YARWELL. CHURCH: ST MARY MAGDALENE

A lovely warm Saturday morning, in mid June 2008. The church of St Mary Magdalene, Yarwell was the first pont of call in what was to be a five church crawl. This church is a lot narrower than it once was. Looking at exterior photographs of this church the South wall (pictured above) and the North wall (pictured below left) both have bricked up arches.

 The reason for this is that in April 1782 there was a very heavy fall of snow. The weight of the snow, plus the weight of new lead on the roof, led to a collapse. Both the North and South Aisles were put out of action. It was decided that the nave and chancel were "more than adequate to contain the inhabitants" so both aisles were removed and their arcades boarded up.

  The church grounds are very well kept, but for those who like to look at old graves this church is liable to be a disappointment. Most of the graves are very badly weathered with most being illegible. One slight exception to this is a very old tomb that stands in front of the north wall of the church. A date of 1633 can just be seen, with the rest of the script being lost to the elements.

  This church is open and welcoming. Lovely to see the multi coloured shadows on the floor with the Summer sun shining through the stained glass window. Highlight of the interior for me was the tomb of Humphrey Bellamy. As a child, Bellamy came to Yarwell ill and destitute, whilst walking to London to find his uncle, who was a rich merchant. He was looked after by the locals, and he vowed oneday to repay their kindness. He became successful, and became Alderman of London. He died in 1715 and was buried at Yarwell. He endowed a local charity to aid the poor of the area. His beautiful tomb can be found on the North side of the chancel, pictured below right. It is thought that the tale of Dick Whittington is based on Bellamy's life.

  Part of this church used to be thatched. In 1804, James French was paid £6 10s for thatching the chancel, which remained thatched until 1892.

  A pleasant half an hour spent here, then it was back on to the cycle and a quick mile and a half dash to neighbouring Wansford.