Horningsea

Replacement of Victorian floorboards and new safety features will improve service to the community, including local events and worship

St Peter’s Church, Horningsea, which is one of Cambridgeshire’s oldest places of worship, is pleased to announce over £104,000 in recent grant funding for major restoration work. The project, to be completed over the next three months, will see rotten Victorian floorboards replaced and making the historic church tower safe for future generations. This includes critical funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Golden Bottle Trust, and the Ely Diocesan Association of Church Bell Ringers Bell Restoration Fund.

St Peter’s — From Vikings and Saxons, To Today

St Peter’s Church, Horningsea, is of uncertain origin. Documentary evidence points to the existence of a Saxon Minster on the site prior to 870 AD. The church’s current fabric includes pillars, a porch, doorways, a font, and a tower, all dating from the 13th and 14th centuries. The oldest surviving artefacts are tomb lids from the 10th century. Victorian-era works included the reconstruction of the north wall and aisle, and the laying of floorboards. Those floorboards, now approximately 140 years old, have substantially deteriorated and require replacement.

“St Peter’s Church Council is so grateful to everyone who has contributed to providing these funds: National Lottery players, and The National Lottery Heritage Fund for awarding the grant; the Diocesan Bell Ringers; the Golden Bottle Trust; the Friends of Horningsea Church, those who worked so hard and organised fundraising concerts and exhibitions. We will no longer have to worry about someone tumbling down from the tower or their foot falling through the floor.” — Reverend Canon Nick Moir, Vicar of St Peter’s Church, Horningsea

Pre-restoration Celebrations and Community Events

Before work began, the Friends of Horningsea Church hosted a singing, dancing, and picnic event for younger members of the local community — the future custodians of the church. The Cambridge City Young Bellringers arrived by boat the same day in order to ring the bells before they fell silent during construction. The group will be invited back for a special bell-ringing celebration and open event once the project is complete.

Throughout the period of the upcoming works, celebrations of Horningsea’s heritage will continue. An exhibition — 1766 and All That — is planned for the end of June, showcasing an altar cloth embroidered in 1766.

In September, following completion of the project, there will be a re-enactment of the Viking raid of 870 AD, with longboats arriving by river. Further details will be announced closer to the events — stay tuned!