Talk:Huntingdonshire Towns and Villages W

Wood Walton

St. Andrew's Church stands isolated in fields north of Wood Walton village and some of the best views of the Church are from the East Coast Main Line Railway
Line. So next time you're on a train from Kings Cross going north and about 7 miles past Huntingdon station look to your right and you will see St. Andrew's
perched on a hill. It is not known for certain whether this is the Church recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086, but it is known, however, that the building
dates from about 1250AD and that it has undergone many extensions and alterations over the centuries.

Externally the Church walls are of coursed rubble with dressings of Barnack stone. Plain tiles cover the roofs of the Nave, Chancel and Porch, whilst the roofs of
South and North Aisles were originally covered with lead. The square Tower has a pyramid slated roof behind embattled parapets, and was once topped with a
cockeral weathervane, a symbol for vigilance. Unfortunately after the Church was declared redundant in 1972 and due to decay and vandalism no stained glass
now remains.

The early Church probably consisted of an aisleless Nave of the same length as present and a Chancel.
About 1250 the South Aisle was added and about 1330 the Chancel was rebuilt and the North Arcade was formed or rebuilt.
The sixty foot high Tower was originally built in the 14th Century and then the North Aisle and the Clerestory were added in the 16th Century.
A Belfry, complete with a peal of four bells dating from the mid 18th Century, occupies the upper part of the Tower and there is a Ringing Chamber about half
way up the Tower.
The Church was restored 1856 to 1859 when the Aisle walls, the Tower and Porch were rebuilt and a Vestry was added. The Vestry was rebuilt in 1897. The
Porch and western end of the South Aisle were rebuilt again in 1906 and then in 1911 the Vestry was altered to form an Organ Chamber.

Due to its isolated location the Church has always been vulnerable to damage and theft. In 1549 an account records that two handbells were stolen. More
serious thefts occurred in June 1956, when under the cover of darkness the lead was stripped from the roof of the South Aisle, and then in December 1964 the
lead from the roof of the North Aisle was stripped, again at night. Unfortunately no one was ever brought to justice for any of the offences.

In the North Aisle the Gothic North Door was the principal focal point when St. Andrew's was used in the early 1980's as a film set for the Hammer House of
Horror film "And the Wall Came Tumbling Down". Gareth Hunt was the male lead for this TV production.

Due to its isolated location the Church remains locked, but the Church is open for occassional services and has Heritage Open Days every September.
At any other time ring 01487 832011 or 01487 773600 to arrange an accompanied visit.
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