Relhan Collection : 253 Madingley church. View from N

Relhan, Richard, 1782-1844

Relhan Collection

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>St Mary Magdalene’s church is drawn by Relhan from the Hall drive where the former village road branches to W. It is the only building to survive of the medieval village that stood W of the High Street, as increasing areas of the village were emparked even before Capability Brown cleared and transformed the landscape in C18. The church has a C13 chancel and early C14 nave, W tower and spire. The nave roof was rebuilt in C15. In C16 Layer described the church as ‘very small and not much to be commended for the decency’. William Dowsing, the iconoclast, visited the church in the mid C17, commanding destruction of 31 pictures in stained glass windows. Porches were built to both aisles in 1640. The chancel was partly demolished by Sir John Hinde Cotton 1770-80 and rebuilt, blocking the E windows with re-sited memorials. It was rebuilt again in reused old materials. In the drawing the chancel has a tiled gable roof and the nave a lead roof visible behind the embattled parapet. Extensive alterations were made in 1872-3 by John Morley<i></i>and Ewan Christian<i>, </i>when<i></i>the nave roof was replaced with a high-pitched, tiled roof, the N aisle rebuilt and embattled, the chancel reroofed and its walls partly rebuilt. Three lancets replaced the E window of 1779 and blocked side windows were reopened. The top stage of the tower and the spire were rebuilt 1926-7, reusing old stonework. The interior contains many memorials to the successive Hinde and Cotton families, eg (<b>254</b>), (<b>256</b>), (<b>257</b>).</p><p>Bell 2013; Bradley and Pevsner 2014; Davis EM pers comm; RCHME 1968; Taylor 1997; VCH 1989 </p></p>