At the beginning of the year, Oriel Williams spoke to the Littlebury History Society during their annual Bound-Beating visit to Strethall Church, on the distinguished and remarkable military exploits of some of the 19th century Lords of the Manor . The Bound Beaters subsequently took their lunch in the garden of 'Lincolns', courtesy of Kelvin and Marie Whitfield whom they rewarded by singing 'In an English Country Garden' - which was a delight.

The circumstances leading to the building of Strethall Church were explored later in the year and an argument was developed which suggested that the year 1010AD was likely to have provided an urgent and uniquely compelling motivation for starting its construction. This argument was accepted by the churchwardens and clergy and arrangements were made to celebrate its millennium in 2010. To this end a small exhibition was devised to mark the continuity of worship there by drawing attention to various artefacts or events whose dates are distributed through each of the ten centuries.

The exhibition was scheduled to open on 9 May 2010 on the occasion of the next visit of the Littlebury History Society and to remain in place until mid-December.

The argument leading to these celebratory events is detailed in the article below.

The Building of Strethall Church

When does a building like a church truly originate? From the date it is decided that stone should speedily be laid on stone? From the date that stone is actually first laid on stone? - or years later - when the building is complete and the Bishop arrives to declare that it is officially open for worship?

In the absence of any stronger evidence, the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments (RCHM) bases its dates on architectural comparisons with buildings about which such other evidence does exist. It dates the nave of Strethall church to 'shortly before the middle of the 11th century' - 1040-ish perhaps. Others point out the great similarity between the chancel arch in Strethall and that in St Bene'ts church in Cambridge which the RCHM dates to 'perhaps the beginning of the second quarter of the 11th century' - 1026 -ish maybe. Exact dates are hard to come by.

In reality, the motivation for building a church - which must have been a major community effort - had to come from the Lord of the Manor. He was the individual with enough local clout to marshal the resources needed and the money to pay for the materials. Godfrey, in a paper on the emergence of the village church in Saxon England, remarks '......the foundation of village churches pure and simple, was dominated by the local lord or landowner'.1 It is therefore helpful to discover what was likely to have informed the mind set of the Lord of the Manor in the first years of the 11th century.

Now it is true that the landowner of Strethall since 1008 AD had been the Abbot of Ely; but while in principle he might have been pleased to see a church arise in the parish it would, in effect, reduce his income. Since the Code of Edgar (959-963) it had been possible to divert a third of ones tithe to a personal church.2 This, together with fees charged for services such as the swearing of oaths or the witnessing of contracts, would tend to benefit the local Lord who built the church rather than the Abbey. A church lent an air of security, probity and gravitas to a settlement - virtues which also contributed to the prestige of the local Lord.

There were also social advantages - keeping up with the Aethelwolds so to speak. In Cambridgeshire Churches it is recounted that, 'Under Edgar the monastic reform movement…..was part of a drive to create an orderly Christian society within a re-organised Anglo-Saxon church……Following the royal lead, laymen became increasingly identified with a particular monastery….This involvement and the large-scale building projects must have acted as an example and spur to smaller landowners to do likewise within their own spheres of influence and become chapel and estate-church builders.'2

All this adds up to a general climate in favour of building local churches, of which any local Lord would have been well aware, in the three or four decades either side of 1000 AD. What was needed in each particular case, however, was some final trigger to get construction started. This is where general argument needs to be augmented by something rather more local and specific. Even in 1066, Strethall apparently comprised no more than 17 households. It must have taken some strong motivation to prompt such a small community to act.

It can be argued that this trigger was provided in 1010 AD by the excellent view that could be had from Strethall of Cambridge being burnt by the marauding Danes under Thurkil the Tall, henchman of King Swein of Norway and Denmark.3 A clear line of sight can be demonstrated from a point about 400 metres east of Strethall Church to the tower of Great St. Marys at the centre of Cambridge (see photo).

Swein had been raiding East Anglia yearly for the past decade and it was his practice to convert his subjects to Christianity - forcibly if necessary. A prudent Lord of the Manor would have found this a powerful motivation to build a little stone chapel on his land to demonstrate his enthusiasm for Christianity before Swein's men arrived and forced him to do so. This was no distant prospect. By the end of 1013 AD, King Aethelred had fled to France and Swein was acknowledged as King in East Anglia.

Although some thirty years earlier than the date given by the RCHM on architectural grounds, there is thus reason to suggest that the year 1010 AD witnessed the true fons et origo of Strethall Church and 2010 could therefore be a millennium worthy of special celebration. Admittedly, it cannot be proved - but it can certainly be argued that in no other year was there a stronger and more urgent motivation to start its immediate construction.

David Melford, Strethall Local History Recorder