History of Cambridgeshire - Antiquities in Ecclesiastical Architecture

Antiquities in Ecclesiastical Architecture

Cambridgeshire would be rich only in the possession of the cathedral at Ely and the round church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jesus College and King's College chapels, and many other examples in Cambridge. At Thorney, a small town in the north of the county, which owes much in appearance to the 8th Duke of Bedford (d. 1872), the parish church is actually a portion of the church of an abbey said to date originally from the 7th century, and refounded in 972 by Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, as a Benedictine monastery. The church is partly fine Norman. Another Norman building of special interest is Sturbridge chapel near Cambridge, which belonged to a lepers' hospital. To this foundation King John granted a fair, which became, and continued until the 18th century, one of the most important in England. At Swaffham Prior there are remains of two churches in one churchyard, the tower of one being Transitional Norman, while that of the other is Perpendicular, the upper part octagonal. Among many Early English examples the church of Cherry Hinton near Cambridge may be mentioned. The churches of Trumpington and Bottisham are examples of the Decorated style; in the first is a famous brass to Sir Roger de Trumpington (1289). As Perpendicular examples the tower and spire of St Marys, Whittlesey, and the wooden roof of Outwell church, may be selected. Monastic remains are scanty. Excluding the city of Cambridge there are no Domestic buildings, either ancient or modern, of special note, with the exception of Sawston Hall, in the south of the county, a quadrangular mansion dated 1557-1584.