Holy Trinity Church Elsworth

Last Updated: 10/02/2019

This page contains links to documents and pictures relating to Holy Trinity Church, Elsworth. The Holy Trinity Church of Elsworth dates back to at least the 10th century and was part of the Elsworth estate which belonged to Ramsey Abbey from the 11th century to the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. The current building is largely 14th century but underwent significant restoration work in the late 19th century, with further restoration work in the 20th century. The most recent work has been the restoration of the south porch between 2012 and 2013. A notable rector of Elsworth was Wilbert Awdry, author of the railway books, and a bench commemorating these stories is in the church. A history of the church is available in the book "The Church & Village of Elsworth" by Betty Evans, available in the church or from the Swavesey & District History Society.

A list of rectors and curates of Elsworth church since the 12th century is shown in the document Rectors of Elsworth (PDF format). A brief description and history of Holy Trinity Church Elsworth from a book by Betty Evans is available as a PDF document "Holy Trinity Church Elsworth".

Below are some drawings of the church which have appeared in the Elsworth Chronicle and other publications about Elsworth. Click on the thumbnail to view the full sized picture.

Drawing of the view of the church from the Causeway.

Drawing of the front of the church.

Drawing showing the war memorial and the south side of the church including the south porch.

Drawing of the front of the church and the war memorial.

Drawing of the north side of the church and the churchyard.

Drawing of the old carpenters and wheelwright shop with the church in the background.

The first of the three pictures of the altar and east window shows a table made for Holy Trinity Church Elsworth by the local craftsman Adrian Parfitt, featured in Issue 25 of the Elsworth Chronicle . The next two pictures show similar views of the interior in the 20th century. In these pictures the pulpit is switched from the right hand side of the nave to the left hand side of the nave where it is today. This apparently happened between the early 1940s and mid 1950s. There are also visible changes to the altar and indications of one of the various attempts at heating the church using hot water pipes set in the nave floor.

The table made by local craftsman Adrian Parfitt in front of the east window.	View along the nave showing the east window and oil lamps over the altar. Note the pulpit on the left of the nave as it is today.	View showing the nave and the east window. The oil lamps over the nave are visible in this picture, and the pulpit is on the right of the nave as originally.
An old photograph of the an architectural feature of Elsworth church. The caption reads "Triple Sedilia and Double Piscina Elsworth Church".

This series of pictures shows exterior views of Holy Trinity Church Elsworth around the mid 20th century. These show the old graveyard with the gravestones intact; most of these were laid flat
and the graveyard levelled in the mid 20th century. In the view of the churchyard from the eastern end a row of lime trees is visible on the left of the path; a similar row was originally planted on the right hand side but felled in the mid 1940s. The pictures of the war memorial show the area around the war memorial in front of the tower as a gravelled area with a gravelled path leading round to the south porch. Since then the area has been grassed over and the north door is used for access.

View of church tower and south west side of the church taken from Church Lane circa 1910. The big yew trees at the front were taken down when the war memorial was erected in 1922.	View of the churchyard from the eastern end of the churchyard prior to the 1940s.	View of the churchyard from the eastern end of the churchyard. This shows the row of lime trees on the north side of the path which were felled in the mid 1940s.	Picture of the church from the south side in the 1940s.	The south porch of Elsworth church, possibly in spring. This was taken after the gravestones were removed, possibly in the 1950s. The gravel path to the south porch seen in the pictures of the war memorial is not visible.
View of the churchyard in winter from the eastern end taken between 1979 and 1981.	Elsworth war memorial in front of the church, installed in 1922. This picture seems to have been taken shortly after the memorial was installed.	Elsworth war memorial some years after it was installed, as there are now signs of discolouration. The picture predates the removal of the gravestones.	This photo of the front of Elsworth churchyard was taken before 1921 as the war memorial is not present.

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