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St Andrew's WoodwaltonCambridgeshire OS: TL 209 822 |
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Woodwalton is the ancient and beautiful church glimpsed each day by hundreds of commuters on the East Coast Mainline in Cambridgeshire. It is also featured on the front cover of Andrew Barr's book The Nation's Favourite Churches. However despite strong local support - through the Friends of Woodwalton - sadly, the church is currently closed to visitors (except as part of Heritage Open Days in September). Why is the church closed to visitors? St Andrew's is one of the most acute of all the conservation challenges faced by the Friends. The church has been moving for a century or more and it was this coupled with its remoteness which led to its abandonment thirty years ago. We have repaired the exterior since then and have been monitoring the internal movement before resorting to a full scale programme of conservation. We have applied to English Heritage for grant aid but have a lot more to do to ensure this church is repaired and restored for future generations. Fabric and Fittings The tower dates largely from the reconstruction of 1860 by Mr Eaton of Tichmarsh but substantial areas of the shell and much of the interior are medieval. A particularly striking feature of the interior is the disparity between the south arcade which is Early English in date and the north arcade which is distinctively Perpendicular in its use of shields on the capitals. The contents include a collection of early stone coffin lids and fine Neo-Classical monuments in the chancel. A stained glass window is also on loan to the Stained Glass Museum at Ely. The Friends of Woodwalton We are greatly indebted to the local group of Friends for all their hard work and commitment - amongst other things they tidy the church, organise events and even fundraise for the fabric. We are also very grateful to them for opening the church during Heritage Open Days. The
Friends also have an excellent website - click to follow the link
here: http://www.woodwalton.org.uk/ Latest Press Release from the Local Friends (Microsoft Word file) If you would like to visit the church and need details of keyholders, directions etc, please telephone our office on: 020 7236 3934. |
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Directly above and below: the chancel before it passed into the ownership of the Friends and was tidied up by the local Friends, and top - the church as it is glimpsed from the East Coast Mainline.
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