St Mary Magdalene - Roxton, Bed's - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

The earliest known incumbent of Roxton dates to 1235, though the village is mentioned in Domesday Book of 1086 and it is reasonable to assume that there was a church in the parish before the Norman Conquest of 1066. The present church of Saint Mary is a largely medieval structure, built of brown cobbles.


The oldest surviving part of the church is the south arcade, separating the south aisle from the nave, built around 1300.

The nave and chancel are also 14th century in date, though a little later. Part of the north wall of the nave may be older than 1300 but this cannot be stated for certain. Clearly there must have been an existing nave for the aisle to be attached to. It was common for early churches to contain simply a chancel and a nave and, sometimes, a west tower and it is quite likely that the aisle was added about 1300 and then the nave and chancel either partially or completely rebuilt, as money allowed, to match the new aisle. No north aisle was ever built.

The south side lower section of the chancel screen is in good condition and the colours are still vibrant.


About 1330 a south chapel was added to the chancel. This was later pulled down and the modern vestry and organ chamber stand on the site.


The west tower dates to the 15th century. The chancel screen, restored in 1974, also dates from the 15th century.

Medieval tomb chest 's

belonging to that century are a tomb chest of an unknown woman and another tomb chest, of Roger Hunt, who died in 1438. When the church was restored in 1848 some medieval brasses were lost. The brass of John Fage of Chawston, who died about 1400, was late rediscovered and placed in the wall of the chancel.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1350 Age of Church building determined by?: Church staff member If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Church of England If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: From: 10:00 AM To: 5:00 PM If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Sunday Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 10:30 AM Street address of Church: St Mary Magdalene Roxton, Bedfordshire UK Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/12/2011 basingstokeboy visited it