St Denys' Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of

Little Barford Little Barford is a hamlet and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England about northeast of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census combines other data for Little Barford with Wyboston, Chawston and Colesden civil par ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, England. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a designated Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and is under the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. The church lies to the west of the village of Little Barford, overlooking the River Great Ouse, about south of St Neots.

History

The oldest fabric in the church is in the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and dates from the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

era. Alterations and additions took place in the 14th, 15th and 19th centuries. The tower and the clerestory were built in the late 15th century. In 1834 a south chapel was demolished and it was replaced in 1869 by a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

and organ chamber. This was part of a

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

carried out by Arthur Blomfield. The church closed in 1972, and two years later was

vested In law, vesting is the point in time when the rights and interests arising from legal ownership of a property is acquired by some person. Vesting creates an immediately secured right of present or future deployment. One has a vested right to an ...

in the Redundant Churches Fund (the forerunner of the Churches Conservation Trust). The church had been built to serve a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

village which has since been deserted.

Architecture

Exterior

The church is constructed in cobbles with ashlar dressings. Some roofs are tiled, others are slated. The plan consists of a nave with a clerestory and a north

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

, a chancel with a south vestry, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages with an embattled

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

, paired bell openings, and a five-light west window. The east window in the chancel consists of three lancets, and in the north wall of the chancel are two windows in 14th-century style. In the south wall of the nave are three windows; one at a higher level dates from the 16th century, the others are from the 19th century, one in 12th-century style, and the other in the style of the 14th century. The south doorway dates from the 12th century. It has a semicircular arch, is decorated with zigzag and dogtooth designs, and has scalloped capitals. To the east of the doorway is a projecting stone for holding

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

. The clerestory has two windows on each side and a plain parapet. In the north wall of the aisle are re-set 12th-century windows, and windows dating from the 19th century.

Interior

The chancel arch dates from the 14th century, as does the two- bay south arcade between the chancel and the vestry. The north arcade between the nave and aisle has three bays and pointed arches. The octagonal font dates from the late 13th century. It stands on five columns and shows traces of red paint. In the nave is a

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

dated 1535. The pews date from the 19th century. A

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman Ca ...

dating from the 15th century has been re-set in the vestry. Also in the vestry is the former rood screen, which was moved there in 1871 and its painting was restored. The west window contains stained glass from 1887 by the Kempe studio. Stained glass by

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832 ...

was installed in the east window in 1869. At about the same time Heaton and Butler executed the paintings on the ceilings, and a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

reredos by W. B. Simpson was installed. The two- manual organ, made by Nicholson of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, was purchased in 1870. There is a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

of four bells. The oldest of these was cast in 1661 by Christopher Graye, the next in 1681 by Richard Chandler III, and a third bell in 1759 by Joseph Eayre. The provenance of the fourth bell is not known.

References

External links