St Mary's Church, Haddenham

St Mary's Church

St Mary's Church, Haddenham
51°45′57″N 0°55′36″W / 51.76583°N 0.92667°W / 51.76583; -0.92667Coordinates: 51°45′57″N 0°55′36″W / 51.76583°N 0.92667°W / 51.76583; -0.92667
Country England
Denomination Church of England
Previous denomination Roman Catholic
Website St Mary's, Haddenham
Architecture
Heritage designation Grade I
Designated 21 December 1967
Administration
Parish Haddenham with Cuddington, Kingsey and Aston Sandford
Deanery Aylesbury
Archdeaconry Buckingham
Diocese Oxford
Province Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s) Margot Hodson
Curate(s) Ian Herbert, Trish Mander

St Mary's Church is the Church of England parish church of Haddenham, Buckinghamshire.[1][2] It is a Grade I listed building.[3]

Church and Duck pond

History

Parts of the church are 12th century Norman, from when the Benedictine abbey of Rochester, Kent held the parish. The first priest was called just Gilbert.

Other parts of the building may be from the original Saxon church, including the font, which has a drawing of a dragon imprinted on it. The tower is Early English Gothic and according to experts, it is the finest demonstration of Early English in the county.

In 2008 the church had major refurbishments, as part of the Millennium 2 project. A new vestry, creche and kitchen were built and the roof was repaired, along with other additions and fixings.

Organ

A pipe organ built by Norman and Beard of Norwich was installed in 1967. The organ had been built in 1916 for a church in London, which was then bombed in the Second World War. In 2007 this was replaced because it's restoration was cost more than a new instrument so a new electric organ was put in the church as part of the parish's Millenium 2 project.[4]

Organ Specifications

The full organ specifications are as follows:

Great Organ
Fifteenth
Couplers
Swell Organ
Pistons
Set & Cancel Pistons
Audio
Pedal Organ
Features
The interior of the Church before the renovations

Famous relations

The astronomer William Rutter Dawes is buried in the churchyard. He did much of his work with the stars in his private observatory in Haddenham. Craters in the Moon and on Mars are named after him, along with a gap in Saturn's ring. Also Sir Denis Arthur also buried in the same place. Very interested in telescopes and microscopes, the Dawes limit is named after him as well. Many episodes of the murder mystery television series Midsomer Murders were filmed in Haddenham, with the church being a major part of the productions.

References

  1. ↑ Archbishops' Council. "Haddenham: St Mary the Virgin, Haddenham". A Church Near You. Church of England.
  2. ↑ "St. Mary's, Haddenham". 2010.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Parish Church of St Mary  (Grade I) (1118285)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Eminent Organs Cathedral Organs. "Eminent from Cathedral Organs – Fine real-time digital computer organs – Musical Artistry". cathedralorgans.com.

Further reading


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