All Saints' Church, Holdenby

2013-06-26

A church that lost its village

Sir Christopher Hatton, Elizabeth I’s Lord Chancellor, moved the village of Holdenby when he built his mansion; the church now lies remote and isolated beside fields and a pond, beyond the gardens of Holdenby House.

A fine building of local ironstone, it is largely 14th-century but the chancel was rebuilt in 1845 and Sir George Gilbert Scott restored the church in 1867.

Inside, there is much of interest:

• an unusual series of seven painted texts, probably Elizabethan;
• memorials from the 13th-century onwards, including an incised alabaster slab dedicated to William Holdenby (who died in 1490) and his wife;
• chancel stalls;
• an impressive 16th-century screen brought from Holdenby House around 1700.