St Cyr’s
Church, Stonehouse
You have found Saint Cyr’s church, so hidden by trees and a new
development. You may well ask why here, tucked away from the rest
of Stonehouse?
The reason would seem to lie in the proximity of Stonehouse Court,
which is an ancient site; the very name would suggest a house built
of stone, something to be remarked upon centuries ago and at the
time of the Doomsday Survey. It does seem likely that the church
would be quite close to the manor house, for most of the
inhabitants would have lived here too.
THE CHURCH
There are clues as to the existence of a church on this site. The
advowson was vested in the Abbey and Nunnery at Elstow near
Bedford; William De Ow, at Stonehouse Manor in the Doomsday record,
numbered among his “cousins” not only William the Conqueror, but
one, Judith, who founded the Elstow abbey in 1078, so it is
reasonable to assume that De Ow offered the advowson of Stonehouse
to his cousin to help benefit her abbey. The earliest recorded
vicar is Sir Geoffrey here in 1225, 'sir' being the equivalent of
Reverend, not a title. We do not know what his church looked like,
but some say that there was a Norman style church. The church
tower, as it stands today, was built during the fourteenth century
so the church must have had a rebuilding then.
At the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, Elstow
Abbey, in common with many others, passed to the crown and all the
privileges attached; this included the advowson of St. Cyr’s and it
remains a Crown Living to this day.
Since 1855 the two side chapels have been added (formerly, the
organ area and Vicar's vestry) and the present Vicar’s vestry
attached later on.
The original Parish Chest is still there, but all the registers,
dating from 1558, are in the permanent care of the County Records
Office.
THE CHURCHYARD
For centuries, interments would have been on the south in
accordance with custom, but this seems to have changed during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In 1908, a new extension was
given, on the opposite side of Church Lane, which by 1960, or so,
was full. The P.C.C. had asked the Parish Council to consider
providing a cemetery in 1940, but none was forthcoming. However, in
1981, another area, the gift of Mrs Winterbotham was consecrated
and even more ground dedicated in 1997.
There is a great variety of fine seventeenth and eighteenth century
tombstones around the church, a number of which were inside the old
church and which were removed at the time of rebuilding, so their
position does not necessarily bear any relation to the resting
place of those commemorated.
The tomb with a tale, is that of a girl, who reputedly had a
beautiful head of hair; one day as she brushed it went into a
tangle, and in her exasperation she said “Oh, the devil take it”
and promptly dropped dead. There is a little model, now weathered,
atop the tomb, a tale often quoted by desperate parents!
If any body
would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask
that you could let Sadexploration know first so he can keep track
of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication
There is now a Church Micro statistics page which can
beviewed via the bookmark list
Congratulations to Glodzob for
FTF!