Back to
Home Back to Our Past
A Brief History of Kimpton Page 4 By John Pollington
By far
the oldest building in the village is the Parish Church of St. Peter &
St. Paul. The stone church was started at the beginning of the 12th
century, with a simple nave and a small chancel, built around the previous
wooden church which was later removed. By the end of the 12th century, in
order to meet the needs of a growing parish, narrow aisles were added, the
arcades formed, and the chancel was lengthened to its present size. These
arcades are probably the oldest part of the church that can be seen today.
Each generation has enlarged or beautified the church in some way. A low
tower was added in the 15th century and was subsequently raised to its
present height in 17th century. The lower part of the tower is at present
being re-built, the 15th century mortar holding the flints in place has
crumbled making the south face unstable. Bad enough to prevent us ringing
the bells! Since its formation in 1984 the Restoration Trust has spent
£200,000 on structural repairs. This is our generation's contribution to
the building, together with the Kimpton Guild of Change Ringers who in 1981
masterminded the replacement of the old bell frame and the purchase of 2
new bells to give the church a ring of 8 bells. The
capitals of the pillars are one of the most important architectural
features of the church, being good examples of early English work (1190 -
1200). At this time the introduction of the chisel to the masons range of
tools, made possible the carving of simple forms of foliage. In the 15th
century the South Aisle was widened to its present size, and the Tower,
Porch and South Chapel added. The latter is thought to have been built by
the Bibbesworth family, and at a later date became known as the Dacre
Chapel. In 1710 it is recorded that the church contained several 15th
century monumental brasses. Today only a partial brass remains. It shows a
young girl with long unbraided hair and is probably Margaret Bibbesworth. The
Wesleyan Methodist Church on the village green was built in 1870 and the
Sunday School Hall was added in 1907. s d ½ bushel flour @ 6/-, 3 loaves @ 2/6 8 6 ½ lb candles @ 3½d, ½qtr. flour @ 4¾d 8¼ 1lb pork @ 9d, ¼ lb soap @ 2d 11 ¼ oz tea @ 1¼ d, sugar and butter 6d 7¼ TOTAL 10 8¼ Today many
of the old farms have been joined together to provide more economic units,
and due to mechanisation only employ a hand full of men. The farm houses
still remain, most have been extensively altered, and some are now private
dwellings, but most still carry the name of the original farmer 600 years
ago. More...
The first documented Vicar of Kimpton, Nicholas de Spondon was installed by
the Bishop of Lincoln in 1235. In the 18th century the vicarage was sited
at `The Grange' at west end of village. In 1883 a new vicarage was built
north of the church, complete with coach house and was designed to
accommodate a butler, footman, coachman, house servants and 3 gardeners.
The present vicarage at 11 High Street, was originally the bakery, and we
now share the Vicar with the neighbouring parish of Ayot St Lawrence.
In Peters Green a school was erected in 1877 which was used as a Chapel on
Sundays. It was opposite the Bright Star P.H. This ceased to be used in
1959, and is now a private house. The altar is the one now used in the
parish church.
The original Union Chapel at Perry Green built in 1886 had to be demolished
about a hundred years later due to rot in the woodwork. Since then a much
smaller Baptist Chapel has been built on the same site incorporating the
former hall.
For the past 400 years, records of baptisms, marriages and burials have
been kept in the Parish Church registers, the earliest entry being made in
1559. These books, which are now held by the County Records Office in
Hertford, contain a valuable record of Kimpton social history. Names such
as Bigg, Chalkley, Hill, Ivory, Lawrence and Wells appear before 1700, and
families bearing the same name are still resident in the village. The
registers also record items of economic and local news; for instance, sharp
price increases are recorded between 1800 - 1801 when wheat rose from 16s
Od to 23s Od per bushel and poor families found it difficult to survive.
Another reference in 1826, shows how a family weekly income of lOs Od was
spent (and this didn't include rent, clothes and firing!):-
The nave of St Peter and St Paul Church,
Kimpton, in 1920
|
Kimpton church from
Church Lane (1912). |
|
|
Comments? Enquiries?
More information?