St Mary, Little Abington, Cambridgeshire

I Location

Site Location: Little Abington
National Grid Reference: TL 529 492
County: traditional: Cambridgeshire
now: Cambridgeshire
Diocese: medieval: not confirmed
now: Ely
Dedication: medieval: not confirmed
now (or name of monument): St Mary
Type of building/monument: Parish church

II General Description

: Exterior general view from SW

11–12thc. aisleless nave and W tower with 13thc. chancel. A N transept was also added in the 13thc., partially obscuring an earlier window. Most of the tower is 14thc., along with the tower arch. There is no spire. Construction is of flint and pebble, the prominently pointed Victorian restorations being particularly noticeable here. There was a restoration in 1885 by J. P. St Aubyn, and a complete restoration of the exterior of the tower c.1990. Features recorded are the N and S nave doorways, N nave window and font.

III Exterior Features

1. Doorways

(i) Nave N side

: N nave doorway, exterior general view

: N nave doorway, exterior E impost

: N nave doorway, exterior W impost

: N nave doorway, interior W impost

Round-headed, one order, blocked. Jambs and arch are plain and square, and there are neither capitals nor conventional imposts but rectangular, projecting blocks chip-carved with three rows of saltires in squares. Blocking has been carried out so that they are visible both inside and out. The present ground level seems lower than original.

Dimensions

h. of opening (to ground)	2.71 m
h. of opening (to bottom of plinth)	2.56 m
w. of opening	0.915 m

(ii) Nave S side

: S nave doorway, exterior general view

Round headed, one order. Jambs and arch are plain and square with no capitals but plain chamfered imposts.

Dimensions

h. of opening	2.29 m
w. of opening	0.95 m

2. Windows

(i) Nave N side

: N nave window, exterior general view

Round headed, one order, blocked and partly obscured by later transept. The window has a large, irregular and worn head with traces of chip carving similar to that on the N doorway.

V Furnishings

1. Fonts

(i)

: Font from NW

At W end of nave under the tower arch stands a square-bowled, plain font on five later shafts, all octagonal and those at the angles with moulded capitals and bases. The bowl is chamfered around its upper edges, inside and out, and on the angles. The entire upper section at the E side of the bowl has been replaced, along with a small section on the W rim where a lock has been removed. The basin is round and lead lined.

Dimensions

h. overall	0.82 m
h. of bowl	0.40 m
w. (N-S)	0.77 m
w (E-W)	0.77 m
diam. of basin	0.58 m

VII History

In 1086 the manor was held by Count Alan of Brittany (5 hides).

VIII Comments/Opinions

Johnson (1984) compares the chip carving to work at Ely Cathedral, Chettisham, Fowlmere and Hauxton.

IX Bibliography

G. R. Bossier, Notes on the Cambridgeshire Churches. 1827, 47.
The Ecclesiastical and Architectural Topography of England: Cambridgeshire (Architectural Institute of Great Britain and Ireland), Oxford 1852, 142.
F. S. L. Johnson, A Catalogue of Romanesque Sculpture in Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely. M.Phil (London, Courtauld Institute), 1984, 274-75.
D. and S. Lysons, Magna Britannia. Cambridgeshire II, pt I, London 1808, 50, 79.
P. E. D. (Churchwarden), St Mary's, Little Abington: A Guide. 1995
N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England. Cambridgeshire, Harmondsworth 1954 (2nd ed. 1970), 427.
H. M. and J. Taylor, "Architectural Sculpture in Pre-Norman England", Journal of the British Archaeological Association, XXIX, 1966.
The Victoria History of the County of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely, VI 1978, 17-18.