The Church of St. Mary Magdelene’s is set in a calm churchyard. Originally dating from the 13th Century much of the church was built in the 14th Century but it has a 15th Century embattled west tower. Its interior is appreciated for it beautiful, calming green light and features a medieval panal retstored in 1974.
The name Roxton, first recorded in the Domesday Book, where it appears as Rochestone and Rochesdone means rook hill, from the Old English hroc, meaning rook, and dun, a hill.
St. Mary Magdelene’s Church dates back to the 13th Century with the first incumbent recorded as ‘William’ in 1215. The present church of Saint Mary is a largely medieval structure, built of brown cobbles.
The oldest surviving part of the church is the south arcade separating the south aisle from the nave built around 1300. The nave and chancel are also 14th century in date, though a little later. Part of the north wall of the nave may be older than 1300 but this cannot be stated for certain. Clearly there must have been an existing nave for the aisle to be attached to. It was common for early churches to contain simply a chancel and a nave and, sometimes, a west tower and it is quite likely that the aisle was added about 1300 and then the nave and chancel either partially or completely rebuilt, as money allowed, to match the new aisle. No north aisle was ever built.
The west tower dates to the 15th century. The chancel screen, restored in 1974, also dates from the 15th century.
Also belonging to that century are a tomb chest of an unknown woman and another tomb chest, of Roger Hunt, who died in 1438. When the church was restored in 1848 some medieval brasses were lost. The brass of John Fage of Chawston, who died about 1400, was late rediscovered and placed in the wall of the chancel.
Nonconformity was strong in Roxton, in part due, probably, to the influence of the Metcalfe family who owned the Roxton Estate. Charles James Metcalfe built a Congregational Chapel in Roxton in 1808 and enlarged it in 1825 in a wonderfully rustic style. This strength of nonconformity led to a neglect of the parish church which, by 1847, was described as being in "a miserable condition". Between 1848 and 1849 the church was restored byW.G.Habershon at a cost of £1,200; the roofs were repaired, the chancel arch rebuilt, the north porch removed and new pews installed in the body of the church. The church was once again re-seated, and re-floored, in 1887 and the tower, secured by iron bands in 1848, restored in 1890. The east window received stained glass in 1926 and the vestry and organ chamber were added in 1931-1932.
The cache is NOT located within the Church grounds.
“If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first at churchmicro@gmail.com so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication. There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page found via the Bookmark list”