St Mary the Virgin, Sundon.

St. Mary's Church, Sundon, is your Parish Church. It's been here for over seven hundred years as a place of Catholic worship according to the rites and ceremonies of The Church of England.

It is a welcoming parish, with traditional styles of worship and music. It is a place of sanctuary and devotion, where peoples' consciences are respected and the sacraments are celebrated by a male priest in the Apostolic succession. Beauty and holiness characterise our worship.

Here is the faith of the Church of England, based on the four cornerstones of the Witness of Holy Scripture, the Creeds of the Undivided Church, the Sacraments given by our Lord and the Threefold Ministry of the Church from Apostolic Times.

A BRIEF CHURCH HISTORY

EARLY TIMES

The very earliest churches were built on the pattern of a Roman villa; which was in the shape of a cross, with the Bishop, Deacon and elders, seated across a top table and the congregation on either side of a table below them.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe architects were asked to design church buildings, so not surprisingly they turned to a medieval king's palace as a pattern, symbolizing God, the king, in the sanctuary, holding audience with His subjects, the congregation, in the courtyard outside, where the only seats were against the walls for the sick and infirm. On the top of the Screen which separated the king in his sanctuary from the people in the rest of the building, were usually placed a cross, known as a Rood, with statue of the Virgin Mary and St. John on either side. As most of the congregation were illiterate, wall paintings, statues and later stained glass windows were used as visual aids, to illustrate the Bible stories, festivals and seasons of the Church's year. The church was built facing east towards Jerusalem and to give the maximum light for the early morning monastic services.

After the Reformation services were said in English, (therefore the congregation could now understand what was going on!) And the Word, (the Bible) became important; so elevated pulpits and long sermons interpreting its meaning came into being. Pews also came into use perhaps due to the length of sermons, at about this time and the congregation began to participate in the service with the accompaniment and singing of Psalms and Hymns.

With the passage of time, the old idea that the only way to reach God was through the Church, gave way to individual salvation through Jesus Christ and the age of Order and Reason dawned. New churches, typified by St. Paul's Cathedral were built to give a feeling of peace and order. Modern churches are now often built, as Christ the Corner Stone at Milton Keynes, with the emphasis on the family of Christians, around a central Altar.

SERVICES & SYMBOLS

The services were originally held in Latin and the congregation did not participate, so a bell was rung at the Elevation to gain their attention and tell the outside world what was happening.

The service was, and still is, in three parts. Firstly, the King comes to His people, who give Him praise and recite their oath of allegiance, the Creed. Secondly, the people come to the King, the Communion. Thirdly, the people depart with gratitude and the King's blessing.

Robes, or Vestments, are worn by the Priest to make him invisible as a person. The white hooded Alb is based on the everyday dress of a Roman citizen, with a waist cord and the stole is a waiter's cloth signifying service. The different coloured Chasubles and altar cloths are visual aids to the Church's seasons, e.g.

Purple ‑ Advent

Christmas ‑ White

Gold ‑ Easter

Purple or unbleached ‑ Lent

Red ‑ Whitsun

Green ‑ other times.

The Cope is a 'best dress' for special occasions.

Almost all of the names for different parts of the church building originate from Latin or French. The Nave means a ship and refers to Noah's Ark, so the church is a place of safety amid life's storms. The pillars supporting the roof are sometimes considered to be tree symbols. Strictly speaking the Aisles were the outer parts of the church, though they have now come to mean the gangways. Where a church is not dedicated to Mary, the first or principle chapel in it is usually called the Lady Chapel. The Chancel comes from a Latin word meaning a grill, so is therefore the area beyond the grill. The sanctuary means the Holy place, (nothing to do with escaping criminals). The Font comes from the word 'fountain' and the Pulpit means a desk. The lectern is from the Latin 'to read' and the Credence table from 'believe or trust'.

The journey through life can be traced from the Church door, beginning with Baptism at the Font, proceeding to Confirmation at the Screen, then Communion at the Altar, and ending with the coffin standing at the Screen. Weddings take place at the Screen and the couples first journey together is made to the Altar Rail.

Many abbeys, monasteries and the richer churches and chapels used to provide special gardens called Gardini Sacristi, usually in the care of a sacristan. Henry V1 left money and land to Eton College for this purpose. Their use was to supply foliage and flowers with which to decorate the church, or make floral wreaths for the use of the clergy on feast days or simply to provide flowers to lay on graves at anniversaries. Unfortunately, after the

Reformation, church decoration became illegal and these gardens fell into disuse or were absorbed into the church yards.

A churchyard garden should include plants such as box and willow palm for Palm Sunday, woodruff for Corpus Christi, roses for St. Martin's Day, birch for Midsummer's day and holly and ivy for Christmas time.

St Mary's

The church building is mainly of thirteenth and fourteenth century construction; though Sundon village was already well established by 1086, with a weekly market. There is evidence that the Black Death reached Streatley, but no historical record of it reaching Sundon, though there were three Vicars during the period; possibly a coincidence. Legend has it that victims were buried in a separate triangular part of the churchyard and the village moved up the hill, leaving the church rather isolated.

For students of architecture, St. Mary's is nearly all 'Decorated', a historical division of English Gothic architecture covering the period from circa 1290 to circa 1350. One curious exception is the M aisle E window, which is a generation earlier (geometrical tracery) and much more delicate mouldings. The tower doorway, chequered pattern tower top, higher stair turret and chancel east window are Perpendicular, circa 1335‑50 to circa 1530.

Originally St. Mary's came under the care of Markyate Priory, but with the Dissolution of the monasteries in 1566 by Henry V111, it became part of the very large existing diocese of Ely, by the eighteenth century Lincoln and finally St. Albans. Repairs to the fabric, as they still do, needed constant attention. At the visitations of 1518 and 1530, Sundon and its deteriorating parsonage house are mentioned among several churches in Bedfordshire in bad repair; at which time the vicarage was held in plurality with Flitwick.

By the nineteenth century, local churches, including Sundon, were vigilantly inspected by Archdeacon H.K. Bonney. Thus at Sundon, in 1823, he directed that, a new plated Flagon be purchased, that the seats within the Communion Rails be removed and the Communion Table be placed against the wall; the Bible be repaired, there be a new door to the Chancel. Casements be placed North and South in the body of the Church; the South Porch be rebuilt; there be a new North Door; the floor under the Steeple be repaired; the Plumbers' fire be removed; and the earth taken from the walls on all sides. During the next twenty years more repairs and restoration work was carried out. It seems that damp was, as it still is, a problem, for in 1836, the Clerk was directed to he punctual in opening the Casements, for the airing and drying of the Church!

As a result of all this work, an article written in 1845 states that 'This church is in a very good state, and requires but little to render it what churches should be.' Unfortunately, during the next thirty years all this work came to nothing and the church began to fall into a poor state of repair, accelerated by having the roof blown off in the great storm of October 1880. The church became untenantable and the Vicar collected subscriptions, not an easy matter, towards roof repairs. The church was re­opened in June 1883, but continued to deteriorate, not helped by the fact that, according to Archdeacon Bathurst's notebook, the Vicar was 'out of touch with parishioners'. The deterioration resulted in the closure of St. Mary's in 1913.

It was boarded up and services held in the Vicarage but by 1931 it was reported by the Council for the Care of Churches that work on Sundon was nearing completion and the church was re‑opened in 1938.

St. Mary's remains, as it has been throughout its varied history. a church of great beauty and spirituality, much loved by all who follow in the long tradition of worshippers, who have found the love and peace of God within her walls.

FURNITURE AND FITTINGS

THE FONT. As the place where the Christian journey begins, this is fittingly just inside the door. Its origin is considered by some to be Saxon and therefore part of an earlier church building on this site. It is carved with simple thirteenth century arches and the bowl is quite deep and lead lined, as was necessary in the days when the baby arrived at the Church naked, and on being met at the door by the priest had salt put into its mouth to drive out demons, was then immersed in the Holy water three times and finally given a white Christening Gown by the Church to symbolize its having been washed clean of sin and beginning its new life in God's family. The gown was later returned to the Church for the use of the next infant. During the Civil War the Puritans broke the lids off fonts to remove the Holy water, which they considered a popish superstition. The present cover is probably seventeenth century. During the eighteen century the base of the Font appears to have been 'buried in a square pew'. Columns were added around 1815 to support it.

THE CHEST. This handsome old oak fourteenth century Parish Chest, with a carved front in the Decorated style stands to the right of the central Aisle.

On the pillar beside the chest hangs an interesting list of the Vicars, who have provided unbroken service to the parish for eight hundred years.

PEWS. There are three rows of ancient pews at the west end. The old enclosed pews having been replaced by chairs in the Nave and Aisles, possibly in the 1930s.

SOUTH DOOR. This was originally the main door and has an interesting early lock and key; also some genuine eighteenth century graffiti carved on the door frame. The porch is now used as a cupboard. Possibly this door went out of use when Sundon Manor house fell into decay with the main road being on the other side of the Church.

WALL PAINTINGS. Traces of these have been uncovered over the South door, in the western section of the north Aisle and the Sanctuary. The painting over the south door portrays The Last Judgement, with the dead climbing out of their graves. A cross may be seen in the Sanctuary. The walls are almost completely covered with several layers of paintings preserved by the layers of lime wash applied over the years. The effect must have been quite astonishing when they were first painted.

Running the whole length and built into the north and south Aisle walls, are two continuous stone seats. When the church was first built the congregation stood throughout the services, but the old or infirm were allowed to sit round the walls; hence the saying 'the weakest go to the wall'.

ROOD SCREEN. This has survived fairy well, having lost its cross and statues during the Puritan era, at which time the wall niches also lost their statues. These have been replaced by modem ones.

St. Mary's also possesses a silver Chalice and Paten dated 1828. Unfortunately these can no longer be kept in the church.

Two brass plates on the west wall of the Transept commemorate a lord and lady Sundon, 1741 and 1752. Charlotte Clayton, Lady Sundon, was a court favourite and Mistress of the Robes to Queen Caroline, wife of George II. 'The Favourite' pub in Sundon Park is named after her.

The Pulpit is quite modem 1907, replacing an older pulpit with tester (canopy).

THE ORGAN. Following the re‑opening of St. Mary's in the 1930s a harmonium was acquired. When Christ Church was rebuilt their old organ, said to have been built by Norman and Beard in 1884 and overhauled by them in 1956, was sold to Sundon in 1965. Pencil notes on the organ stool indicate that the organ was actually made by Trustam in 1884. It was overhauled last in the early 1980s.

OUT OF DOORS

THE BELL. Perhaps the most fitting feature to begin with is the surviving bell, bearing the inscription 'Ave Maria Gratia Plena ' and the date 1528 which still calls the congregation to worship. The oak bell frame, in which the bell swings from east to west, contains parts of a medieval frame with pits for three bells. The initial cross, gothic lettering and ‘Royal Head', found on the bell associate it with the foundry of 'Tudyngton', where John Rufford was appointed Royal Bellfounder in 1367. The construction of the present frame timbers suggest that it was erected in the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century, with additional bracing added after the sale of two broken bells in 1763. The bell is hung for full‑circle ringing but owing to frame deterioration is now sounded by means of a rope tied to the clapper and pulled against the bell. Most of the existing fittings date from 1805 to about 1890. It seems that the other two bells came to grief during the early eighteenth century, as in 1763 the parishioners applied for a faculty to sell 'two bells ... which have for upwards of forty years been broke to pieces ... and to use the proceeds of sale to re‑pew the Church and erect a Church clock, which will be an ornament to the said Church as well as a public utility to the said inhabitants'. This 'ornament' appears to have survived from around 1764 to 1814 when it was sold for five guineas and apparently never replaced.

An interesting old tradition held that there were formerly five bells at Sundon, four of which were sold to Toddington, 'since which time Sundon has never prospered'. There is no evidence of there ever being more than three bells and as the other bells were 'broken in pieces', they were most likely sold as scrap metal. I trust that the second part of the legend also no longer holds true!

THE TOWER which houses the Bell is 52 feet high and 19 feet square with a SW stair turret extending some way south of the tower. The North and South windows in the middle chamber are blocked and now carry diagonal steelwork supporting the foundation beams to the bell frame. There is no sign of where the dial or clock movement might have been and no clock hammer indentation on the soundbow of the bell. A fine view may be had from the top of the Tower, showing an avenue of trees running up to the now vanished Sundon House.

The roof has, not surprisingly, been repaired at various times and places, but the main timbers of the South Transept are medieval.

THE WAR MEMORIAL erected by the Sundon Cement Works. Commemorating the men who fell during the First World War is on the north wall of the Church near the door.

THE CHURCHYARD covers about one acre. In Saxon times it was used as a place for taking oaths and dealing with disputes. In addition the parish was responsible for the upkeep of the Church Have and the Priest had to look after the Chance1 In medieval times when the church provided the local Social Services, all manner of events including the local market took place in the church yard sometimes to the annoyance of the congregation who petitioned against excessive noise. The parish Priest held the freehold so could possibly supplement his income from such activities and the letting out of grazing rights. Nowadays the Vicar doesn't have quite such a free hand, but he does have the fact word on who should be buried in his church yard and where.

SUNDON VICARAGE

Visitations in the sixteenth century mention Sundon's deteriorating parsonage house, which appears to have deteriorated completely by 1774, when records concerning an exchange of land mention the site of the former Vicarage, now demolished. After the estate was sold in 1802, the site became 'now part of the lawn and shrubbery of Sir Gregory Page Turner. During this period the flying was held in plurality with Streatley and the Vicar presumably used St. Margaret's vicarage, which was also demolished at the end of the eighteenth century! At some time after 1827, when the old Sundon House was demolished, its stones were used in the building of a new Vicarage. which was sold in the early 1980s, when the present one was built in Sundon Park, some distance from its church.

SUNDON HOUSE

The picture is taken from a water colour painted around 1820. Nothing remains of the house and very little seems to be known about its history. It is likely that it stood on the foundations of an earlier medieval manor house, when much of the land between it and Sundon Park Estate formed part of a Medieval Deer Park. In 1770 the grounds were bounded on one side by a pond, possibly medieval fish ponds originally: but by 1827 the grounds had extended to the edge of the old Deer Park.

In 1716 William Clayton, descended from a Lancashire family and a Clerk to the Treasury, purchased the Manor of Sundon where he lived with his wife Charlotte, a granddaughter of Sir Lewis Dyve of Bromham and her nieces. They moved in outer Court circles until Charlotte became a favourite of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough and William was appointed manager of the Marlborough Estates during the Duke's absence from England. In 1735 William Clayton was created lord Sundon. Charlotte rose from Lady in Waiting to lady of the Bed Chamber, becoming a great favourite with the Queen. Hugh Walpole considered that her influence over the Queen had been gained by the Queen "having unluckily told her, or fallen into her power, by some secret." There is some speculation it was of a medical nature. The nieces became Maids of Honour to the Royal children. Unfortunately for the family Queen Caroline died in 1737 and lady Sundon immediately fell from power, dying five years later. Lord Sundon died in 1752, when, as they had no children and he died intestate, the house changed hands once again. Their bodies were interred in St. Mary's in a vault under the lady Chapel, where they came to light during floor repairs undertaken in 1882.

Mrs. Cole, a niece of the late lord Sundon, from a family originating in Newmarket, co‑inherited the house in December 1788. Her husband, a Magistrate and Sheriff, was a close friend of John Wesley, who wrote at the time "I rode to Sundon. with one to whome a large estate is fallen, by her uncle's dying without a will. It is a miracle if it does not drown her soul in everlasting perdition". Wesley preached his great Assize sermon in St. Paul's church Bedford, while staying at William Cole's house.

The last recorded owner, Sir Gregory Page Turner, Bart., in 1827 drew up plans for a new 'Mansion house' to be built on a site a short distance from the existing one (valued at £2,600), leaving the old stable yard and rick yard isolated. The circumstances which prevented the building of the new house don't seem to be recorded, but the old one was demolished and the stone used in the building of the new Vicarage, which since the early 1980s has been a private house.

And finally a poem, written by a former Vicar of St. Mary's, earlier this century:

SUNDON CLUMP

To my wife

I saw a clump of tufted trees.

I stood beside the Church and watched,

Counting the slow degrees with which

The moon, like some small fragile child,

Tip‑toed across the maze of Heaven

And smiled at all the earth and these

Few trees, that stood and watched and waited.

You stood beside me there and spoke

No word to mar such splendid silence.

Harmonious stillness woke and lent

To every fragment of the scene

The strange soft music of a dream;

The seen unseen, unhearing heard,

There stirred no silence to shift the silence.

The newest moon, the darkened sky,

The trees alone. alert. expectant,

Glanced at the Church. A sigh, a sob

Of little wind heard overhead, And you beside me in the dark:

Stars fled before such rival power,

Your hour remained alone expectant.

K. Wilkinson Riddle.