The Stilton Group of Churches

History

 

A church was mentioned here during the Domesday Survey of 1086. The earliest surviving part of the present structure is suggested as being the East wall of the nave which is said to date from the 12th Century. This church has a very attractive red bricked Tudor tower. Two bells are hung here, one of which was cast at the Stamford bellfoundry by Tobias Norris I, and, cast in 1614, this is one of his earliest bells. It is inscribed "CVM : VOC : AD : ECCLESIAM : VENITE 1614"

 

All Saints has two fonts! One inside and one outside!! The one outside can be found just to the side of the north porch, believed to have come from the nearby deconsecrated church at Caldecott.

 

Inside, the attention is immediately drawn to the south wall where there is a cerved effigy of what is believed to be an Abbott of the monastery of Morborne. It is assumed that this would have been the builder of the present church. This would probably date this figure to the middle of the 13th century, at which point the existing structure was almost completely rebuilt. This figure was found buried under the tower when renovation was underway on the tower in 1900. To the right of this figure is a Saxon coffin, complete with lid.

This church was pretty much completely rebuilt in the 13th century, and that is when the chancel dates from. The south wall of the chancel though was rebuilt in 1864, when much restoration was undertaken. More work was done on the church in 1900. What is noticeable when looking at this building is the number of buttresses that there are, particularly on the south side.A fragment of wall painting can be seen on the north wall of the chancel, arm upraised and face just about discernible.