The story of St Rumblad, after who the church at Stoke Doyle is dedicated, is a fascinating one. He was a child of the royal family of the Midland kingdom of Mercia, a grandson of King Penda and son of a Christian mother and pagan father, from Northumbria. He is said to have been born at King's Sutton near Banbury. His legend has it that he died aged just three days, but that in that time he said several times "I am a Christian", expressed his faith in the Holy Trinity, asked for Baptism and Holy Communion, preached on the Holy Trinity and the need for a virtuous life and quoted scripture.
St Rumbald's church stands pretty much on its own at the East end of the village. It was erected in the years 1722 to 1725, on the site of an earlier church, the original structure thought to date from the mid 13th Century. This earlier building was much larger than todays structure, but was in a very poor state of repair. In a petition to the Bishop, it was said that the old building was so dilapidated that any cost of repair would have been too heavy a burden on the parish. The place was in such disrepair that the spire was in danger of falling. It was also pointed out that the existing church was just too big for a village as small as Stoke Doyle.
The original church was pulled down in the Spring of 1722, with the first stone of the present St Rumbalds being laid that May. The church was opened in March 1725. The original church bells were re-cast by Thomas Eayre of Kettering in the Winter of 1727, and these were re-hung in the Summer of 1728, at roughly the same time that the one handed clock was installed on to the west tower. Since that time the structure has altered little.
“If anybody 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 also a Church Micro Stats page found via the Bookmark list”