St Matthew's, Eye

There was a church in Eye long before the present structure was built, the foundations of todays church being laid in May 1846. There was a place of worship consecrated here in 1543. It is thought though that it was only consecrated at that time so that the local inhabitants had the right of burial there. It is thought that the structure itself might date from 200 years earlier. It was known locally as the 'chapel of Eye'. Nothing remains of it today, with it being destroyed by fire in 1846. The present church was designed by George Basevi and it took eleven months to complete, with the work starting in May 1846. Basevi was a noted architect, and he did not live to see his work completed. In fact, Basevi did not even live to see the first stones laid as he was killed in an accident at Ely Cathedral in 1845 after he fell through an opening in the bell chamber whilst inspecting ongoing work. The spire was added some 10 years later and was visible from far away due to the flat nature of the surrounding landscape. The spire was 125 feet tall and had a clock and two bells. One of the two bells was cast in 1712 by noted Peterborough bellfounder Henry Penn. The second was by John Warner and Sons of London and is dated 1865. The spire did not last all that long sadly and a storm in 1895 damaged the spire and the roof. In the 1950's some serious defects were found in the spire and despite being fixed the spire was taken down in the early 1980's after large cracks were found running through it. See Peterborough Churchcrawler for further information.

Eye Cambridgeshire

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