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Summary - not yet available

Monument Type(s):

• CHURCHYARD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• CHURCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• INHUMATION (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• CARVED STONE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds:

• SHERD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Events:

• Excavations at Saint Bene't's church, Huntingdon, 1979-80

Full description

1. St Benet's Ch (NR) (site of).

2. The church of St Benet's stood on the N side of the Queen's Head Inn (44 High St); a part of the churchyard remains, the rest being built over. During the Civil War the church was badly damaged and the tower was finally pulled down in 1802.

3. Huntingdon, St Benet's. A Taylor and D Cozens excavated within the church site and uncovered part of the plan, the tower and indications of 3 phases of the Medieval church that was mostly demolished in the C17. (Cambridgeshire Archaeological Committee and Huntingdon Local History Society).

5. A small scale excavation was carried out on the site of St. Bene'ts church in advance of development. Two sections of wall were exposed, together with graves inside and outside the church. The dimensions of the tower were also recorded.. Records and finds held by CCC Archaeology.

6. Recent research into the Battle of Huntingdon suggests that the damage to the town may have been less than previously suspected, and the destruction of the church may have been as a result of neglect rather than military action.

O2, The entrance to the churchyard is through a stone doorway on the High Street marked 'St Benedict'. The yard itself is much overgrown and no traces of the church were seen.

7. This church was shattered during the civil wars, and never afterwards repaired.

8. The entrance to the churchyard is through a stone doorway on the High Street marked 'St Benedict'. The yard itself is much overgrown and no traces of the church were seen

9-10. The church of St Benedict stood on the N side of the Queen's Head Inn (44 High St); a part of the churchyard remains, the rest being built over. During the Civil War the church was badly damaged and the tower was finally pulled down in 1802.

11. The remains of the NE corner of the tower were exposed along with part of the nave floor. Several graves were encountered and a 15th century base marking the northern limit of an Arch or Doorway linking the Tower with the nave.
Masonry recovered from the excavation of the church or from the church yard wall was used in 1981 to construct the gazebo standing in the entrance to St Benedict's Court

<1> 1926, OS 25 inch map (Map). SCB8881.

<2> Page, W., Proby, G and Inskip Ladds, S., 1932, The Victoria County History of Huntingdonshire. Volume 2, 145 (Bibliographic reference). SCB12071.

<3> Taylor, A., Hall, D. and Pryor, F., 1981, Field Officers' Reports, 1979-80. PCAS 70: ix-xii, ix (Article in serial). SCB10282.

<4> Taylor, A., 1982-3, Churches Out of Use in Cambridgeshire. PCAS 72: 30-43 (Article in serial). SCB10284.

<5> Taylor, A., 1984, Excavations at the Site of St. Benet's Church. Huntingdon, 1980. PCAS 72: 39-43 (Article in serial). SCB17929.

<6> S L Sadler, 1995, A Royal Entertainment? Huntingdon, August 1645 (Bibliographic reference). SCB19860.

<7> Owen, T.M.N, 1899, The Church Bells of Huntingdonshire, p98 (Bibliographic reference). SCB38980.

<8> Seaman, B.H., Field Investigator Comments, 26/2/70 (Verbal communication). SCB61886.

<9> RCHM, 1926, An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Huntingdonshire (Bibliographic reference). SCB12619.

<10> Page, W., Proby, G and Inskip Ladds, S., 1932, The Victoria County History of Huntingdonshire. Volume 2 (Bibliographic reference). SCB12071.

<11> Cozens, D., 1985, Records of Huntingdonshire 2 no 3 (Article in serial). SCB66014.

Sources and further reading

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