- Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta, Swaffham Prior
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Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta, Swaffham Prior 
The tower of the Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta, Swaffham PriorLocation in Cambridgeshire
Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta, Swaffham PriorCoordinates: 52°15′03″N 0°17′45″E / 52.2509°N 0.2959°E OS grid reference TL 568 639 Location Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire Country England Denomination Anglican Website Churches Conservation Trust History Dedication Saints Cyriac and Julitta Architecture Functional status Redundant Heritage designation Grade II* Designated 19 August 1959 Architect(s) Charles Humfrey Architectural type Church Style Gothic, Gothic Revival Specifications Materials Tower in flint and clunch with limestone dressings
Body in gault brick with stone dressings
Roof slatedThe Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta, Swaffham Prior, is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building,[1] and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[2] The church stands in an elevated position above the village street, the B1102 road, some 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Cambridge.[2][3] It is less than 100 feet (30 m) from the adjoining Church of St Mary, and both churches share the same churchyard.[2][4]
Contents
History
The church has a dual dedication to Saints Cyriac and Julitta (Quiricus and Julietta), Saint Julitta being the mother of Saint Cyriac. Both this church and the adjacent church of St Mary were established by the early 13th century. Initially separate parishes, their benefices were united in 1667. In 1743 the nave and chancel of St Cyriac's were restored, but by 1783 the church was in a dilapidated state, and services were being held in St Mary's. By the 1790s the roof of St Cyriac's was collapsing, and it was overgrown with ivy. However in 1779 the tower of St Mary's had been struck by lightning, and in 1802, when builders were working on the tower, part of it collapsed. It was then decided to demolish St Cyriac's church, other than the tower, and rebuild it.[4]
Work began in 1806 to designs by Charles Humfrey of Cambridge. The cost of the work was over £3,100 (£200,000 as of 2011),[5] and the church was re-consecrated in 1809. Towards the end of the century, work was carried out to restore St Mary's. St Mary's was re-opened in 1903, and it then became the sole parish church. The fabric of St Cyriac's was left to decay, and by the 1960s its ceiling was collapsing. Its tower was restored in 1959–60, and in 1974 the Redundant Churches Fund, the forerunner of the Churches Conservation Trust, spent £10,000 (£80,000 as of 2011)[5] on repairing and restoring the rest of the church. Since then, it has been used occasionally for exhibitions and concerts.[4]
Architecture
The tower is constructed in clunch and flint with limestone dressings. The rest of the church is in gault brick with stone dressings. The roof is slated. Its plan consists of a three-bay nave with north and south aisles, north and south transepts, a chancel, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages with buttresses. The lower two stages are square, and the top stage is octagonal. At the northeast angle is a staircase. The tower is set on a plinth with a frieze decorated in a chequerboard pattern in brick and stone. In the bottom stage of the tower is a west doorway, and above this is a three-light window. The top stage contains two-light bell openings on each face. The parapet is decorated with flushwork. At the west end of the church is a gallery.[1] The ring consists of six bells, all cast in 1791 by John Briant.[6]
See also
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in the East of England
References
- ^ a b "Church of St Cyriac and Julitta, Swaffham Prior", Heritage Gateway website (Heritage Gateway (English Heritage, Institute of Historic Building Conservation and ALGAO:England)), 2006, http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=49400&resourceID=5, retrieved 5 March 2011
- ^ a b c Church of St Cyriac & St Julitta, Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire, Churches Conservation Trust, http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/Ourchurches/Completelistofchurches/Church-of-St-Cyriac-St-Julitta-Swaffham-Prior-Cambridgeshire/, retrieved 25 March 2011
- ^ Swaffham Prior, Streetmap, http://streetmap.co.uk/grid/556707_263941_120, retrieved 5 March 2011
- ^ a b c Wareham, A. F.; Wright, A. P. M., eds. (2002), "Swaffham Prior: Churches", A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely, Victoria County History (University of London & History of Parliament Trust) 10: pp. 294–301, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=18882, retrieved 5 March 2011
- ^ a b UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Lawrence H. Officer (2010) "What Were the UK Earnings and Prices Then?" MeasuringWorth.
- ^ Swaffham Prior, SS Cyriac & Julitta, Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=Swaffham+Prior&Submit=+Go+&DoveID=SWAFFHAM+P, retrieved 5 March 2011
Categories:- Grade II* listed buildings in Cambridgeshire
- Grade II* listed churches
- Church of England churches in Cambridgeshire
- English Gothic architecture
- Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust
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