
The interior of St. Mary’s, Wansford,
before the provision of electric lighting and, in 1967, the installation
of pews. |
St. Mary’s possibly stands on the site of an
earlier, wooden church which – given its location – may
have replaced a pre-Christian temple or place of ritual. St. Mary’s
is strategically located in a dominant position at the top of the northern
slope rising from the old bridge. It is also set at the nodal point
of the former Great North Road to London and Scotland and the roads
to Leicester, to Northampton, to Peterborough and also the road that
wends to the market town Oundle via Yarwell, Nassington and Fotheringhay;
latterly where stands the remaining portion of the once great collegiate
church and the site of Fotheringhay Castle – the birthplace of
King Richard III and the prison and place of execution of Mary Queen
of Scots.
In 1221, it is recorded, “indulgences were granted
to all travellers giving alms for the repair of Walmesford Bridge”.
At an unrecorded date, possibly during the 1400’s,
the church lost its chancel and subsequently fell into a great state
of disrepair and dilapidation. The photo shows St. Mary’s in 1902,
just before the new chancel was built and a vestry and organ chamber
also added. Between those dates, St. Mary’s laid claim to be the
smallest parish church in England. Then the interior measurements were
just short of 30 feet by 25½ feet comprising the tower, nave
and north aisle. The tower is a mere 8 feet square internally and can
be dated to the 13th century with its lancets, two light bell openings
and dog-tooth decoration. The broach spire typical of the Nene valley
has two tiers of lucarnes and probably dates from c1300. It houses six
bells. The fifth bell was donated in 1960 by the Barron Bell Trust and
the sixth, known as the Barnaby Bell, was presented by the proprietress
of The Haycock and installed in 1968.
The oldest part of the church is the 11th century Saxon
window in the west (tower internal) wall. Below this window may be seen
a dedication inscribed “This loft erected by Pank Medmore, Esq.
Merchant of this place. Janry 1st 1804”. Such lofts, or galleries,
were for the benefit singers and, perhaps on occasion, accompanying
musicians and provided ‘overflow’ for the congregation when
church attendance was high. Few such lofts, or galleries, once common
in parish churches, remain anywhere today; the majority having been
removed during widespread ‘renovations’ during the Victorian
and Edwardian eras. St. Mary’s loft suffered a similar fate. Beneath
this dedication is a triptych. The first panel contains the Creed and
the Lord’s Prayer and the second and third panels contain Exodus
XX; the Ten Commandments.
The south doorway is Transitional c1200 and the north
arcade of the nave was built soon after. The south wall of the nave
was rebuilt in 1663 along with the porch, the latter providing a buttress
to the `downhill’ aspect of the church. At the time of the building
of the new chancel in 1902, the foundations of the old chancel were
uncovered and so, appropriately, the site of the new chancel corresponds
with its much earlier predecessor.
The church possesses an exceptionally fine font of
Norman origin that has been dated at about 1120. It has striking figure
sculptures including warriors and probably John the Baptist and Jesus.
It was rescued from Sibberton Lodge where it had been used as a cattle
trough. It was possibly originally the property of the church of the
now lost village of Sibberton or cast out of its rightful home during
the turbulent times of the Reformation. During the excavations carried
out during the building of the chancel, the broken bowl of what was
possibly St. Mary’s original font was discovered and this was
used to create a base for the rescued font. The bowl of the font is
densely carved with figures, in period Saxon style, within what is described
as a thirteen-bay arcade. A story ‘in the round’ if you
will. Clearly, such strong, visual representation would have been deeply
significant to an overwhelmingly illiterate population one thousand
years ago and during succeeding centuries. Sadly, interpretation is
difficult and only informed guesses may be hazarded at both the identities
of those depicted and meaning. In part it is thought to represent the
baptism of Christ by John the Baptist. The bowl of the font is lead
lined.
The altar was built by a Wansford craftsman, George
Simpson, in 1967, and includes some oak from the earlier altar. Also,
in 1967, pews were installed to replace chairs. The pews previously
graced St. Mark’s Church, Camberwell, and were donated by the
Green House Trust, London.
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One of the fine prospects of St.
Mary’s as once seen from the water meadows and river,
before these centuries-old views were blocked by property development
during the mid to late 20th century. |
The church plate comprises a silver cover paten dated
1569, a silver communion cup dated 1570, a silver plated alms dish of
about 1876, and a pewter flagon which was purchased by the church in
1740 at a cost of 9 shillings [45 pence]. This ancient church silver
is nowadays lodged in a bank vault for security reasons. The earliest
interments evident date from the seventeenth century.
As we pass through the first decade of the second millennium,
itself the celebration of the passing of two thousand years since the
birth of Christ, it is entirely fitting that one ponders the likelihood
that St. Mary’s could quite possibly be celebrating over one thousand
years of continuous Christian worship at the same site. During those
many centuries St. Mary’s has suffered neglect and damage as well
as renewal and rebuilding; both in the spiritual and practical senses.
During this entire period, St. Mary’s has remained a spiritual
focus for both the local community and passing travellers: whilst more
temporal institutions have come and gone in great numbers.
Is it not a fitting challenge that today’s villagers
and visitors, whatever their background or persuasion, should consider
in what way, or manner, they might contribute to the future welfare
and upkeep of our Parish church, Wansford’s oldest resident, as
we progress further and deeper into the third millennium? Your own contribution,
however modest, will be most gratefully received and duly acknowledged.
Thank you and peace be with you.
Priest-in-charge: Canon Thomas Christie. 16 College Park, Peterborough
PE1 4AW
01733 344228 wansford@thomaschristie.plus.com
Treasurer: Judith Rogers. 1 Robins Wood, Wansford, Peterborough PE8
6JQ
01780 783441 aej@robinswood18.freeserve.co.uk
Expanded and adapted from Wansford at the Millennium,
published in aid of St. Mary’s Church. © David Stuart-Mogg
