ORTON LONGUEVILLE. CHURCH : HOLY TRINITY
Orton Longueville can be found a couple of miles West of Peterborough, just off of the A605. Much of the village is modern, but Holy Trinity church is to be found in the old part of the village, the church being surrounded by some lovely old cottages. It is a quiet, peaceful place, remarkable really considering how close it is to the hustle and bustle of Peterborough.
This church is unusual in that it has a sunken wall , designed to stop animals wandering in to the churchyard, whilst maintaining the view of the churchyard, that a normal wall would interfere with.
It is said that some of this church was built with materials salvaged from the nearby Botolphs Bridge church, which was in ruins in the early 1720's. It is suggested that the porch, which is dated 1675, on Holy Trinity came from this ruined church.
Inside the church, the highlight for me, on a very short and impromptu guided tour by some friendly locals after a Sunday service, was a stone figure, with hands raised in prayer. This is suggested to date from the late 13th Century, and is said to be an effigy of John De Longueville, founder and patron of this present church, who was killed in the crusades. A photograph of this effigy, with shield at side, is pictured below right.
In the corner of the Nave, on the South side, is an alter. This contains a stone from the old ruined Botolph Bridge church. The West tower was built in about 1300, with one of the bells having the stamp of John Walgrave, which dates it between 1420 and 1440.
Some nice stained glass to be found in this church, mostly Victorian. However, one of the windows in the North Aisle has some fragments of Medieval stained glass re-set in to it.
Holy Trinity has a painting of St Christopher on the north wall. This is 500 years old, and is currently surrounded by a protective wooden case. Also on the north wall is a mounted Funeral Helmet dated around 1610.
The church grounds here are always very well maintained. Some high quality carvings to be seen here. Some very talented stonemasons in this locality in the 18th Century. Sadly, a lot of these are very badly weathered but a couple of the better preserved examples are pictured below.
The photographs of the Chantery figuretop above, the Nativity Stained Glass window above left, and the photograph of St Christopher below that, are all kindly supplied by Chris Stafford. Sincere thanks to Chris for these.
Chris is a good friend of this site, and he is also responsible for producing A Short History And Guide of Holy Trinity Church Orton Longueville, which is well worth getting hold of if you get the chance.
