Earliest records of our Church date from the thirteenth Century. The Chancel is from this period; the tower, chancel arches, and the nave of four bays are from the fourteenth Century. The tower was rebuilt or altered in the fifteenth Century and the font dates from the sixteenth Century so we are a mix of different Centuries!
Our Church seats approximately 200 in the nave with additional seating in the choir stalls and we are one of the larger churches in the group. We had major works in 2014/2015 including electrical and improvements on our heating. In 2024 we embarked upon two further refurbishment projects :-
1. To remove the hard render from the exterior of the chancel, vestry and organ loft and replace with breathable material, either render, harling or heavy grouting depending upon the state of the walls after the render has been removed. Also the remove the damaged plaster from the interior of the walls, replaster and re-decorate.
2. To repair the walls and windows of the tower.
We have a regular Communion service at 9.00 am on the second Sunday of each month and an Evensong on the fourth Sunday of each month - this is at 6.00 pm in Summer time and moves to 3.00 pm over the Winter. Like other parishes, we also have special services at different times in the Church calendar. You are welcome to any of our services and we would love to see you.
Coming up at Stetchworth:
Join us for our annual Christmas Tree Festival on Saturday 7th December when choir/s will entertain, there will be a raffle, mulled wine and mince pies will be available and also a jam and cake stall.
All proceeds toward our Church repairs and on going mission and ministry.
Church Works - 2024
WORK AT THE CHURCH - This is progressing. The interior of the chancel and vestry have now been re-plastered. However, on closer inspection of the roof timbers in the chancel, it was apparent that there was some infestation and timber treatment required. We have therefore had to consult with Natural England and have bat inspection. We have now been given permission to have the timber treatment carried out and this will have to be done before the walls are re-decorated. The exterior of the chancel vestry, and organ chamber are currently being worked on. With regard to the tower this is now fully scaffolded and once our Architect was able to inspect the walls more closely from the scaffold it was apparent that the state of the walls, the string courses etc. was worse than had been thought. We are therefore currently awaiting the revised quote for this and hope that we will have sufficient funds to complete the work. We will publish further photographs but it is currently difficult to get a good photo of the newly plastered walls as the scaffolding is still in situ.
We are going to take photographs of the work and journey to completion and will be publishing those here as a slide show.
WORK AT THE CHURCH - This is progressing. The interior of the chancel and vestry have now been re-plastered. However, on closer inspection of the roof timbers in the chancel, it was apparent that there was some infestation and timber treatment required. We have therefore had to consult with Natural England and have bat inspection. We have now been given permission to have the timber treatment carried out and this will have to be done before the walls are re-decorated. The exterior of the chancel vestry, and organ chamber are currently being worked on. With regard to the tower this is now fully scaffolded and once our Architect was able to inspect the walls more closely from the scaffold it was apparent that the state of the walls, the string courses etc. was worse than had been thought. We are therefore currently awaiting the revised quote for this and hope that we will have sufficient funds to complete the work. We will publish further photographs but it is currently difficult to get a good photo of the newly plastered walls as the scaffolding is still in situ.
We are going to take photographs of the work and journey to completion and will be publishing those here as a slide show.
Cambridgeshire Churchyard Conservation Award Scheme: We have just heard that we have been awarded a Bronze award under this scheme.
Unstable gravestones: To comply with Health and Safety Regulations, The PCC has now had the older unstable stones (where no relations are now available to tend to them) repaired and stabilised. Thank you to those families who looked after their own family stones. The PCC carries out an annual check on all gravestones. If you are tending a grave please check it from time to time and ensure that it does not develop a 'wobble'. In the closed churchyard, the Parish Council has had unstable gravestone stabilised and some that had been leaning at an angle have been straightened up.
Adopt-a-grave On the same theme, PCC members wondered whether there is anyone in the village with a bit of spare time who might like to look after some of the older graves that have kerbs around and are no longer tended. The surrounding area can be mown but the area within the kerb has to be strimmed or cut with shears separately
All our Churches rely on donations to support both their upkeep and mission. We are grateful for donations in church or they can be made directly into our bank account:
Parochia Church Council of St. Peter Stetchworth
Sort code: 20 60 38
Account number: 80841595
Some additional village links which might interest you:
- Our village website via this link
- The Parish Council - you can find information about our Parish Council including meeting minutes and contact details
- The Ellesmere Centre
- The Ellesmere Garden Club
- Stetchworth Community Archive
Christmas Tree Festival and BEM Presentation
Thank you to everyone that supported this event - it was amazing to see so many people there to support and honour Lily's achievement - some photos below and more on our gallery pages:
Thank you to everyone that supported this event - it was amazing to see so many people there to support and honour Lily's achievement - some photos below and more on our gallery pages:
