Hildersham is a pretty little village on the River Granta - which can be crossed here either by bridge or via a deceptively deep ford. Its church has a restrained exterior of flint and pebble, which betrays nothing of its startling interior.
The church itself dates from around 1200, with the nave and aisles showing rebuilding later in the 13th and 14th Centuries. The windows are mostly Decorated, and have lovely tracery, though the heavy Victorian glass and the scraped walls render the interior dark and gloomy. But perhaps this enhances the drama of the rebuilt Victorian chancel and south aisle. This is longer than the nave, and the rebuilding, carried under the supervision of the Goodwin family (who supplied the church with its rectors for almost the whole of the 19th Century), included a stunning, high Victorian decorative scheme.
This was designed by the firm of Clayton & Bell, and apparently carried out by Italian craftsmen. The effect is reminiscent of Burgess at Cardiff Castle: every square inch is frescoed, with biblical scenes, saints, and angels, and patterned with floral motifs. The chancel also holds some impressive brasses, including that of Robert Paris (d.1408) and his wife in an unusual pose, kneeling at the foot of the cross; a skeleton in a shroud dating from 1530; and another of Henry Paris, in impressive armour (c. 1488).
The church was celebrated for its rare wooden effigies from the early 14th Century, of a knight and his lady: sadly these were stolen in 1977. As a result, the chancel is now fitted with alarms.
Holy Trinity is part of the Granta Vale benefice, with services every Sunday around its 7 churches.
Holy Trinity, High Street, Hildersham CB21 6BU
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