- St Mary Magdalene's Church, Caldecote
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St Mary Magdalene's Church, Caldecote 
St Mary Magdalene's Church, Caldecote, from the southwestLocation in Hertfordshire
St Mary Magdalene's Church, CaldecoteCoordinates: 52°01′50″N 0°11′56″W / 52.0305°N 0.1989°W OS grid reference TL 2367 384 Location Caldecote, Hertfordshire Country England Denomination Anglican Website Friends of Friendless Churches History Dedication Mary Magdalene Architecture Functional status Redundant Heritage designation Grade II* Designated 27 May 1968 Architectural type Church Style Gothic Groundbreaking 14th century Completed 15th century Specifications Length 51 feet (15.5 m) Width 14 feet 6 inches (4.4 m) Materials Flint and clunch rubble,
with some brickSt Mary Magdalene's Church, Caldecote, is a redundant Anglican church standing in the deserted medieval village of Caldecote, Hertfordshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building,[1] and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.[2]
History
The present church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries.[1] It is likely that there was an earlier church on the site as the list of rectors begins in 1215. The village was abandoned mainly during the 15th and 16th centuries.[3] Repairs were carried out to the church in the 18th century.[2] The population then declined and the church was declared redundant in 1975.[4] It was taken into the care of the charity, the Friends of Friendless Churches, in 1982.[2] The charity holds the freehold with effect from 15 April 1982.[5] In order to assist in the maintenance of the church, the Caldecote Church Friends was established in 2007.[6]
Architecture, fittings and furniture
St Mary's is constructed in flint and clunch rubble, with some brick.[1] The clunch came from a nearby quarry at Ashwell.[3] The brick was inserted to replace worn-away clunch.[2] It is a small church with a nave and chancel without any division between them.[1] It measures 51 feet (15.5 m) long by 14 feet 6 inches (4.4 m) wide.[3] At the west end is a tower in two stages with corner buttresses in the lower part of the bottom stage. There are two-light windows dating from the 14th century in both stages and a plain parapet at the summit.[1] On the east face of the tower is a lead plaque inscribed "Katherine Morris 1736", an unusual reference to a female plumber responsible for the lead covering on the roof.[7] On the south of the church is a porch dating from the 15th century. The nave, chancel and porch have battlemented parapets.[1] The windows in the nave and chancel are Perpendicular in style. Inside the porch is a crocketed and canopied stoup, which Nikolaus Pevsner states is unique.[4] The font dates from the 15th century; it is octagonal with carved tracery, shields, and foliage, in "unusually rich" Perpendicular style.[4] The benches also date from the 15th century, as does the circular east window. The memorials include a kneeling figure of Rector William Makesey who died in 1424.[4] There is also a plaque to the memory of Thomas Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Church of St Mary Magdalene, Caldecote", The National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), 2011, http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1347341, retrieved 12 May 2011
- ^ a b c d Caldecote St Mary Magdalene, Friends of Friendless Churches, http://www.friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk/CMSMS/index.php?page=caldecote, retrieved 20 July 2010
- ^ a b c d Introduction, Caldecote Church Friends, http://www.caldecotechurchfriends.org.uk/introduction.htm, retrieved 20 July 2010
- ^ a b c d Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (rev) (1977) [1953], The Buildings of England: Hertfordshire, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, p. 123, ISBN 0-14-071007-8
- ^ Churches and chapels owned by the Friends of Friendless Churches: Details for Visitors, London: Friends of Friendless Churches, June 2010
- ^ Caldecote Church Friends, Caldecote Church Friends, http://www.caldecotechurchfriends.org.uk/churchfriends.htm, retrieved 20 July 2010
- ^ Saunders, Matthew (2010), Saving Churches, London: Frances Lincoln, pp. 32–33, ISBN 978-0-7112-3154-2
Categories:- Grade II* listed buildings in Hertfordshire
- Grade II* listed churches
- Churches preserved by the Friends of Friendless Churches
- 14th-century architecture
- 14th-century church buildings
- 15th-century architecture
- English Gothic architecture
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