The church is Grade I listed and dates from Saxon times.
The 12th century Liber Eliensis (History of Ely) talks of an important Minster being served by a community of monks in the early 800’s. Over the centuries the Church has undergone many alterations and many periods of neglect.
In 1214/15 the Bishop of Ely gave the church, the rectory and consequently much of the land in the village to the Hospital of St John – later becoming St John’s College, Cambridge.
The last major alteration was carried out by the architect Thomas Jeckyll in the 1860’s. The last period of neglect was in the middle of the 20th Century when the churchyard was overgrown with brambles climbing into the Church. Since the late 1970’s the Church has been restored once again and is a “living building” with electricity, toilets and a servery.
Over the years the Church has received grants from English Heritage, the National Churches Trust and Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust to repair the tower, roof and windows. The Friends of Horningsea Church organise regular fund raising events to enable repairs and improvements to be carried out.
In 2014/15 the village celebrated 800 years of association with St John’s College. With the aid of a “Sharing Heritage” Lottery grant the village made a film of the history of the village.
For a visual tour of the church click here.
The parish is linked with the adjoining parishes of Fen Ditton and Teversham, and services alternate between them, with each church having one or two services each month.
The three Churches produce the monthly ‘New Life’ magazine, which costs £5 annually. Please send articles to the Editor on newlife.editor (at) gmail.com
The church is generally open on Sundays and Wednesdays between and 11am and 3pm
Contacts:
Priest-in-Charge:
Revd Nick Moir, Tel: 01223 607433 or E: nick.moir (at) elydiocese.org
Churchwardens:
Jennie Pratt Tel: 01223 86 45 13 or E: japov7 (at) googlemail.com
Lindsay Davies