St James, Spaldwick

There was no church mentioned here at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086, but there seems to have been a basic church of nave and chancel here by the end of the 12th century, of which small parts of that still remain. A south aisle was added around 1250 and the chancel and chancel arch were each rebuilt early in the 14th century.   The west tower is particularly fine and dominates the landscape. This beautiful piece of work was started around the middle of the 14th century and was finished before the end of that century. There apepars to have been a time when the work on the tower was halted and it is thought that this may have been due to the effects of the Black Death that decimated England at that time   A clerastory was added in 1370, at which time the south porch was built. The south chapel was added around 1500, with the south aisle and porch being rebuilt at that time. The church was butressed in the 17th century.   There has been much restoration here over the years, with work being done in 1810, 1815 and 1863. The chancel was restored in 1908 and the tower in 1914. The spire has been restored in 1850, 1873 and 1905.   The west tower is a four stage affair, heavily butressed, with a clock on the east wall and a lozenge shaped window on each of the other three sides. Four grotesques can be seen on the tall, elegant, octagonal spire, with one man with flowing beard. See Peterborough Churchcrawler for further information.

Spaldwick Cambridgeshire