01/01/2026
Lovely walk and visit to Old St Mary the Virgin Church Clophill. An interesting ruined church close to the earthworks of Cainhoe Castle an 11th-century Norman castle. The church site is believed to date from the 10th century, when the structure would have been a barn-like building with thick walls and high slatted windows. At this time churches were often built on high ground to the north of a settlement. It was probably re-built c.1350 in the Perpendicular style, the fabric being mostly of coarse ironstone rubble with ashlar dressings. The large perpendicular windows were added into the nave c.1450.
