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St Wendreda, March, Cambridgeshire

Location
(52°32′10″N, 0°5′5″E)
March
TL 415 952
pre-1974 traditional (England and Wales) Cambridgeshire
now Cambridgeshire
  • Ron Baxter
  • Ron Baxter
28 August 2003

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Feature Sets
Description

An extremely satisfying late medieval church set on a large open green to the S of the town. It consists of an aisled nave, the N arcade early 14thc., the S slightly later; a chancel by W. Smith (1843); and a 14thc. W tower with an octagonal stone spire. The 14thc. work is dated by a Papal indulgence of 1343, but the church was considerably modified in the early 16thc. This work includes the clerestorey, rebuilding of the aisles, and S porch bearing the date 1528. The most celebrated aspect of the Perpendicular remodelling is, of course, the double hammerbeam roof with three tiers of angels. Construction is of mixed stone rubble but the 16thc. parts include flint and flushwork. The re-cut 12thc. font must, therefore, come from an earlier building.

History

The vill of March was given to Ely Abbey by Oswy and Leofleda c.1000 when their son Aelfwin was admitted as a monk. In 1086 March was a berewick of Doddington, still held by the Abbot, and housed 12 villans, each with 12 acres. A further 16 acres in March were held by the Abbot of Bury St Edmunds.

The church was originally a chapel of Doddington and did not become a rectory in its own right until 1856.

Features

Furnishings

Fonts

Comments/Opinions

While Bradley, Pevsner and the List description recognise that the font has been recut, the description in the VCH has it as a 14thc octagonal bowl.

Bibliography

S. Bradley and N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Cambridgeshire, New Haven and London 2014, 614-16.

Historic England Listed Building, English Heritage Legacy ID: 401388

N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England. Cambridgeshire, Harmondsworth 1954 (2nd ed. 1970), 437-38.

Victoria County History: Cambridgeshire. IV (1953), 116-23.