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The Church of St. Agnes' with its tower (with the
exception of the north aisle built by Robert Oxburgh) was built by Michael de la Pole, 2nd
Earl
of Suffolk and his wife Catherine the daughter of Hugh, Earl of Stafford, he was Lord of the
Manor from 1386
until his death at the Siege of Harfieur, France, in 1415.The first name on the
Rectors list was Henry de Castello 1189, there was a Church here before
that time and
could have been Rectors before him but no records seem to exist on this. We have
a link with the early building in the form of a
Clalice Case probably dates from
about 1330.
The octocentenary in 1989 was celebrated with
a special service.1189 saw the opening of the
Priory of Mountjoy in the
neighbouring village of Haveringland, it is likely that monks from the
Priory
ministered in Cawston. |
Above:- Drawing by Anthony B Butler
1972
from Goose Pie Lane
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The great tower of the Church of St. Agnes' Cawston is 119 feet 6 inches high
and dominates the village skyline.
Many visitors come to see the wonderful
hammer-beam roof,
one of the first in the country.
Carved figures stand on the projecting beams on either
side with cherubs, wings outstretched along the cornices,
and finely-carved bosses. There is also the finely
carved
15 Century Rood Screen as well as
other treasures.
Another feature of the church is the Clock.
It may look small from the ground, but is far bigger than one might
think. The Church bell is also spectacular.
Nearby is the village sign (1937), depicting a
weaver
on his loom in the central centre,
St. Agnes whom our Church is dedicated, a ploughman, the
dual stone and the 'brazen gauntlet' symbol of John of Gaunt (once Lord of the
Royal Manor).
1995:- Maintenance and Repair.
Scaffolding has been in place for much of the year. Roof repair work. Work over
the organ and to the west of it. Much protection of the organ, and care and
cleaning when the plastic covering was removed. Costly (£53,000) met by grants
and local generosity.
Some mould continues, as does
much condensation in the Vestry. South Aisle receives leaks from above in
storms. Several architects have visited the church
during the year for inspection.
Attention has already been given to very high priority safety matters arising
from that inspection. Wood treatment with insecticide against the Death Watch
beetle, has been undertaken by Norman White and David Nunn.
A programme of improvement in furniture layout and general tidying-up continues.
There has been progress towards the installation of a Memorial Book.
Click here for more Photos
of St. Agnes' Church and Old
Rectory
St. Agnes' Church decorated for the Memorial Service
for Lieutenant C.
Cawston late of the 18th Hussars who was killed in the S.African Wars 1900
Note: the box pews, the pulpit in its former position, the oil lamps, the
absence
of colour from the chancel arch from which thick layers of whitewash were
removed in the restoration of 1911-12
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Saint Agnes our Patron Saint - c 291 - c 304 |
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In the year 300 a.d. the Roman
Emperor declared that Christianity was an offence which was punishable by
death. This was the last serious attempt by the Roman government to wipe
out Christians but nevertheless it was a time when many died, and the
faith was all but killed
Agnes was a
young
Roman girl, the daughter of Christian parents.
About
the year 304 Christians were being persecuted,
and
they
were
forced to carry on their worship in a very secret
way.
Though Agnes was only twelve, the Prefect Sempronious
wished
her to marry his son. She refused, where-upon
he had her arrested
and accused
of being a Christian.
Though
she knew that she would be killed for doing
so,
she
admitted that she was a Christian, and was condemned
to
death.
'Remember'
the judge said,
'you are only
a
child,
though
forward
for your age'.
'I may
be a child'
answered
Agnes,
'but
faith
dwells not in years,
but
in the heart.
Her firmness
when
she
was
yet
so
young made her famous throughout Christendom. St. Augustine says of her:
'Blessed is the holy Agnes, whose passion we this day
celebrate; for the maiden was indeed what she was called,
for in Latin
agna
signifies a she-lamb;
and in Greek it means "pure". She was
what
she was called; and she
was
found worthy of her crown.
Her body is thought to lie in the church
of St. Agnes
in Rome, which was build by the Emperor Constantine. Here on her festival
day lambs are blessed, and their wool is later
woven into the vestments called the
'pall' or 'pallium'
-
a sort of scarf
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with which Roman Catholic archbishops
are
invested by the Pope.
She has always been considered the patron saint of young girls. In olden
times there was a tradition that on the Eve of St,
Agnes' Day young girls could obtain a vision of their future husbands. The
story
was used by Keats in his poem, The Eve
of St.
Agnes.
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1189 Henry de Castello |
First on the list of rectors, but there
were probably others before him |
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1277 John de Bergondia |
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1281 John de Fentas
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1283 John de Wykham |
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1298 John de Wytham |
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1316 Henry de Hale
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1349 Adam de
Skakelthorp |
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1371 John de Pyshale |
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1374 John de Lynsted |
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1384 Hugh de Cotyngham |
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1403 Robert Randulf |
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1409 Robert Bolton |
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1429 Michael Entwyshull |
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1435 Simon Alcock |
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1459 Richard Watton |
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1465 William Bagarde |
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1504 William Wyot |
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1525 Christopher Lynham |
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1535 Thomas Marthe |
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1541 Geoffrey Greycock |
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1554 Edmund Neve |
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1557 Thomas Singleman |
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1557 William Neve |
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1560 Robert Gertan |
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1573 Edward Hamond |
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1580 Hugh Robinson |
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1621 Thomas Colby (to
1625) |
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1625-1656 (Commonwealth) |
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1656 Richard Conyers |
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1661 William Durham |
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1663 Edmund Chetham |
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1666 Thomas Holme |
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1667 John Hildyard |
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1703 John Snell |
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1710 Robert Whitefoot |
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1721 Thomas Browne |
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1747 Leonard Addison |
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1772 Richard Baker |
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1818 Augustin Bulwer |
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1832 Augustin Earle Lloyd Bulwer |
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1855 Theodore Henry Marsh |
Fifty year incumbency is the longest
recorded.
Opened school March 6th 1871 |
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1905
Theodore Henry Marsh |
Nephew of the above of same name
Let
Scouts have meeting place |
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1933 Thomas William Bradburne |
Father of John Randal Bradburne cared for
lepers in Africa and poems written by him are
estimated at more then 9000. |
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1946 Edward Francis Welldon Ames |
Author of the book - Notes on
the Church of St. Agnes 1953 |
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1964 Allen Edward Henry Rutter |
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1969 Charles Mayhew |
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1975 Paul Farnham |
Click on photos to enlarge |
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1980 Michael Stallard |
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1991 Michael King |
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Note the spelling of Cawston and Hildeyard,
No e in the name on the list of rectors in Church.
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CAWSTON PHOTOS
Return to Cawston
Manor
Within the tower is a mediaeval bell frame and eight bells,
Six of the eight bells are dated from
1658 to 1753, one having been recast in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's Golden
Jubilee.
This, in spite of a great effort after the First World War when two new bells
were hung dead. The
other two were added in 1925 at a cost of £235.00, and were cast at the
Loughborough Bell Foundry. The smallest bell weighs 5 cwt, the largest 13 cwt,
the bells no longer ring, but only chime.
Bells have been used to call
people to worship in English churches since the eighth century, and are a
tradition at weddings and funerals. In some parishes a “pancake bell" was rung
on Shrove Tuesday, and most of us have heard of the "Curfew Bell" which tolled
“the knell of parting day” and was a signal for people to put their fires, a
necessary precaution at the time when most roofs were thatched.
Bells are made of bell-metal a special alloy of copper tin; they are housed in
the Belfry, and rung by a team in the “Ringing chamber” below.
Windows high in the church tower have louvres instead of glass, so that the
sound of the bells can travel more freely across the countryside.
England's three largest bells are
Great Paul (St. Paul's London, l7.5 tons), Great George (Liverpool l4.5 tons),
and Big Ben (Westminster, l3.5 tons).
The world's largest bell is in
Moscow; it is over 20 feet high, 22 feet in diameter, and weighs 198 tons.
Unfortunately it has never been rung, having been damaged during a great fire at
the Kremlin, and is now a tourist attraction, along with the portion which split
from it during the fire.
From the Parish Magazine October 1990 by John Kett
Plough in Cawston Church given by
Mr Jimmy Payne
Related Link: Guilds
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