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Summary

Ruins of medieval parish church

Images

No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council	No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council
No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council	No image caption available © Hertfordshire County Council

Monument Types

• CHURCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1500 AD)

Protected Status

• Scheduled Ancient Monument HT12: CHESFIELD CHURCH
• Listed Building (II*) 162616: CHURCH OF ST ETHELDRADA
• SHINE: Ruins of St Ethelreda church and earthworks of Chesfield deserted medieval village
• Scheduled Ancient Monument 12:11822
• Area of Archaeological Significance 156

Full description

The surviving, roofless, remains date from the 14th century and comprise a single cell chancel, nave and south east chapel. There is documentary evidence for a church here by 1216 <2>; presumably it was a proprietorial church belonging to the adjacent manor [2895]. The standing remains, in flint rubble with clunch dressings, appear to date to c.1360 <1>; even in 1910 they were 'in a very bad condition'. In 1445 the parish was united with Graveley, apparently the result of a decline in the population; the church continued to be used until 1731. In 1750 a licence was granted by the Bishop of Lincoln to dismantle it <3>, its stone to be used to repair Graveley church. In poor condition by 2001 and on the Buildings at Risk Register; walls are of unconsolidated flint rubble, and the wall facing is being lost <4, 6>.

In 1910 it was noted that 'near the east end, a hole in the ground contains a stone coffin' <1>. This is no longer visible and the floor of the chancel is buried by half a metre of soil. <2> thought the coffin might belong to a member of the Blomville family. It was excavated by Percy Westell of Letchworth Museum in 1921, and donated by the vicar to the Museum in 1922. Its present whereabouts are unclear, although a photograph of it having just been dug out (by Percival Westell) is in the Museum records <7>. It was trapezoidal in shape.

In the nave floor is a slate tablet, inscribed SAINT ETHELDREDA/BY BIRTH PRINCESS/BY MARRIAGE QUEEN/BY CHOICE ABBESS/630-679/HER PARISH CHURCH/FOR THE PEOPLE OF/CHESFIELD MANOR/DOUNE RUINATED/AND PLUNDERED 1750. In 1982 a standing figure of St Etheldreda was erected on a plinth outside the west door <5>.

OS Records (Index). SHT8223.

Nicholls, Cornelius, 1909, Chesfield and its ruined church; Home Counties Magazine 11, 19-24 (Article in serial). SHT8041.

Roberts, Harold A, 1958, The ravages of time have nearly destroyed this old church; Herts Countryside vol.13, no.50 (autumn 1958[?]), 76-7 (Article in serial). SHT8832.

Percival, K, 1984, A survey of five ruined churches in Hertfordshire (Unpublished document). SHT4259.

Newman, Paul, 1986, Material collected for information board (Unpublished document). SHT4619.

<1> RCHM (England), 1911, Inventory of the historical monuments in Hertfordshire, - p93 (Bibliographic reference). SHT9222.

<2> Andrews, W F, 1902, The ruined church of Chisfield, Stevenage; Trans East Herts Archaeol Soc 2/1, 18-22 (Article in serial). SHT679.

<3> Millard, Walter, 1911, Chesfield Church, Herts; Trans East Herts Archaeol Soc 4/3, 237-8 (Article in serial). SHT8977.

<4> English Heritage, Buildings at Risk East of England Regional Register, 2001-7 (Bibliographic reference). SHT3345.

<5> National Monuments Record, NMR Monument Report (Hertfordshire), RNO 2347 p66 (Unpublished document). SHT9440.

<6> Historic England, Heritage at Risk Register <www.historicengland.org.uk/har>, 2008- (Digital archive). SHT6041.

<7> Information from Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews, North Hertfordshire Museum, Email, 9.5.2012 (Unpublished document). SHT3611.

Sources and further reading

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