History - 2

Organ Chamber

The organ was moved into the old vestry, above the boiler house, on the north side of the chancel, in 1895. This involved cutting an arch into the north wall of the chancel and a window into the west-end of the chamber. Apparently the heat helped solve problems with the organ. According to the minutes of the Vestry meeting of 6th August 1880, it was agreed to
move the organ to the north corner of the nave 'nearer the warming apparatus with a view to the instrument being kept in better tune'. The move allowed light from the west window back into the church.

Vestry

The vestry was built in 1895, when the old vestry was converted into the organ chamber. On
the south wall there is a brass shield inscribed with
"TO THE GLORY OF GOD. THIS CHURCH WAS RESTORED BY VOLUNTARY OFFERING AD 1895. J.
GEORGE GIBSON VICAR; A. J. DESBOROUGH, G. WARBURTON CHURCHWARDENS".

Above the doorway from the organ chamber there is a painted wooden notice informing us that
"THE INCORPORATED SOCIETY FOR BUILDING & CHURCHES GRANTED £35
TOWARDS RESEATING THIS CHURCH, UPON THE CONDITION THAT 140 SEATS
NUMBERED 1 TO 23 BE RESERVED FOR THE USE OF THE POORER INHABITANTS
OF THIS PARISH".

There are two small benches in the Sunday school corner, numbered 14 & 15, which an undated plan in the County Record Office show as originally being in the tower.

19th Century Restorations

During these restorations, according to W. H. Saunders 1888, Legends, etc., of Huntingdonshire, upwards of 20 broken stone coffins were found, whilst making preparations for new flooring. The lids of eight bore the Saxon symbol of the cross and anchor, whilst several others had richly floriated crosses of a later date. There were also traces of rude distemper paintings, including full length figures of a queen, St. George and the Dragon and large Maltese crosses on the columns
and wall, according to this same source.

In Huntingdon's County Record Office there are some undated plans, which since they do not show the present organ chamber, I assume were prepared for the 1861 restoration. Rolled in these plans is a 'Specification of works required to be done in the restoration of the Chancel for the Lady Olivia Bernard Sparrow'. They noted 'to take off the old roof and clear away the old pews in Chancel to be the property of Lady Olivia Bernard Sparrow'. The timber for the roof was to be best Douglas yellow fir and the oak for the pews and door was to be English and five years seasoned. These were to be finished with linseed oil, mixed with a little red lead.

There are several entries in the Parish Minute Book between February 1863 and January 1864 referring to the mortgaging of church land to raise the means to liquidate the debt of £160 incurred in restoration.

The Vestry Minutes of April 1895 record the estimated cost of restoration at £400 and a subscription list being opened. The 24th October records the re-opening of the church by Lord Bishop of Diocese. The 1895 restoration is well documented, with a copy of the original 'Specification & Plans'; a copy of the Faculty required from Ely before work could commence and a detailed account in the Vestry Minutes of 1897.

Lady Olivia Bernard Sparrow

Married Brigadier-General Robert Bernard Sparrow in 1797, but he died at sea in 1805. Inherited estates of the Bernard family and lived at Brampton Park. According to Robson's Directory 1839 entry for Hartford she was 'Lay Rector & Impropriator of Great Tithe' and was therefore responsible for the upkeep of the chancel.
 
Church Plate

The Rev. E. G. Alderson deposited the items not in constant use, in 1932, for safe keeping in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. They can be viewed by viewed by prior arrangement. See appendix 3 for a description of the items.

Memorials

There are no early family monuments as largely the monks of the Priory ministered to the church, and the Prior himself was lord of the manor. He and the monks he appointed as vicars would be buried in the Priory graveyard.

In the church are five 18th Century wall memorials, and one slate memorial in the nave floor near the lectern. There are three 19th Century wall tablets and two floor memorials at the west end of the nave. These were only revealed again in November 1991 after the wooden floor had to be removed. One memorial window in the south wall of the chancel, is in memory of the Rev. Cockburn-Dickinson's son, drowned in 1885, aged ten.
There are four 20th Century memorial plaques, the one on the chancel wall is in memory of a victim of the Titanic disaster in 1912. Mr. R.C. Coleridge, pictured below.

He was instrumental in helping to form the 1st. Hunts (Hartford) Scout Group in 1908. Mr Coleridge had apparently booked on the 'New York' sailing from Southampton, but was offered a place on the Titanic sailing from Liverpool because there was a strike.There are of course, War memorials to parishioners who died in the two great wars of this century (See appendix 4). The other chancel window was restored in memory of Leonard & Phyllis Everett in 1983.

Some of the memorials are mentioned in the text as they form part of the fixtures or fittings. There is a small pottery group of Christ showing a bird to some children commemorating H. Pardoe, who died in 1976.

Parish Registers & Minute Books

Apart from the present ones, the Registers of Baptisms, Marriages, Burials and the Minute Books are kept in the guardianship of the County Records Office in Huntingdon. Appendix 5 is an edited list of their references.

The Minute Books come in various shapes and sizes, as does the hand writing. This gives the reader a challenge, but can be rewarding and interesting given the time.

The early books mainly seem to record such appointments as churchwardens, constables, overseers of the poor; highways board way warden. There are details of some payments for certain offices and the setting of rateable value on local properties. The later books show a more verbatim account of the important events of the church community.