This peaceful country church can lay claim to a historic link with the scholar and theologian John Wycliffe, who became its Rector in 1361.
The first mention of a church in Fillingham is in the Domesday Book in 1086, but the current church dates back to 1180 in parts, although a lot of it is from the 13th century and it has been heavily rebuilt and refurbished since then, with the current bell tower being added around 1770 and the church restored in 1866. The church walls are made out of limestone rubble and the sloping roof is made of slate.
The oldest part of the church is its Norman doorway. Fillingham's church is beautifully set amid fields with a lake beside it and Fillingham Castle on the ridge above it. It is historically famous for having John Wycliffe, the 'Morning Star' of the Reformation, as its rector in 1361. John Wycliffe worked on and inspired the translation of the Bible with the order of the poor preachers to take the truth of the Bible to people in politics. He was educated in Oxford colleges Queen's, Merton and Balliol. He was appointed master of Balliol in 1360 and resigned in 1361 to become vicar of Fillingham, then the college's choicest living as a church post.
Wycliffe was a famous theologian, philosopher, church reformer and promoter of the first complete translation of the Bible into English. He was one of the forerunners of the Protestant reformation. He was vicar of Fillingham until 1368 when he moved to Ludgershall and died in December 1384.
You are looking for a small cache in a black bag