The Church of St Katharine of Alexandria is the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

for

Ickleford Ickleford is a large village situated on the northern outskirts of Hitchin in North Hertfordshire in England. It lies on the west bank of the River Hiz and to the east of the main A600 road. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 1, ...

in Hertfordshire. It comes under the

diocese of St Albans The Diocese of St Albans forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England and is part of the wider Church of England, in turn part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese is home to more than 1.6 million people and comprises the hi ...

.St Katharine, Ickleford - the Church of England website
/ref> The building is of medieval origin and is listed

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

.Church of St Katharine, Ickleford on the English Heritage Listed Buildings website
/ref>

History

Ickleford is not mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

probably because it was part of Pirton. The church of Ickleford was originally a chapel to Pirton, and the two livings were held together until divided by order of the

Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Chu ...

in 1847. The

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living ...

was purchased by Thomas Wilson in 1868. It was conveyed before 1875 to the Rev. T. I. Walton, and then belonged to the Rev. C. A. Walton, his son.

Design

A small church in the centre of

, the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

dates to the mid 12th-century, while the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and West tower are from the early 13th-century. The South porch and nave roof were added in the mid 15th-century. The church underwent a major restoration in 1859 under Sir George Gilbert Scott at which time the South aisle, South chapel (currently in use as the organ chamber) and North vestry were added. The external masonry walls are plastered while the walls of the South clerestory are of uncoursed knapped flint. The chancel has a 13th-century lancet window to the North of the altar, a 15th-century cinquefoil

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman Ca ...

to the South, and stained glass of about 1860 attributed to

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832 ...

in a medallion and mosaic design.Report on St Katharine's, Ickleford - the Archaeology Data Service (2007)
/ref> In the South wall is a wide 19th-century Romanesque arch with interlinked chain motif, while on the North wall there is a large monument to Richard Ansell of 1726 and which is signed by R. Easton. There are

funerary hatchment A funerary hatchment is a depiction within a black lozenge-shaped frame, generally on a black ('' sable'') background, of a deceased's heraldic achievement, that is to say the escutcheon showing the arms, together with the crest and supp ...

s over the North and South doors and an octagonal 19th century arcaded stone pulpit matched by an octagonal stone baptismal font on eight coloured marble shafts, both added during the restoration by Scott. There is a monumental brass of Thomas Somer and his wife Marjory of about 1380 with an imperfect inscription. The church has a stained-glass window of 1898 by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lich ...

. In the north wall of the nave are two windows, one on each side of a blocked 12th-century Norman doorway which is damaged and has been repaired with cement, but which has a well-preserved chevron moulding on the rear-arch.'Parishes: Ickleford', in ''A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 3'', ed. William Page (London, 1912), pp. 21-25. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/herts/vol3/pp21-25 - accessed 13 December 2016 Buckeridge Triptych Ickleford

The West tower is of two stages with heavy

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es, those at the north-west and south-west angles being diagonal. The low pyramidal roof is of lead. The tower arch, which is two-centred, and a small lancet on the south side, are probably original. The west window and the two-light belfry windows are of the 15th-century and are repaired with cement. There are five bells: the treble and second are by John Warner & Sons, 1857; the third is by Richard Chandler, 1680; the fourth by Miles Graye, 1650; and the fifth by Thomas Russell of Wootton, 1726. The plate consists of a cup of 1796, presented by Thomas Cockayne in 1807 and a Victorian paten and flagon, the former made from two old silver patens. The high

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

is of oak which is panelled and carved. The gilded and painted

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

behind the altar shows the worship of Jesus as the King of Heaven; it is Gothic in design and is by Charles Edgar Buckeridge. The church is the burial-place of Henry Boswell, " King of the Gypsies", who died in 1760, at the advanced age of 90; the remains of his wife and granddaughter are likewise interred here. The church has been listed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a

listed building since 1968.

Gallery

File:St Katharines Church Ickleford Chancel.jpg, The chancel File:St Katharines Ickleford Nave Down.JPG, Looking down the nave from the east File:St Katharines Ickleford Nave Up.JPG, Looking up the nave from the west File:St Katharines Ickleford Pulpit.JPG, The pulpit dates to 1859 File:St Katharines Ickleford Doorway.JPG, The Romanesque doorway was added in 1859

References

External links

St Katharine's, Ickleford on 'Hertfordshire Churches in Photographs'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of St Katherine, Ickleford

History of Hertfordshire Tourist attractions in Hertfordshire