Covington
All Saints Church Covington
Formerly dedicated to St Margaret
High on the Kym Valley, Covington church enjoys a view that is the envy of our Benefices.
The Church Wardens are Kathy Henson and Peter Sewell and the church is open for visitors.
As a small, but welcoming, village, we enjoy bonfire night, village quizzes, carols and harvest, and we have a great team who ring our bells.
The village has its own website, which you can find here.
Using Google Maps you can find us here and you will enjoy a warm welcome at our worship. For parking, you can park either outside the Village Hall, with overflow into the field behind the Village Hall.
A Guide to the history, architecture and people of our Parish Church.
The earliest features in the church building date it to 1120, establishing continuous Christian worship on this site for nearly 900 years. However, it is extremely probable that an earlier structure existed in this prominent location – the highest point in Cambridgeshire is only a few metres into the field behind. Over the centuries, the building has been repaired, modified and enhanced many times, recording its central role in the life of this village. At times, there were other places of worship: In the early 1800s, permission was given for Non-Conformist Meetings to be held in private houses; in the first half of the 20** century, there was a Congregational Mission Hall in the village (a subsidiary of that in Upper Dean).
Although the information in this leaflet is mostly specific to our church, there are occasional glimpses of the effect of national events and policies: In 1662, William Turner, the then Rector, signed the Oath of Non-Resistance following the Restoration of the Monarchy after the Civil War; the original tower/spire/steeple was destroyed in the well documented Great Storm of November 1703; insurance was taken out in 1916 against zeppelin attacks following a local incident. The Parish Accounts show interesting trends in spending: During Thomas Fairy’s tenure as Churchwarden, bellingers were paid 4/- annually, however, after 1863, there were no payments to bellringers but expenditure on communion wine increased considerably! The condition of the church path, fencing, organ, heating and bell-ropes has been a continual source of anxiety over the last two centuries.
Particular Rectors stand out for their personality and contribution to the village: Cornelius Binns was one of the first’gentry’ rectors to live here; Robert Watson appears to have been a hands-on philanthropist; Robert Fairhurst must have given the most marvellous sermons judging by his PCC minute-taking!
Timeline
c1120
Nave dates from this period. Chancel slightly later and was almost immediately rebuilt.
1120-30
Tympanum added to north wall.
1225
Fulk de Bayeux held the advowson.
1280-1300
Current chancel dates from now, but there may have been an older one dating from 1120 with a rebuild in 1160.
Early 14th century
Chapel added to south side. Tower built. Chancel rebuilt. Purbeck coffin lid (now in the chancel) dates from this period.
1352
William Rufford (itinerant founder from London) cast the first bell.
William Dawe cast a second bell.
1418
Third bell cast by John Walgrave.
Early 16th century
Original 1330 tower rebuilt.
1536
Living valued at £10 1s 8d.
July 16 1662
William Turner (Rector) signed Oath of Non Resistance, probably at Buckden Palace – to re-establish the loyalty of the clergy to the Crown at the Restoration.
1670
Bell cage constructed by John Landell.
May 1674
The Reverend Bartholomew Mountford was deprived of the living for misconduct.
1698
Rector Sam Taylor lived in Kimbolton because rectory house was ruinous.
October 13 1704
Samuel Taylor, Rector, confirmed that the church steeple had been sufficiently repaired following serious damage in the Great Storm of 1703.
May 16 1709
Terrier states that the Rector was due eggs, milk, pigs, calves, lambs wool, pigeons and that the church contained three bells, fair large bible of the Oxford edition, a new common prayer book, a book of homilies, a book of canons, one surplice, a fair linen cloth with a cross, canvas covering for the Communion Table and a small silver cup of 8 or 10oz weight with the name of the parish engraved upon it.
August 27 1715
A Decree of Excommunication was ordered in the case of Sarah Cuthbert, but it does not appear that this was carried out.
1717
Bishop’s visitation – communions held 3 or 2 a year.
1720
Visitation – They will not come often. Living valued at £79 19s 7d.
October 1799
John Simpson left €3 p.a. to the Minister and Churchwardens to be distributed to the hardworking poor not receiving collection at St.
Thomas’s.
April 28 1800
Reverend Sir,
The Chancel has been new roofed two casements fixed in the church.
Furniture of the church: A Bible and two prayer books, surplice, tablecloth and napkin, pulpet cloth and cushen, tankerd, plate. I am Sir, your most humble servant, Thos Barber Churchwarden.
1801
Tithes commuted for 196 acres of land.
1820s
Two bells from Stow Longa hung at Covington.
1841
Tenor bell recast by Thomas Mears of Whitechapel. It is inscribed with Thomas Fairy Churchwarden 1841.
1849
New Rectory built on glebe land for the Revd. Cornelius Binns.
1851
Kelly’s Directory – …the church is very much out of repair.
1855
A Berlin black fluted stove was installed in the vestry to provide hot air through the vents in the aisle.
1861
Discovery of Dunham coffins.
1868
The Revd. Watson started his campaign for a proper school for Covington children.
1881-3
Substantial alterations to the church were carried out. These included the addition of the vestry, organ chamber and porch, the building of the buttresses, repair of the medieval pews and provision of extra seating. The font and purbeck coffin (lid?) were relocated. Church reopened May 24 1883.
1885
Church starts paying insurance for the first time.
1915
Discussion about replacing the existing organ with a new American organ. This evidently did not happen as the present organ is a cut down Victorian house organ.
1916
Insurance taken out against war risks (zeppelin attacks).
March 12 1919
Parish sword retrieved from the Rectory and placed in church chest.
Summer 1919
A day of festivities to celebrate Peace included at 2pm Divine Service at the Parish Church conducted by The Rev. Powley.
1920
First payment of Diocesan quota.
1921
First record of Sale of Harvest Festival Gifts – raised £5-17s-6d.
1927
Old organ sold for £1-15s-0d. New, second-hand, organ purchased for £35.
1940
Oak cross and candlesticks bought.
1941
War damage insurance – 4/6d p.a.
1946
Slabs bought for the paths to finally replace previous cinder, gravel and chipping coverings.
1949
Electricity installed. Shades for lamps bought.
1960
It was decided that the dedication was All Saints and that the dedication to St. Margaret was probably based upon the day of consecration. However, Covington Feast is held on or close to St.
Margaret’s Day.
1963
First mention of Parish Magazine.
December 18 1964
New communion rails and lace for an altar cloth were provided as a memorial to Mrs. Carew Barnett.
In the last twenty years the chancel has been reroofed. All walls have been repointed. The inside of the church has been repainted. Some nave floors have been replaced. The tower has been strengthened with locally produced ties. The circular east window has been reglazed with glass coloured to represent the importance of farming to the village. In 2012, the dedication on the purbeck coffin lid was rediscovered as being to Richard de Bayeaux. The bells have been rehung on a new, lower, frame and a fourth bell added.
Outside
The churchyard is very old, and full! A survey of memorials was carried out recently, but there is sadly no burial plan in existence.
Dunham coffins (see over): We think the flat stone reads In memory of David Dix Dunham who died May 20th 1861 aged 85 years Also of Sarah, wife of above, who died November 30 1837 aged 50 years Also Sarah, daughter of the above who died June 1843 aged 27 years William Pape Dunham who died Sept 20*h 18XX aged 59 years And of Lucy his wife who died April 20th 1905 aged 55 years Nearby is a memorial to Sarah Lucy Pape, daughter of William and Lucy Dunham.
The bench on the south side of the church commemorates the life of Augusta Marian Reeder who died while she and her husband, the Revd. W. C. Reeder, lodged with the Revd. R. Fairhurst at the Rectory. He was a curate at Cottisford when young Flora Timms (later Thompson) was unaware that that village would become ‘Larkrise’ -as in ‘Larkrise to Candleford’. Marian died in 1933 but her grave is unknown. Charles Reeder left the parish and PCC Minutes record that he ‘had always been most ready to lend a hand during any holiday or emergency.
The churchyard paths have remained unchanged for centuries, except for the constant battle with surface maintenance! In addition to regular cleaning, in 1892, £2-5-3d was spent on granite chippings. In 1922 £2-16-2d worth of slag was purchased for the paths. In 1932, the paths were tarred and gravelled at a cost of £2-9-0d. Finally, in 1946, slabs costing £57-9-2d were bought and cleaning the church and laying the paths as we know them cost an additional £90-19-6d.
From the Registers…
Baptism, marriage and burial registers survive from 1604, although with some gaps. They give a fascinating insight into the social history of the village. Gentry have the prefix Mr., Mrs or Miss. or the name is followed by ‘gent’, for example, on 28th April 1727, Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. John and Mrs. Mary Simpson, was baptised. Occupations are often given, which is particularly useful prior to the introduction of the Census. In addition to ‘husbandman’, ‘yeoman’ and ‘ag.lab’, there are farmers, shoemakers, shepherds, servants, butchers, lacemakers, thatcher, an ale drawer and publican.
There appear to have been quite a few sets of twins in Covington over the years – between 1793 and 1801, Luke and Elizabeth Rawlins baptised two sons, a daughter and two sets of twin boys!
Illegitimate births are noted in the Register of Baptisms, in earlier times with the word ‘base’.
Not surprisingly, many marriages took place where both parties were ‘of this parish’. In the early 1800s, entries often record ‘with the consent of parents’. Perhaps this was a nicety or perhaps it reflected the young age of one or both parties.
The burial register gives an indication of state i.e. widow, single man/woman, youth. In 1700, Elizabeth Bonner was buried, ‘a poor woman maintained by her son’ and, in 1701, Hugh Robinson ‘a poor man maintained by the parish’ was buried. The first quarters of the 18th and 19th centuries appear to have been bad times for the village, with many burial entries listing infants or poor people. In 1733, an ‘unknown male, believed to be an Irishman’ was buried! 1783 sees two burials ‘by the parish’.
PATRONS, CLERICS AND PARISHIONERS
JOHN OF GAUNT
John of Gaunt held the advowson for Covington during the minority of King Richard II and so was the patron of Edmund Nicol de Covington Installed as Rector here in 1381. For much of the early medieval period, the manor of Covington was presented by the Crown to the Earldom of Cornwall, along with other Huntingdonshire manors. Edmund, the Black Prince, was the last Earl of Cornwall but after his death and the death of his widow, the earldom reverted to the Crown. John of Gaunt was ‘regent’ for the young Richard Il and this is how he appears on the list of patrons.
BARTHOLOMEW MOUNTFORD
Bartholomew Mountford was installed as Rector in 1664. Ten years later, he was deprived of the living after a series of complaints about his conduct resulted in a citation against him being “affixed to the outward door of the parsonage house of Covington”. The depositions against him included several instances of being drunk and of being elsewhere when he should have been taking services and even being suspected of attempting to take part in bull baiting in a Northamptonshire village.
“He has missed many Sundays, not reading divine scripture, preaching or administering the holy communion – ot least 6 times”, “He is living in Brampton although he should be living in Covington”.
MARY COOPER/CLARK
In 1726, Mary had to perform a penance in the church, as follows:
“The said Mary Cooper also Clark shall be present in the church aforesaid the day and year above and at morning prayers and attend the whole service and standing in some open place near the reading desk upon a matt or base so that she may be seen by the whole congregation covered with a white sheet from the shoulders to the floor with a white wand in her hand between the first and second service shall make this acknowledgement following in an humble penitent and submissive manner ….”
CORNELIUS ALPHONSUS BINNS
The Rev. Binns was Rector of Covington from 1838-1865. He was born in Malton, Yorkshire, and was appointed to Covington by Earl Fitzwilliam. In 1817, Binns set sail across the Atlantic, from Liverpool, to visit his uncle on Prince Edward Island.
Unfortunately, his ship was wrecked and he was forced to live Robinson Crusoe style for some days.
Before arriving in Covington, Binns lived at the Rectory at Keyston while a brand new house was built for him on glebe and across the road from the existing Rectory. Previously, rectors of Covington lived in a house on land currently occupied by ‘Yesterfield’. In 1698, Rector Sam Taylor was permitted to live in Kimbolton because the ‘rectory house was ruinous’! There is a Terrier of 1709 which clearly describes the old rectory house: ‘consists of four bays of building of stud walls, two of low rooms floored with clay and two with broad stone…’
Binns died on Good Friday, 1865, and his gravestone, along with that of his wife and daughter, can be seen in the vestry floor. (It was of course outside the church until the vestry was built by his successor in 1882.) He was not a poor man, his Will being valued at £3,000!
ROBERT LANCASTER WATSON
The Rev. Watson was Rector of Covington from 1865-1892. He was born in Yorkshire and was appointed to Covington by Hon. G. W. Fitzwilliam after retiring, at a young age, as Headmaster of Kimbolton School. As soon as he arrived in the village, he began an eleven year campaign for the building of a school, which he finally achieved in 1876, raising some £300 towards building costs and persuading the Duke of Manchester to provide the land. Watson was Chairman of the School Board and actually visited the children in school only a few days before his death. He, along with his wife, daughter and son, were frequent visitors to the school, even taking lessons such as singing. The children were given the afternoon off to attend his funeral on 10″ March 1892.
It was during Watson’s ministry but possibly the largest alteration and renovation program in the church since the Middle Ages took place. Between 1881-3, the church was closed to allow for the rebuilding of the chancel walls, completion of new porch, vestry and organ chamber, alterations to heating, re-roofing, and repair and provision of new seating. Watson was responsible for raising the required funds, even going so far as to write to the Archbishop of Canterbury asking for his assistance in extracting what turned out to be a measly loan of £15 from the Incorporated Church Building Society. A plaque stipulating the terms of this loan can be seen in the vestry. One year later, the ICBS asked for repayment, but Watson said this would have to wait until the architect had been paid. The school children were given a whole days holiday for the reopening of the church on 24th of May, 1883.
MAJOR CAREW BARNETT
Major Carew Barnett was a career soldier in the Indian Army and retired to live at The Old Hall in 1909, aged 43, after service in Burma and China. While Chairman of the Parish Council, he re-enlisted in 1914. In August 1915, Major Barnett and his battalion were on their way to the Front Line and were billeted in St Martins Cathedral, Ypres. The building was heavily shelled and many men were buried under the masonry. Major Barnett, with others, tried to rescue them, but was fatally injured by the explosion of a shell. Twenty one soldiers were killed in this incident and all, including Major Barnett, are buried in separate graves in Ypres Reservoir Cemetery.
