Cuddington's Church
The
A Brief History
There has been a church on this site since the late 11th century, at least. The first church probably consisted of a chancel and an aisleless nave, much shorter than the present one. Nothing remains of that building however, and much of today's church was constructed in no less than four stages during the 13th century - one hundred years of undoubtedly intense activity in Cuddington! The rebuilding of the church was probably connected with the installation of a resident priest in the village. A document of the 1220's states that the Vicar of Haddenham needed to find 'a suitable chaplain' to celebrate at Cuddington Chapel, as the church was then known. The church remained in the charge of the vicar of Haddenham until 1855, when Cuddington was constituted as a separate parish with its own vicar. This occurred because the then Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce, was unhappy with the manner in which the curate had dealt with the death of 48 residents of the nearby hamlet of Gibralter (sic - formerly called Littleworth), who were struck down within 48 hours in 1849 of an epidemic of Asiatic cholera. A plaque to their memory, erected by the Medical Officer of Health for Cuddington, can be seen on the south western wall of the churchyard. A vicarage, now called The Old Rectory, was built on land owned by the church a short distance from the village on the Aylesbury road in 1857. There remained a vicar in the parish until 1972, since when the vicar of Haddenham has once again been responsible for the parish, which is now part of the Benefice of Haddenham, with Cuddington, Kingsey and Aston Sandford.
The 13th Century
In 1220 the present chancel and chancel arch and the first arch and a small transept on the north side of the church were built. The chancel windows, as in the rest of the church, were added later. In 1230 a short narrow aisle of two bays was constructed in the south wall. In 1260 the north aisle was added with an arcade of three bays and at the same time the south aisle was lengthened by two bays to the west. There are today only three bays; on the north side, the fourth arch having been removed when the north aisle was shortened for some reason in the sixteenth century. In 1290 the south aisle was extended to form the present memorial chapel and the north aisle was also widened to its present size.
There is only one octagonal pillar in the church, one half of it dating from the construction of 1220 and the other from that of 1260. The other pillars are all round and also of 13th century origin. The design of the fluted and scalloped collar of the pillar on the north side was probably copied by a stonemason in the 14th century from the original version on the first column on the south side, which dates from the 13th century.
The font dates from the early 13th century and has a fine oak and iron bound lid. It was originally placed near the north door and had a wooden lid in the shape of a pyramid, which was raised by counter-balanced pulleys.
The 14th Century
The south porch was added in this period, as was the north doorway. The outer archway of the porch was restored at a later date using some 14th century stones. The doorway in the north wall also dates from this period, as does the small piscina with drain in the memorial chapel.
The 15th Century
The archway at the west end of the church was constructed and the tower added.
The windows
The east window and that at the south western end of the chancel date from the 14th century, the other two windows in the chancel and sanctuary being 15th century work. 'The stained glass in these windows is Victorian.
The east window of the memorial chapel is of 13th century origin, the two stained glass depictions of angels being of 14th century glass. The interior stonework of the two side windows in the chapel date from the 13th century, but the exterior stonework is of the 15th century. The window at the western end of the south aisle has a 14th century interior, but the exterior stonework is Victorian.
The two windows at the eastern end of the north aisle were built in the 14th century and those at the western end are 16th century.
The west window was built at the same time as the tower in the 15th century.
A Victorian Restoration
The church was extensively renovated and restored in 1857.
The present floor tiles were laid, as were the decorative tiles on the floor of the chancel which extend up into the sanctuary, but are now covered by a modern carpet. Unfortunately the tiles cover a number of stone slabs and memorial tablets dating variously from the 17th and 18th centuries. Some dedications can still be seen in the floor underneath the tower.
The glass of the east window was designed by Street as was the reredos, which is made from marble and alabaster. Both are regarded as particularly fine examples of his work. The vestry was built on to the church at this time and the small window in the south porch added, although the niche dates from the 14th century.
The 20th Century
A bell ringing platform was added underneath the tower in the 1980's. The platform between the pews and the chancel arch was constructed in 1993 to facilitate greater flexibility in worship together with an electronic organ which complements the single-manual pipe organ of the last century. The pipes were restored in 2005, the cost having been met by local fundraising. The church is equipped with a public address system and a 'loop' for the hard of hearing.
The area underneath the tower was rebuilt in 1996 and provides a meeting room and small kitchen area, together with a toilet with facilities for the disabled.
A grant from the National Lottery fund allowed the refurbishment of the original six bells and restoration of the frame and ancillary equipment.
The bells went to the Whitechapel foundry in
The church had a peal of six bells which were cast by John Warner and Sons of London and dedicated in October, 1884. These replaced bells hung in 1610-12 which in turn replaced the original four bells.
Two new bells were donated by Tom Payne and family (in memory of Tom’s late wife Betty) and by James and Elsie Frost, making a complete octave.
The bells were used to ring out the 20th century and ring in the 21st.
Additional features
In the south western corner of the sanctuary there is a bracket, or possibly a piscina, which dates from the 15th century and in the north wall of the chancel is a small corbel carved from stone depicting the bearded head of a man with a band around the forehead which is probably from the same period.
Set into the floor of the south chapel are some medieval patterned tiles which were moved from the tower area in 1996. These were almost certainly made in Buckinghamshire in the 14th century, possibly in
The carved wood panelling in the memorial chapel is thought to be part of a communion table and, together with the Jacobean altar rail bearing the Warwickshire coat of arms, probably came from nearby Nether Winchendon House.
The Churchyard
On the exterior wall of the memorial chapel can be seen four much weathered heads which, when carved in the 14th century represented two kings and two queens one on each side of each window.
This Brief History was compiled by Roger Frazer in Cuddington in 1998 using material from various Histories of Buckinghamshire and research by the Revd Dr. W.A. Strange M.A. Updated in 2005.
