Chalgrave
All Saints Church

Chalgrave > Churches

In 1220 the Chronicle of Dunstable records the dedication of churches in Studham, Chalgrave and Pulloxhill.  These churches were all rebuilt on the sites of earlier Anglo-Saxon churches.  According to the records, Bishop Hugh of Lincoln dedicated Chalgrave on Holy Cross Day 1220. 

The church was administered by the Priors of Dunstable.  In 1273 the Priors granted a Chantry to Sir Richard Loring.  The church remained in his descendants hands but gradually fell into disrepair and by the mid 1850s was damp and dirty.

In 1889 the top section of the tower crashed through the roof as a result of a severe storm where it remained for some time.  Some restoration took place in the early 1900s but it was not until 1931 that the church was fully restored.  The tower and roof were not rebuilt to their former height due to the costs.

Inside the church there are two table tombs with effigies of Knights.  On the north side the tomb is thought to be of Sir Nigel Loring.  The tomb on the south side is believed to be Sir John Broughton.

In the 1930s a series of medieval wall paintings were rediscovered.

A sepulchre to Enoch Bennett, the father of the novelist Arnold Bennett can be found in the north-east corner of the churchyard.

Sources

• Rouse, Clive - All Saints Church, Chalgrave, Archaeological Journal, Vol. 139, 1982

All Saints Church, by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2007

Page last updated: 23rd January 2014