Patrick Comerford
The parish church in St Neots is – surprisingly – not dedicated to Saint Neot. Instead, like the neighbouring parish churches in Eynesbury and Eaton Socon, the church is dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin, the mother of Christ.
The church been called the ‘Cathedral of Huntingdonshire’ and it became one of the largest mediaeval churches in modern Cambridgeshire when the former country of Huntingdonshire was incorporated into Cambridgeshire.
Saint Mary’s is a late 12th-century parish church that was almost completely rebuilt in the 15th century. The tower is a distinctive local landmark and a symbol of the town, and church has an impressive collection of Victorian stained-glass windows.
The remains of Iron Age settlement have been found in the town centre. Later, a Roman encampment was located there, and in Anglo-Saxon times it became known as Eynesbury, after Ernulf, a local leader.
A priory was established immediately north of Eynesbury in the late 10th century. The landowners, Leofric and his wife Leoflaed, sometimes called Alric and Ethelfleda, realised the relics of a saint would attract pilgrims and their money to the priory. They acquired the remains of Saint Neot, a ninth century monk who had founded a monastery near the present-day Cornish village of St Neot and who died ca 877.
The saint’s relics were moved to the priory near Eynesbury ca 974-980, leaving only his arm in Cornwall. Soon, pilgrims were visiting the priory in large numbers and a separate town grew up around the priory.
The Benedictine priory in Eynesbury was a dependency of Ely Abbey and may have been nearer the river, north of the Market Square. But an alternative view suggests the priory was on the site of what became Saint Mary’s Church. When a future Archbishop of Canterbury, Saint Anselm, was Abbot of Bec (1078-1093), he visited the priory ca 1080 to see Saint Neot’s remains and initiate the refoundation of the priory.
The priory became rich and famous, and the area became known as St Neots, which developed by the river. St Neots became a separate parish from Eynesbury sometime between 1113 and 1204.
A market developed close to the priory ca 1120. When this parish church was first built, it was staffed by priests from the priory. The priests from the Priory were followed in the 13th century by vicars. It is not clear whether there was an earlier place of worship on the site of the church before then.
The oldest parts of the church are the lower walls of the east end, including a blocked north window and a simple arched vestry doorway, and date from the late 12th century, possibly ca 1180.
The earlier, smaller church, was completed before 1200, was extended from time to time, and was in use for 200-250 years. Most of the rest of the church was built in the mid-15th century, and the 15th century nave belongs to the Perpendicular period of architecture. The tower was completed ca 1530, and is 39.6 metres (130 ft) high to the top of the pinnacles.
In mediaeval times, the chancel arch had a wooden screen, and fragments of it were found in the 1960s. Above the screen was a gallery, reached by a spiral stair through a now-blocked doorway. On this stood the figure of Christ on the cross (the rood) with the Virgin Mary and Saint John at either side. These were removed during the Tudor reformations in the 16th century.
Other wooden mediaeval screens remain in place, including the four screens that divide the two east-end chapels from the chancel and the side aisles. They date from ca 1480-1500.
The chancel is the oldest part of the building. It dates from the late 12th century, but is also the part of the church most affected by Victorian restoration. The east wall was rebuilt in 1855. The altar rail, the altar and its surrounds, the choir pews, the tiled floors and the three stalls and front were all installed in the 19th century. The chancel roof was restored in 1901.
The mediaeval windows were systematically destroyed during the 16th century Reformation and by Puritans in the 17th century. The installation of new windows began after the pews were refurbished in 1847, and a new organ was installed in 1855, and the present windows have a notable planned scheme. The vicar at the time (1854-1864), the Revd Charles Lyndhurst Vaughan, was a prominent Tractarian and he was supported by the Rowley family.
Most of the windows are by John Hardman & Co of Birmingham, and were designed by Hardman’s nephew John Hardman Powell, a son-in-law of the architect AWN Pugin. Three of the windows appeared at Paris exhibitions in 1867 and 1878 and one appeared at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876.
The Great East Window by Hardman was given by subscription after the wall was repaired in the 1860s. The upper level shows Christ enthroned in majesty, with the symbols of the four evangelists at his feet, and angels and archangels in attendance at his side, and a choir of angels is above.
The lower level depicts the Crucifixion. The cross appears to sprout leaves, as a symbol of the life that flows from it. The sky above Jerusalem turns dark red. Angels gather the precious blood flowing from Christ’s wounds. At his feet are (from left): the soldiers gambling for his clothes; the Beloved Disciple comforts the Virgin Mary; Mary Magdalene and another woman look on; the Centurion confesses his faith; and several men, possibly members of the Sanhedrin and perhaps Joseph of Arimathea.
The Resurrection window (1859) to the south of the High Altar in the chancel is by Hardman and in memory of David Rowley. It shows three scenes: the angel telling the women that Christ is risen; the startled guards; and Mary Magdalene meeting Jesus in the garden. It was the first window in the Victorian scheme of windows in the church.
The flamboyant Rowley family memorial tomb in the chancel is mediaeval in style, but was installed in 1893 and the gold-painted gates were added later. It was designed by the architect Frederick A Walters, and was the last work of the sculptor Thomas Earp. Charles Percival Rowley was closely involved in the creation of the tomb and the stained glass windows throughout the church.
In front of the chancel, the square nave altar was made in 1998 using elements from older altars and a local table. Its shape was inspired by the 20th century continental liturgical movement.
The two side chapels beside the chancel at the east end of the church were built as part of the 15th century expansion of the church, and each belonged to a guild.
The Jesus Chapel belonged to the Guild of Jesus. It was built with a more elegant dressed stone exterior, but the decoration in the roof was simpler than in other parts of the church.
When the Nave was filled with pews in 1847, the Jesus Chapel became the home of the main organ. Later cupboards and equipment obscured or hid several memorials. The window in the Jesus Chapel, depicting the Trial before Pilate, was designed by Charles Eamer Kempe and is in memory of Caroline Rowley, who died in 1900.
The Lady Chapel, which belonged to the Guild of Saint Mary, was reordered in 1961. The small late-Elizabethan communion table in the Lady Chapel may have been the main altar in the church until the High Altar was installed in the 19th century. Two mediaeval stalls in the Lady Chapel came from Milton Ernest in 1848, and may have come from Warden Abbey originally.
The east window in the Lady Chapel depicting the Adoration of the Magi is by Hardman and the gift of CP Rowley. It was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1867.
The Annunciation window in the Lady Chapel is by Hardman and is a memorial to Vaughan’s successor, the Revd Charles Collier, who died of epilepsy after only a year in office.
The south window in the Lady Chapel depicting the Nativity and the Adoration of the Shepherds is by Hardman and is the gift of CP Rowley.
Moving from the Lady Chapel down the south aisle, the Presentation window by Hardman is in memory of William and Elizabeth Day (1869).
The Wedding at Cana window by Hardman is the gift of CP Rowley.
The Samaritan Woman at the Well, a window by Hardman and the gift of CP Rowley, was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1878.
The window with the Widow of Nain and smaller panels with miracles by Jesus, is by Hardman and is the gift of CP Rowley following the death of his father and brother on the same day in 1878.
The windows at the west end are by Clayton and Bell. The great West Window is in memory of the Revd Charles Collier, Vicar in 1865-1866. At the upper level, it shows the Four Doctors of the Western Church: Saint Ambrose of Milan, Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine of Hippo and Saint Gregory the Great. T the lower level shows four figures in the history of the English Church: Saint Alban, Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Saint Ethelbert, King of Kent, and the Venerable Bede.
The other two windows at the west end are in memory of local doctors. The south-west window showing the Baptism of Christ is in memory of Dr Samuel Allvey and Mrs Sarah Allvey.
The north-west window showing the Transfiguration is in memory of Dr Joseph Rix and Mrs Helen Rix (1879).
Moving from the west end along the north aisle, first window with the Miraculous Catch of Fish is by Heaton, Butler and Bayne and in memory of Collier’s successor, the Revd George Bowes Watson (1866-1875). Robert Bayne had previously worked with Clayton and Bell. The whole window is filled by a single striking picture. br />
The Hardman window showing the healing at the Pool of Bethesda is the gift of CP Rowley and was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1878.
The Hardman window with the Anointing of Jesus’ feet by Mary of Bethany was the gift of CP Rowley after the Philadelphia exhibition (1876).
The Hardman window of the Entry into Jerusalem was the gift of CP Rowley (1869).
There are also windows by Hardman and CE Kempe in the Jesus Chapel, but they are hidden by a curtain.
The windows by Clayton and Bell in the south clerestory depict Old Testament figures accompanied by angels: Moses, Miriam, Barak, Deborah and David (1879).
Apart from the chancel ceiling, all the roofs date from the 15th century. They are filled with intricately carved woodwork on all the main crossbeams, as well as on the cornices.
The eight-sided font at the west end of the church is a crude and rough structure on a squat round base, and is believed to be as old as the first church on the site.
The pulpit dates from the 1860s and has carvings of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and the four evangelists with their traditional symbols.
Throughout the church, there are memorials to local families, including the Fowler, Hatley, Gorham and Day families, and to some former clergy.
The 18th century royal coat of arms above the south door originally sat at the top of the organ case. The church had an organ before the Reformation. The first modern organ was built by Justinian Morse in 1749. It stood in the arch of the west tower until 1847, when it was moved to the Jesus Chapel.
The organ was replaced in 1855 with an organ built by George M Holdich of London. It has been restored in 1900, 1972 and 2006. The small organ, beside the entrance to the Lady Chapel was built by the Revd Roger Henthorne in 2003 from second-hand materials.
The south porch dates from the 15th century. A room above the porch is known as the Dove chamber, after a 17th century vicar who used it as his study. But it has been the home of the heating system for several decades and cannot be used for access.
The north porch, now the main entrance to the church, was first built in the 1480s and was rebuilt in the 19th century.
The War Memorial in the churchyard was dedicated in 1925. The oak tree next to it was a Millennium gift from the village of St Neot in Cornwall.
The parishes of St Neots and Eynesbury were in the ancient Diocese of Lincoln until 1837. Since then, they have been in the Diocese of Ely. The Revd Paul Hutchinson has been the parish priest of St Neots and Eynesbury since 2020.
The Eucharist is celebrated on Sunday mornings at 8 and 9:30 in St Neots and at 11 in Eynesbury, and at 9:30 on Wednesdays and Fridays in St Neots. More details about the church and parish life are available on the parish website: www.stneots.org
• Further reading: Paul Hutchinson, St Neots Parish Church (St Mary the Virgin), A brief history and guide (St Neots, 2024)
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