FOLKSWORTH & DENTON
FOLKSWORTH : CHURCH OF ST HELEN
Church Post Code PE7 3SS
usually closed to visitors
The village of Folksworth can be found some five miles to the south west of Peterborough, not far off the busy A1M. There is a lot of history here, with the village being mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086; there is no mention of a church here at that time.
I took the cycle out just after the turn of the New Year 2022, unseasonably warm and with some pale sunshine. It was good to be back in the saddle! On arriving at the church of St Helen I was sorting my camera out and was greeted by a very friendly Terrier called Lottie, who evidently was a tad over excited after seeing a couple of squirrels in her garden earlier.
After an unsuccessful lunch, which was evidently still in my fridge at home, I took a look around the exterior. The church of St Helen is set against a minor road at the north eastern edge of the village. A sunken wall, also known as a ha ha, can be seen to the east of the church grounds, giving an uninterrupted view across the grounds. The church from the south is mainly hidden by trees.
The structure itself is an unusual one; consisting of nave and chancel with very large south transept. There is no tower here, just a bell cote to the west of the nave. This is a small church, but it is buttressed throughout.
This is a small church maybe, but there is a lot of history here. The church itself dates back to 1150 with the nave and chancel dating back to that time. On the north wall of the nave there is a doorway which dates back to this time, with an outer round arch enclosing a patterned tympanum. The south transept is later, dating to 1300.
The chancel was rebuilt in the very early 1700’s and rebuilt again in 1850, in a neo Norman style, with Norman dogtooth carvings to be found around the windows. At the same time, the north nave wall was rebuilt, with the bell cote and north vestry being added.
A single bell hangs here, which was cast by Thomas Norris in 1660. The Norris family operated out of a foundry in Stamford for the majority of the 17th century. This bell is inscribed T Harris. The Stamford Bellfoundry was prolific in this area and they also cast bells at neighbouring Stilton to the south and Morborne to the north.
Walking up to the path that leads to the south door, the visitor is greeted by a repositioned gargoyle, spending its retirement by the side of the door; large ears, bulging eyes and mouth wide open
The church here is normally kept closed to visitors, and so it was here today as well. I did see inside this church though back in 2015, on a Cambridgeshire Churches Ride and Stride afternoon. I have used interior shots here that were taken that day.
Moving inside, the contrast in ages in striking! Much of the interior would date from the nineteenth century rebuilding, but in the midst of this stands the chancel arch which is original to the church. It has a semi circular arch with two moulded orders, with chevron patters. Some cartoonlike human faces, bearded and with large noses, look out from the capitals, and done for more than 850 years.
The east window is Victorian; depicting several scenes from the life of Christ. Of seven main panels, the ascension is at the top, immediately under from left to right we have the raising of Lazarus, the resurrection and the raining of Jairus’ daughter. At the bottom we have what I think is Mary and Martha, which would certainly fit in with Lazarus above, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus talking to the rich young man. A roundel at the top shows the Agnus Dei, the lamb of God.
This is an interesting selection; some scenes that would normally be there such as the annunciation, the nativity and the crucifixion are missing and others are included that you would normally see. That is not to take anything away from it al all though; a good window with clear depictions and it was good to spend a little time studying it.
The altar is furnished tastefully, with just a cross and a Bible on a stand. The altar cloth matches the curtain which goes in front of the Victorian reredos.
The font is another old survival, dating from 1500. It consists of a plain octagonal bowl on an octagonal stem.
The church grounds are interesting. Close to the path leading to the south door is a very old gravestone to one John Cockerill, who according to the script below ‘waites for a glorious resurrection’ The date at the top reads either reads 1641 making this the oldest dated gravestone that I have seen in the catchment area of this site, a year earlier than a stone at Easton on the Hill which dates to 1642. Gravestones from this period are from the very earliest days of personal gravestones and it is good to see that this has a Grade II listing.
Close by, and eighteenth century stone, has sunk deeply in to the ground, an angel peers out through a coating of white lichen.
To the east wall of the south transept, there is a finely carved gravestone in slate, to a nine year old boy. At the top is a depiction of an angel in flight, blowing a trumpet whilst holding a laurel wreath. By the side of the angel is a smaller human figure.
This one can be read as follows. The trumpet is a symbol of the resurrection. It says in I Corinthians Chapter 1 verse 52 ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed’.
The laurel wreath goes hand in hand with this. This was an often used symbol for victory; with the victory here being over death. This is a testament to the faith of the deceased. When the trumpet sounds on the final day, the victory has been won and the deceased will be raised victorious.
The angel on a gravestone typically symbolises the flight of the soul to Heaven and this is what we have here. The soul of the deceased is being safely escorted to Heaven, while the body rest, to be raised in victory when the time comes.
This is a lovely church. In a pleasant and peaceful setting, with a wealth of history and is well worth taking a look at if you get the chance.
DENTON : CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS (RUIN)
Church Post Code PE7 3SD
Ruin fenced off at the time of typing this.
As a child, there was something about churches. I loved to see them, especially in the countryside; and to wander around the church grounds looking at the dates of death and the ages that the deceased lived to. This was a childhood interest that waned, but then came back again with the setting up of my original Peterborough churches website back in the autumn of 2006.
I am not alone in this interest. On any given day, a small army of churchcrawlers will be out and about doing what we do! I wonder what a collective noun would be for a group of churchcrawler; I have a few friends who would probably suggest a Boredom of churchcrawlers!
Then there are the people who show their love for these buildings in a slightly different way, in a more hands on fashion.
Regular viewers to my facebook page will probably remember the efforts of Bob Davey, who stumbled across the abandoned church at Houghton On The Hill in Norfolk; derelict with roof and windows gone, choked in ivy and with evidence of devil worship having taken part inside. He, with a band of volunteers, saved the church, rebuilt it and it is now safe for future generations to enjoy.
Charities such as the Churches Conversation Trust and the Friends of Friendless Churches do the same, ensuring that our churches that are no longer needed for worship are looked after and not left to decay. And so it is with the Friends of Denton Church Ruin, who have tried to preserve the ruins of the church here. People such as these do the physical work; and they are to be admired for it!
Denton is a tiny hamlet, which can be found approximately 11 miles north west of Huntingdon. There are just the ruins of All Saints church and around a dozen houses. We are not a million miles from the busy A1M but all is quiet and peaceful here.
This is a small hamlet with a wealth of history. A church with a priest and 13 houses were recorded here at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086.
This is a part of the country where the ancient parish churches have suffered over the years. The church of St Mary Magdalene at neighbouring Caldecote was deconsecrated in the 1970's and was converted to a private home in 1988. The church at nearby Washingley was said to have been vacant in 1447, with the word being that the village had been decimated by the Black Death in 1349, and had fallen down by 1534; with parts of this church moved over to nearby Lutton.
It is thought that parts of the structure of the present building date back to the 12th century. The chancel arch dates back to the 13th century and that the west tower dates from around the 1670's. The chancel, nave and porch also had some major work done on them during the 17th century. The 17th century work was financed by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton and his grandson Sir John, both of whom are buried at nearby Conington. Sir Robert was born at Denton and was a noted antiquary, MP, courtier and collector of manuscript, with the Cotton Library being an important collection of manuscripts contained within the British Library. This church, as with most other churches in the area, also had restoration completed on it in the 1860's.
There were two bells in the tower. The first was dated to the early 16th Century, and had the initials ROS carved in to it. The second was dated 1671 and was made locally, by Tobias Norris III of the Stamford Bellfoundry, who were prolific bellfounders during most of the 17th century. It appears that the bells may have been re-hung at nearby Stilton.
Sadly, the church here was abandoned in the 1960’s and became a ruin, but maintained its Grade II listed status.
I re-visited the ruins of All Saints at Denton a couple of weeks before Christmas 2012 with a friend as we were on our way to a service at nearby Stilton. A huge amount of work had been done since my previous visit back in 2009. At that time the plant life appeared to be choking the structure and it was hard to establish what was still standing such was the height of the undergrowth. It was good to see that this had been cleared and that more of the structure of All Saints was intact than I had previously thought.
Looking at the church from the north, we can see that this was a basic structure of west tower, which is offset to the south west, nave, north porch and chancel. Only the lower stages of the north porch remain. The church was aisleless and there is was no clerestory. The walls of the nave and chancel are wholly intact, and a date stamp of August 1629 indicates the date of some restoration work. There is a bricked in doorway on the north chancel wall,
The east window is of three lights and a nice touch was that a wreath was still there from Remembrance Sunday, under the east window where the altar would have been.
On our visit a sign was up giving notice of an open afternoon, with an open air carol service being held three days before Christmas, this sadly having to be cancelled due to the wettest English winter for many years. The Friend Of Denton Church was formed to preserve Denton church as a safe ruin and to provide a place for wildlife to thrive. What a good thing! On my first visit to this church, there was a constant buzzing on insects; which was lovely.
Sadly, since my last visit here, things have been difficult. At one point a planning application was put in to convert the church to a private dwelling. By the looks of it this fell through but the state of play now, at the time of reworking this page in late December 2021, is that there is safety fencing now around the tower and warning signs that the structure is unsafe.
I hope that the work achieved here by the friends will not be lost and that this battered and bruised church will be allowed a dignified 'retirement'. It is good that this church, though no longer used for worship, is still loved!
OPEN AIR CAROL SERVICE 2023
I revisited this church two days before Christmas 2023, when there was an open air carol service. This was my first time back here for several years. The church was indeed fenced off for safety reasons, as was mentioned above, and the ivy which had been stripped off had started to take hold again. Sadly, the structure itself had deteriorated somewhat over the last few years. As to the service itself, around 15 people or so gathered to the north of the church; a pleasant service on a relatively mild but quite blustery afternoon.
One of the carols was accompanied by a cockerel crowing at a nearby farm. The church was nicely lit for a short time by the setting sun and we were rewarded with a wonderful sunset a short time later; coffee and mince pies were provided afterwards, with like minded people spending a short time together. Plans were already being drawn up for the next service at Easter.
Okay, the church here may have had a hard life' it is battered and bruised and bits may be falling off, but it is still loved. Our churches are part of our history, and they should be looked after, with that love being passed on to the next generation.