SOMERSHAM : CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST
Church Post Code PE28 3EG
Open to visitors
It was the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday 2025, and a full day’s churchcrawling planned; with the day starting off with a visit to Chatteris, before heading off to the Hemingford Abbott and Hemingford Grey; attending an Ash Wednesday service at the latter. Leaving there we headed back to the north east; spending the rest of the morning exploring the churches in the benefice of Somersham, Woodhurst, Pidley-cum-Fenton & Old Hurst.
Somersham is a large village which recorded a population of 3,673 at the time of the 2021 census. It can be found some four miles north of St Ives and nine miles north east of Huntingdon. Peterborough is some 22 miles off to the North West making Somersham the furthest flung church to the south east of Peterborough covered by my sites.
There is a great deal of history to be found here with an interesting news report from 2021 on the BBC’s website detailing that excavation on a Roman cemetery close to the village had found 52 bodies, of which 17 had been beheaded; with their heads placed between their feet when buried!
There was no church or priest recorded here at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086 but the Manor of Somersham was held by Abbots of Ely from the late 10th century. There was a medieval manor house here, the Bishops Palace, which dated back to the 12th century. A Tudor structure was built over this, which fell in to disrepair; with nothing remaining now, the structure being pulled down in the middle of the 18th century.
We had made our way in from Old Hurst and Woodhurst; with a little excitement; having seen an Emu and a few lions in the zoo at the former. After a frustrating and ultimately unsuccessful few minutes trying to figure out if it was possible to photograph the church at Old Hurst with Lions in the picture we entered Somersham from the west; passing through Pidley, home of the gloriously eccentric Pidley Mountain rescue fundraising charity.
The church at Somersham that we see today consists of west tower, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, north and south porches and chancel. The bulk of the present structure was built between 1250 and 1300 with the original church consisting of an aisled nave with chancel. To this the west tower and north porch were added during the 14th century with the south porch dating from the 15th century. The church is built from stone rubble and pebbles dressed in Barnack stone.
This is an impressive structure indicating historic wealth in the past, but also prestige as well with Royal forests adjoining the Bishops Palace with various Kings of England coming to hunt over the years.
Standing in the church grounds and taking in the structure from the south we see a square battlemented and buttressed west tower; the flag of St George flying proudly in the breeze in front of a cloudless sky with recessed spire rising up.
The tower itself has had a hard life and is much patched with evidence of rebuilding to the western side; with evidence of the former roofline before the clerestory was added against the eastern wall.
The clerestory wall is high with the clerestory itself consisting of four two light windows. The clerestory is similarly high, with a clear line indicating that the chancel was heightened at some point.
There is a ring of six bells here, with all sic cast by Edward Arnold of St Neots in 1782. These would have replaced an earlier set of bells, the details of which I could not find. The first of the ring is inscribed ‘OMNIA FIANT AD GLORIAN DEI’ which translates as ‘Let all things be done for the glory of God’. The second is simply inscribed ‘Edw’d Arnold Fecit 1782’. The third reads ‘Let Avery Thing That Hath Breath Praise The Lord’
Bells number four and five each have inscribed the name of the vicar of the day, John Wilson along with the church wardens. The fifth reads ‘I To The Church The Living Call And To The Grave I Summon All’.
A check beforehand had suggested that the church would be open to visitors and so it proved. Entry was through the south porch, which had a very ancient sun dial over the top. Moving inside there was a buzz of conversation from friendly locals who were preparing for a forthcoming service.
There are four bay arcades to north and south. With the nave and aisles all dating from the same period, architecturally both sides are the same, with clustered piers and moulded capitals. Taking an initial look around the interior, we see the doorway to the rood stairs at the east end of the north aisle, with the corresponding opening to the rood loft itself, now bricked up, on the north wall of the chancel.
In pre reformation days churches would have had a rood screen separating chancel from nave and an upper story would have held the rood itself; a carving of the crucifixion with Mary and Joh standing alongside the cross. These were hated by the reformers; being seen as idolatrous, with people worshiping the images rather than God himself; with injunctions under the reign of Edward VI in 1547 leading to roods being taken down and destroyed, What we see now in some churches is a reminder of how things would have been in pre reformation days.
There are piscina at the east end of the north and south aisles, showing that the Mass would have been taken at each. The church organ can be found at the east end of the south aisle.
Moving in to the large and impressive chancel there are again reminders of what the church would have been like in medieval times. Against the south wall of the chancel, in their traditional positions is the sedilia and piscina. The sedilia which was the seating for the priests during the Mass in pre reformation days, is a treble with the seats being graduated so that the seat closest to the east; therefore in the holiest position, is the highest and would be taken by the ‘holiest’ member of clergy.
To the east of the sedilia is a double piscina; drains that were used for the washing of the holy vessels that were used during the Mass. A close look at this shows that there was a bottle of hand sanitiser in it; this seeming be to an integral part of piscina during the post covid years
The east window dates from just after the First World War and serves as a memorial for those soldiers from the village that fell in that conflict. It was made by Curtis, Ward and Hughes who operated out of London. This window features the risen Christ central, crowned as the King of Heaven and wearing a jewelled robe; hand raised in blessing with wound visible on one hand. Light pulsates out from him, with this light forming a cross at the top.
Christ is attended by angels with brightly coloured wings on either side, who hold a cross and a globe. The Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove which holds a communion wafer in its beak. Banners include the script ‘Make then to be numbered with thy Saints’ with this coming from the Te Deum Laudamus which can be translates as ‘Thee God We Praise’. Figures below are looking up in praise, which include St George, John and the Roman Centurion. At the foot of this window, are the names of those local men who fell in that conflict are on scroll held up by angels.
The altar is plain and simple with purple altar cloth; this being the liturgical colour used during Lent.
A series of carvings include several figures a prayer, heads inclined upwards towards Heaven. Alongside we see a bearded reclining male figure who to be fair is depicted in an inelegant pose; one hand resting on a knee with his other hand on the side of his face. One other male figure is shown playing a pipe.
The church here is known for a fine series of medieval ceiling bosses. These include a King and a Queen; the former being shown with immaculate beard and moustache. A green man type figure looks out through sightless eyes, with what appears to be a lizard taking the place of where the foliage would be on a green man!
A mermaid holds an empty bucket, with a single fish alongside; close by a bearded male figure with worry lines on his forehead expresses his discontent at the world in general.
The church grounds are interesting; but there is nothing of any great historical interest to be found, with nothing having its own listing. One curious gravestone, very weathered but looking to date from the 18th century, shows a funeral urn with a human head and shoulders; possibly that of the deceased looking across at it.
Elsewhere a carving of a human skull peers out through a covering of ivy; a reminder to those looking on that Man is mortal and will go the same way as the deceased. Another very weathered stone shows a mother surrounded by four young children; one baby being held in her arms and another holding on to one of her hands. The script is long since faded away to nothing but perhaps we see what remains of a family tragedy where this mother of four was taken.
Life was often short and hard and death was a part of everyday life. People often died young and this is symbolised by another stone, with again the script long since faded. Here we see a tree trunk with branches felled; this symbolising a life that was suddenly interrupted.
A more recent gravestone is in the form of an angel, with wings outstretched; looking downwards, one hand on heart with the other clutching a wreath. It was quiet and peaceful in the grounds; with the first real warmth of the year. A solitary pigeon perched on a cross, enjoying the warmth on its feathers provided my only company.
This is a fine church; open and welcoming and is well worth taking a look at if you are in the area. I enjoyed my brief time here very much. It was time to move on; the intention being to cross the border in to Northamptonshire, heading vaguely to the south west for around 15 miles; Ellington being the destination, which I needed to reshoot. Our Ash Wednesday crawl continued…