Church of St Mary the Virgin, Widdington (EHER 36900)

Flint and stone rubble church of 12th century origin but very much restored in 1871-72 when the west tower was rebuilt. In the north wall of the chancel there is an early 12th century window and in the south wall there is the surround of a 13th century window with shafts with foliated capitals and much dogtooth ornamentation. The south door is 15th century. The chancel has a late 13th century piscina.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: St Mary's Church (NAT). <1> Flint and stone rubble church of 12th century origin but very much restored in 1871-72 when the west tower was rebuilt. In the north wall of the chancel there is an early 12th century window and in the south wall there is the surround of a 13th century window with shafts with foliated capitals and much dogtooth ornamentation. The south door is 15th century. The chancel has a late 13th century piscina. Graded for its historical value and internal features. <2> <3> 2012. Watching brief. Archaeological monitoring was undertaken on groundworks for the insertion of toilet and kitchen facilities in the church tower and associated drainage across the churchyard. The tile floor of the tower was removed and its whole area (10 sqm) was reduced by about 0.35m. This exposed the top of a substantial brick-sided and heavily-sooted heating duct that curved from a hole low in the north-west corner of the tower (presumed to be fed from an exterior boiler house, since replaced) to a central position as it passed through the arch between the tower and nave. The floor of the duct was slate-lined and it was capped with substantial rectangular slabs of stone. This structure was cut into the same uniform rubble and mortar deposit that was excavated across the floor area above. It is almost certainly part of the 1872 rebuild and restoration of the church. The stepped brick footings of the rebuilt tower walls and archway between tower and nave were also partially exposed. A foundation trench for a new partition wall was cut to a depth of 0.6m from the former floor surface. This exposed a brown silty clay deposit containing pebbles of unestablished date and nature beneath the rubble and mortar deposit. A sewer trench was excavated between the tower and Church Lane, the majority of it running just east of, and parallel to, the path between the Lynch gate and South Porch. The trench was 32m long by 0.3m wide and averaged 0.75m depth. No remains of archaeological significance were identified within the chalky yellow brown clay natural deposit that it cut into. A row of headstones lay some 1.45m further east of its main north-south length, and it appears that its route avoided any graves within this part of the churchyard. Brick, stone/flint and mortar rubble was observed in the trench in the vicinity of the Tower, as were its stepped brick foundations - all associated with the 1872 rebuild. No remains predating the late Victorian period were encountered and no finds retrieved. <4> See also: <5> <6>