HUNTINGDON & PETERBOROUGH
The county of Huntingshire no longer exists as a county at the time of writing. Huntingdonshire had been around from Anglo-Saxon times and in 1889 it became an administratrive county but the northern area - the municipal borough of Peterborough became the Soke of Peterborough, an administrative county in Northamptonshire. In 1965 Huntingdonshire merged with the Soke of Peterborough to become the County of Huntingdonshire and Peterborough. Then In 1974 Huntingdonshire and Peterborough merged with Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire becoming a district. In the 1990's there was a Local Government Commission Review where there was some possibility of Huntington regaining its status; however it did not but Peterborough became a unitary authority.
Conington    Marholm   Peterborough Cathedral

Peterborough Cathedral
Park in the nearby, reasonably priced, car park. There is no admission charge but donations are politely requested. Peterborough Cathedral is a cathedral of the 'New Foundation'. Before the Reformation it was a benedictine abbey, ruled by an abbot; the church was refounded as a secular cathedral by Henry VIII, to be ruled by a dean and chapter, and so the mother church of the diocese of Peterborough. Thus before the Reformation we find monuments to abbots but afterward monuments to bishops and deans.

Thomas Deacon (1702); also to his widow Mary (née Havey)(1730) White and gray marble. Signed:  Robert Taylor Snr
Retrochoir
Bishop Richard Cumberland (1718) Signed by Thomas Green of Camberwell
Dean William Ingram Effigy of white marble by H R Ingram (1903)
Above: Stone effigy of either John Chambers, who was the last abbot (1525-39) and first bishop (1541-1556). He clearly knew what was in his best interest during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Or - Abbot R. Kirkham (1528)
Right: Early 17th century monument to the Orme family whose descendents clearly did not wish to restore it.

Above left: Arthur Richard Sculthorpe MBE (1974) General Secretary of the National Deaf-Blind Helpers League 1950-1974. He was himself deaf and blind for the last 35 years of his life
Above right: George Eric Deacon Alcock MBE (2000) Amateur astronomer, naturalist and teacher

Top Left: Haydn Keeton Mus Doc Oxon Cathedral organist 1870-1921
Top Right: The brass refers to the stained glass above being in memory of Henry Twells MA (1900)  Hon Canon and Rector of Waltham-in-the-Wolds, Leicestershire.
Bottom: Medieval cross slab

South Aisles







Left, from top down.:
Three abbots of of Alwalton Marble:
1. Alexander of Holderness (1265)
2. Unknown late 12th to early 13th century
3. Unknown early 13th century
4. Unknown early 13th century
Above and right: Archbishop Magee of York (1891 By J Forsyth

                            
       Joseph Stamford (1683)                     William Parker (1730)              Robert Pemberton (1695)




Far left: Nurse Edith Cavell. (1915) Saved lives of soldiers from both sides during WW I. Helped 200 allied soldiers escape from Belgium for which she was accused of treason by the Germans and shot by firing squad. Her body was returned to England after the war and she was buried in churchyard of Norwich Cathedral. One of several memorials.
Left:
Bishop Mandell Creighton (1901) He was consecrated Bishop of Peterborough 1891 and then Bishop of London 1897. Historian of Papacy and Reformation
Above:
Tablet commemorating the burial of Mary Queen of Scots between the pillars below. Her body was reburied in Westminster Abbey and a fine monument constructed there by her son King James I & VI

North Aisles


Another early 13th century abbot



Catharine of Aragon (1536) First wife of King Henry VIII. In the aisle directly opposite was buried Mary Queen of Scots
 
Bishop Spencer Madan (1813) Mary Pratt (1825) Mother of Prebendary Pratt Rev Canon John Workman AM (1685)  
                
                       Canon Frederick Alderson MA (1902)                                               William Rowles (1834)
                                                                                                                             
and daughter Mrs Ann Wilkinson




Above top:
Dorothea Standish (1689)
Above centre:
Frances Cosin (1642)
Above bottom:
Joseph Parsons MA (1829) and Lætitia (1829)
:




Top:
Louisa Cole (1824) On initial inspection this looks like a memorial to her husband Martin.
Bottom:
Henry Pearson Gates JP (1893) and added below his wife Eleanor Maria. He was fiest mayor and held several lay positions in Cathedral and Dicoese.


Top and above left:
Lewis Clayton DD (1917) Canon of the Cathedral; Suffragan Bishop of Leicester 1903 and Assistant Bishop of Peterborough 1913
Above centre: Dean Dupont (1679)
Above right:
Constance Workman (née May (1681) wife of John Workman; she died in childbirth

Conington - All Saints
Beware! There are two places with the name of Conington, which are only about twenty miles apart. This one is listed as Conington, Peterborough: the other as Conington, Cambridgeshire. Yes, only one n in both! This one has the more interesting monuments: the other has further monuments to the Cotton family as well as an excellent pub, The White Swan.
All Saints is locked and under the care of the  Churches Conservation Trust, who may be contacted on 0845 303 2760 (Monday - Friday 9.00 am - 5.00pm) for the name, telephone number or address of the key holder. This person may not necessarily be near to the church but a short drive away.
O/S Ref: TL 181 859  Park in road outside
Above and right: Effigy of a Franciscan Friar. (c.1300). Purbeck marble; or so writes Pevsner in The Buildings of England: Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterbrough and adds some speculative and subjective comments. However a closer examination of this effigy will show that this information is not strictly correct: it is, in fact, of a knight wearing a Franciscan habit over his armour. Under the hood of the friar's habit can be made out a mail hood (coif) and above this a helmet (bascinet); the now damaged mail of the wrists and gloves can also be made out where they protruded for the sleeves of the habit;  a drawing of 1798 also shows mail feet, although these may have been added for purpose of the illustration. So the armour was commented on at least as early as 1798.
Furthermore the presence of the bascinet would put the date of the effigy not c.1300 but later into the 14th century. From this can be deduced that, as usually stated, working in Purbeck marble for effigies did not cease somewhat suddenly around 1300 but rather continued into the early decade of the 14th century, alongside that of other stones.
The effigy is tentatively identified as that of Bernard de Brus IV who died before 1333 at the age of about twenty-two; this would account for his unusual youthful features. Wearing of a monastic habit  was believed in the Middle Ages to wash away sin and burial in such robes was practiced from the early 13th century. The fact that the effigy is represented in monastic robes may indicate he was a member (tertiary) of the Third Order of St Francis, a secular organization.

The following shown below were constructed about 1600:
Below far left:
King David I of Scotland   See below
Below centre left:
Prince Henry of Scotland   See below
Below cente right:
Thomas Cotton XIII (1519) & Joanne (Paris)
Below far right: Thomas Cotton XV & Lucy (Harvey) And Thomas Cotton XVI & Elizabeth (Shirley)

Below the above:
Left:
Sir Robert Cotton (1631) Antiquary whose large collection of manuscripts is now in the British Library
Centre left: Sir Thomas Cotton (1662)
Both of the above were erected by Sir John Cotton about 1675
Centre right:
Dame Elizabeth Cotton (1702) Second wife of Sir John. Signed Grinling Gibbons 1697) There should be a similar monument to the latter but I failed to photograph it.
Far right:
A series of wall monuments

⁻¹ his is discussed in detail by Claude Blair, with a supplimentary paper by Ron Firman in The Conington Effigy: Fourteenth Century Knights at Conington, Doddington Tollard Royal (Journal of the Church Monuments Society. Volume VI for the year 1991)



Why Does a Scottish King Have a Memorial Here?


     Neither King David nor his son, Prince Henery, were not actually buried here at Conington.

      King David I (c1087-1155) was a son of King Malcolm III and his second wife, St Margaret, Scotland's only native saint. Malcolm was the one who killed Macbeth in battle and the latter's short reigned son 'by treachery', taking the crown of Scotland himself. Do not believe the Shakespearean nonsense: there will be no witches, mad women, moving woods nor men 'not born of woman' here! In 1093 King Malcolm and another of his sons, Edward, were killed during a raid into Northumberland. None of Malcolm's sons became king at this time, rather Malcolm's brother, Donald, became king in alliance with another of Malcolm's sons, Edmund. Donald forced David, who was about nine at the time, and his brothers into exile. 

     The English king, William Rufus, opposed Donald's accessions and sent Duncan, eldest son of Malcolm by his first wife, to Scotland but he was killed within a year. Next Rufus sent Edgar, David's brother, into Scotland and Edgar was crowned in 1097. King Edgar died in 1107 and his, and David's, brother Alexander than became king of Scotland

     After Rufus's death, his brother Henry I seized the crown of England and the latter married David's sister, Matilda. Henry arranged the marriage in 1113 of David to Matilda, Second Countess of Huntingdon, David taking the title of Earl. They produced a son, Henry.

     David became king of Scotland on the death of Alexander in 1124. However, his two elder brother, both of whom had been kings, had sons and the principle of primogeniture was beginning to evolve; these nephews of David did not have the vital support of King Henry. The Scottish nobles thus had the choice between accepting David as king or civil war. And a civil war did break out between Alexander's son Malcolm and David's supporters who triumphed. David was crowned king the same year; however the extent of his rule was minimal,  covering only Cumbria and the southern fringes of Scotland itself.

     In 1127 Matilda died and while David was in England another rebelling of Malcolm occurs which was aided by powerful nobles. This was put down by David's constable with aid from King Henry. David continued to expand his control over Scotland by arms and treaties and by the time King Henry died in 1135 he was master of most of that country.

     David supported Henry's daughter, the Empress Matilda, on the old King's death. However Stephen seized the throne on 1138 and David invaded England and routed the English army and the first Treaty of Durham temporarily ended the hostilities. The Scots army was defeated at the next invasion at the Battle of the Standard. Stephen was not present being occupied fighting in the south. There was now a Second Treaty of Durham negotiated between David and Stephen's wife, yet another Matilda and another niece of David's. David was allowed to keep Carlisle and Cumbria while his son Henry was given the Earldom of Northumbria  and restored to the Earldom of Huntingdonshire.

     A stable situation did not last long and during the 'Anarchy' David strengthen his position in England.

     David's only son Henry died in 1152 and David arranged for Henry's eldest son, Malcolm, to be his heir. David himself died the following year and was buried in Dunfermline Abbey, the burial place of several Scottish kings and their families. However none,  including David, of them have surviving monuments.

     The brass at Dunfermline commemorating Robert Bruce is Victorian, made following the discovery of his skeleton.


 



Top: Henry Williamson (1615) Rector
Bottom: John Norman Heathcote (1946); his sister, Evelyn May (1957)
Hon. Emily Frances Heathcote (Colborne) (1844) Wife of John Moyer Heathcote (see right) Catherine Sophia Heathcote (1840)
Wife of Rev George (see right)
John Moyer Heathcote (1833)
John Heathcote (1838) Rev George Heathcote MA (1895) Rector for 50 years
Honorary Canon of Ely

Also Frances Catherine Rooper (Heathcote) White tablet with gable on black base. The rest of the incised lettering has lost its paint and is now illegible. The name looks repainted


Marholm - St Mary the Virgin
(Soke of Peterborough)
The church is normally locked. If you wish to visit contact the Rector giving details and possible time of visit etc. He will then unlock the church for you or arrange for it to be unlocked, as well as giving parking details. The Rector and churchwardens were very helpful indeed. A very beautiful church and setting; an excellent range of monuments. Good churchyard too.
Very good pub in village nearby - The Fitzwilliam Arms (of course!) - serving excellent food from a wide ranging menu and also excellent cask ales.
O/S Ref: TF146 019



          
Sir William Fitzwilliam (1599) and Ann (Sidney)

 

Left and above: Sir William Fitzwilliam (1534) and his first wife, Anne (Hawes)
 

Above: William, 1st Earl Fitzwilliam (1719) and his wife, Anne Cremor (1717) Signed: Jacob Fisher of Camberwell
 
 


Above and left: Possible Sir John de Wittlebury (1400)The tomb chest was extensively restored in the 19th century. The monument was originally under an arch and the arms surrounded by the Order of the Garter emblem (see directly above) was then on the back wall. Note also the SS collar.


Edward Hunter (or Perry) (1649)
The English inscription commemorates him as a soldier



Top: A pair of Victorian wall brasses to wife and husband, no difficult to read: Alice Louise Wentworth Fitzwilliam (Anson) (1870) and George Wentworth Fitzwilliam (184)
Bottom:
Evelyn Wentworth Fitzwilliam (1925)
Top: Elizabeth Anne The Honorable Lady Hastings (1997)
Bottom:
George Charles Wentworth Fitzwilliam (1935) Husband of lady on the left.

The Churchyard
  
 
'When are we going for lunch, like you promised?' Iron Lid The two inscription plates are on the same table tomb, shown first below; both are to Christopher Hodgson, one 'Sixteen Years Collector of Excise' and the other 'Rector of Marholm' I cannot make out the dates.
Christopher Hodgson (see above) Iron clamps hold a repaired lid? Coffin shaped table top with head stone and small foot stone
A terrace of table tombs. Note the clamp hold fractured parts of lid together Two putti No longer legible


 
 <Home - Index - Page>  <Top of Page>