ALCONBURY & BUCKWORTH
ALCONBURY : CHURCH OF ST PETER & ST PAUL.
Church Post Code PE28 4DX
Open to visitors.
It was a gloriously sunny afternoon in April 2023 and a revisit to the church of St Peter & St Paul, Alconbury; this being the sixth and final church visited in what was a rare half day off of work, with all six being open.
I had previously visited Alconbury with David back in May 2014; a sunny Sunday evening with cricket being played on the adjoining sports ground, with the church spire providing an attractive background. We had arrived from nearby Buckworth; with the fields between the two villages covered in oilseed rape. It was warm and humid, with storms threatening and the air heavy with pollen.
Alconbury is a village with a population of 1569 at the time of the 2011 census. It can be found just to the west of the busy A1(M), some 17 miles south of Peterborough and five miles to the north west of Huntingdon.
Prior to the A1 being built, the Great North Road, the main highway between England and Scotland ran through the village. The village gave its name to Alconbury airbase, with United States Airforce stationed there between 1942 and 1945 and 1953 to 1995. The base itself is closer to Great and Little Stukeley, with the fighter jet parked outside the gates a familiar sight to travellers.
There was a village mentioned here at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086, but there was no church or priest mentioned here at that time. The church of St Peter & St Paul can be found at the north west of the village; with the structure that we see today dating back to the 13th century, albeit with some reused materials from a 12th century structure.
The church consists of west tower with spire, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, south porch and chancel. An aisled nave was built here around 1250, at which point the chancel and western tower were also built. Around 1330 the nave arcades were rebuilt, with the spire added to the tower, as well as clerestory and south porch being added.
In the late 15th century the chancel and aisles were reroofed, with the nave reroofed the following century. The church here was thoroughly restored in 1877, at which point the spire was shored up whilst the tower below was rebuilt. A tremendous feat of engineering!
The church itself is a fine structure, though difficult to photograph from the south due to trees. The west tower is of three stages, and is buttressed up to the top of the second stage. The church clock faces out from the south face and a frieze of ancient, contorted, almost cartoonlike stone heads runs across the top of the tower.
The octagonal broach spire has three tiers of gabled lucarne windows at the main compass points. Throughout the exterior are a series of finely carved gargoyles and grotesques; mainly mythical creatures, with more than one having long tongue stuck out in gesture of insult.
The church is battlemented throughout, and has a very long and impressive chancel. The name W Childs and a date of what looks to be 1897 is carved over the top of the south porch.
There are six bells in the ring here, and the same was the case in 1899, when Revd Owen published his study of the church bells in Huntingdonshire. Four of the bells here were recast by Taylor of Loughborough in 1876.
Previously there was a ring of five, of which three were broken. These three were melted down and four being cast in their place. Owen was pretty thorough in his research, and he attempted to find out who cast the bells that were recast. No one al Alconbury at that time could give any concrete information.
With regards the other two bells in the ring, Thomas Norris of the Stamford bellfoundry cast the fourth of the ring, with this bell inscribed ‘Thomas Norris Made Me 1673’.
The sixth of the ring was cast by Taylor of St Neots in 1812, and is inscribed with the name D Williams, who was the vicar of the day and church wardens J Pattison Homes and J Garrott.
The church was open, with visitors entering in through a mid 14th century south porch and an inner doorway from around 1260. The initial though on taking in the interior, was that the chancel which appeared impressive from the outside was equally impressive from the inside!
The nave in its present form dates from the 14th century, with four bay arcades to north and south. The chancel arch is tall and elegant, with evidence of a previous roofline above it.
At the east end of the north aisle there is the remains of a staircase, which would have led to the rood loft which would have, in pre reformation times have contained a carving of Christ crucified. There is also a piscina here; which would have been used to draining the water and win used in the mass, indicating that there would once have been an altar here.
There is an altar still set up at the east end of the south aisle, with a medieval piscina also set in to the south wall.
Standing at the east end and looking westwards, there is a window on the west wall, offset to the north a little, with the bottom section of a two light window visible below the roof.
The 13th century chancel was described by John Betjamen described as being ‘noble and serene’. The chancel is long and wide, with blank arcading of six bays on north and south walls, and is quite plain with just the odd memorial and a bracket on the north wall which would have at one point held a statue; this probably being of St Peter, which was described as being here in 1500 but which no doubt was destroyed during the reformation.
A red carpet runs up to the altar rails, with ancient stonework in the floor showing the tread of thousands of pairs of feet over hundreds of years.
The east end of the chancel is of unusual design. There is no piscina set in to the south wall and the sedilia; the seating for the priests during the mass, consists of a raised stone bench. It could be that this isn’t even a sedilia is there is a similar raised stone bench against the north wall as well!
The really unusual thing though is the three large recesses set in to the east wall. These cupboards, or aumbries, were where things such as the communion plate were stored and these are normally to be found set in to the north wall.
The small altar had a white and gold altar cloth and there is no reredos. The raised sanctuary floor shows the hand of the Victorian restorers.
There is little in the way of stained glass here, but there is a three light window at the east end of the south aisle. This depicts three scenes from the life and death of Christ. We start off with the nativity, just as the first of the shepherds arrive.
In the central panel Jesus, who wears the crown of thorns, carries his cross to crucifixion. Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene look on at Jesus in anguish whilst two Roman soldiers look away from Jesus.
Finally we have the ascension; with Jesus rising up in front of six disciples, Peter and John in the foreground. The risen Christ displays the wounds on his hands and feet.
A single panel depicts Charity in the form of a woman with two small children. Charity is one of the three virtues, as described in I Corinthians Chapter 13 verse 13, but some more modern translations has replaced the word charity with love.
The roof of the chancel dates from the 15th century with the roof of the nave dating from the 16th century. A glance upwards shows a series of beautifully carved angels, with wings unfurled. One angel, with head curiously tilted plays a lute whilst another holds a palm leaf. Others hold out shields, with veiling bosses close by containing grotesque carvings of mythical beasts, several of which have their tongues out in medieval gesture of insult.
Throughout the interior are carvings of human heads, looking to be of varying ages, with one particular female figure, wearing a ruff, hands at prayer, catching my eye. One further male figure towards the west end of the nave appears to be in contemplative mood, with chin in hand, with eyes tightly closed, reflecting I daresay on something that probably appeared important at the time a few hundred years ago!
It is recorded that in the 17th century the walls of the church here had paintings of the 12 disciples, the 12 patriarchs and the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I. No trace of these remains; with their original position within the church being unknown.
The church grounds are very large and peaceful, with Alconbury Brook running a short distance off to the west. There are some interesting gravestones here, but just to concentrate on a couple.
A very weathered 18th century stone depicts and angel in flight, blowing a trumpet and holding a palm leaf. The trumpet is an often used symbol of the resurrection; the palm leaf is a symbol of victory; with each of these stating that death has been beaten.
Elsewhere, a finely carved gravestone in slate features a carving of a human skull, the deaths head, along with a cross and anchor, each symbols of the Christian faith. A book stands open on top of the skull, with text on it which reads ‘As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive’. This is from I Corinthians Chapter 15 verse 22.
The church here has been open to visitors on each time that I have visited and is well worth taking a look at if you are in the area. To be fair, the area as a whole is quite rewarding for those interested in churches with Buckden, Grafham, Kimbolton and Stow Longa all being open to visitors that afternoon. The other church visited that afternoon, at Spaldwick was opened by arrangement.
All of the interior photographs on this page are from the April 2023 visit; exterior photographs are a mixture, with most from the same April visit but with others taken from previous visits.
BUCKWORTH : CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS
Church Post Code PE28 5AU
Normally closed to visitors
It was the last Saturday before Christmas 2025; a bright and sunny Saturday morning following the lifting of the early morning fog. A short churchcrawl started off with a revisit to the church of All Saints at Buckworth. The church here is normally closed to visitors and it was good to catch it open; with a small party of people setting up for their Christmas carol service in three days time.
Buckworth is a small Huntingdonshire village which can be found some three miles to the east of Alconbury; with Peterborough itself a little less than 20 miles away to the north. Huntingdon is seven and a half miles away to the south east. The village recorded a population of 108 at the time of the 2021 census. It was quiet and peaceful despite the busy AM1 being not too far away to the east across the fields.
I had visited a few times here over the years; a trip here with David in May 2013 doing my hay fever no good at all. We pulled over, with the church a few hundred yards away to the north. We were surrounded by fields of oilseed rape; the air was heavy with pollen, eyes were watering and the church looked beautiful amid the yellow. An earlier visit in 2025 proved less than successful; with a punctured tyre following an altercation with a large pot hole approaching the village.
On this bright and cool Saturday morning it was good to chat to the people present. It is always interesting to ask how their church is faring. Sadly things are difficult here with a monthly service and a congregation in the low single figures. Several churches have closed in the Peterborough area since I first started up my websites; this is not the secular country that some would have you believe with some churches thriving; but at the expense of others with people moving away from traditional service and the Book of Common Prayer, and heading to more modern and dynamic churches. I fear for the future for churches with declining numbers and wonder what the situation will be in ten or even five years time.
There was no church or priest recorded at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086. It was not too long before an aisleless church was built though; with the oldest parts of the structure that we see today being parts of the nave which dates from the 12th century.
The present church consists of west tower with spire, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, south porch and chancel. The south aisle was added during the late 13th century with the west tower with its octagonal broach spire being added around 1300. The north aisle was added some ten years later. The south aisle and the north wall of the north aisle were rebuilt around 1490 with the clerestory and south porch being added at that time. The church was restored in 1862 and the spire was restored twice in 1884 and 1925 with the tower being repaired in 1908.
The four stage tower with spire dominates the flat local landscape. The tower is of four stages; the octagonal broach spire has three tiers of gabled lucarne windows. The tower itself is dominated by two intricately carved circular windows to the south and west sides. Above this we see a shuttered window flanked by blind arches. A closer look shows several carvings of heads high up in the tracery of these arches; with three very weathered heads in one and a green man in the other.
There are several gargoyles and grotesques here; one lichen encrusted human form leans out from the west end of the south porch. A similar figure close by takes the form of beast, whose tongue is stuck out in gesture of insult. An almost cartoonlike human figure whose eyes are looking in different directions and with a nose that looks as if it has been on the end of a good few beatings, has mouth wide open where a downspout would once have fitted.
Revd Owen’s study of the church bells in Huntingdonshire; published in 1899 recorded five bells in the ring here, with that still being the situation today. The first of the ring was cast by Taylor of Loughborough in 1885, with this bell being inscribed with the name Catherine Shafto, who was the Rector’s wife.
The second and third were each cast by Robert Newcombe II of Leicester circa 1585, which is my spell checker’s least favourite founder. The second of the ring is inscribed ‘GEVE GOD THE PREASEE’ with the third reading ‘GEVE THANKES TO GOD ALWAIS’.
The fourth of the ring is another from Taylor of Loughborough, with this one cast in 1884 with the fifth being the oldest, cast by Mellours of Nottingham around 1500. This one has the inscription ‘CELORUM XPE PLACEAT TIBI REX SONUS ISTE’ which translates as ‘O Christ, King of Heaven may this sound be pleasing to you’.
Owen mentions a local legend, which notes that there was a dispute between Buckworth and neighbouring parish Leighton Bromswold regarding a burial. Owen states that Buckworth refused to bury a man, who was then buried by Leighton; with the latter claiming a church bell from the former in forfeit. He also states that this probably is not based in truth.
The church looked lovely in the weak winter sunlight, surrounded by skeletal trees and not a cloud in the sky. The visitor enters in through the south porch and there was a friendly welcome from those decorating the church.
There are three bay arcades to north and south; with octagonal piers and capitals to the north and circular to the south. Angels on the corbels keep an eye on proceedings in the nave; with some bearing scrolls, others shields and others with hands crossed over their chests. The work of the Victorian restorers is very much in evidence throughout.
Moving in to the chancel the church organ stands against the north wall. The altar is very small and plain with just a single cross. There is no reredos. A medieval piscina is to be seen in its customary position against the south wall.
The eat window is of three light with stained glass. From left to right we see Jesus with children, an angel of the Lord appearing to the three Mary’s on Easter morning ‘He is not here he is risen’. We then see the reinstatement of Peter following his betrayal three times on the night of Jesus; arrest. ‘Feed my Sheep’ reads the script below. Angels wield censers in the tracery above.
There is other stained glass here, which is of high quality. At the east end of the north aisle we see a three light window depicting Jesus walking on water. Jesus walks towards the disciples, dressed in white with hand raised in blessing. Peter starts to walk on the water towards him, hands outstretched; but it’s going to end in failure!
At the east end of the south aisle we see a depiction of Faith Hope and Charity; as always this in in the form of three female figures with faith carrying a chalice and a processional cross. Charity carries an anchor and charity, which is translated as ‘Love’ in some modern Bible translation, in shown central. This is due to its importance, with I Corinthians Chapter 13 verse 13 reading ‘and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love’. As always, love is shown as a female figure comforting a child, with the figure here being shown with a flaming heart.
The church here is known for some impressive ceiling bosses with some of these dating from the 15th century with others dating from the Victorian restoration. Of the ancient bosses, which have been repainted, we see a Green Man and a couple of Kings. An upside down face looks out from the west end of the nave.
A wall plaque against the east wall of the south aisle is dated 1711 and is to one William Stevenson. The epitaph records that the deceased was ‘a kind husband and a tender father to a numerous offspring’. A carving of a human skull and crossed bones look out; with each being a memento mori symbol, a reminder for those looking on that Man is mortal and will die. Each will go the way of the deceased so be careful that you are not caught lacking when your own time comes. The octagonal font dates from the 15th century.
Moving outside there is nothing of any great age or rarity in the church grounds with nothing having its own Grade II Listing. I recall an earlier visit here armed with a very basic digital camera where some work was ongoing and a grave was uncovered right outside the south porch; obviously this being for someone of great importance.
A single gravestone has the human skull carved on to it; this passing over the same message as on the wall memorial. A gravestone of some age is partially sunk in to the ground; date obscured but in memory of George Robinson. By style, I wouldn’t be surprised if this dates back to the late 17th or early 18th centuries.
I will end this look at the church of All Saints at Buckworth by enclosing a few shots from the May 2013 visit…with apologies to hay fever sufferers everywhere!
It was good to be able to visit here again and great to be able to see inside; I do fear for the future of this church and I wish them well whatever form that future takes, and hope that the Christmas carol service which they were preparing for went off well with a full church rewarding their efforts. We headed off a short distance to the north east, to Upton which was again closed up tight with no keyholder details with a contact number on line which was not recognised. This is another church in the area which has its problems with this church now being a festival church; which has only a few services a year at the major Christian festivals.