English Heritage sites near Guilsborough Parish
PORTH HELLICK DOWN BURIAL CHAMBER
1000 miles from Guilsborough Parish
A large and imposing Scillonian Bronze Age entrance grave, with kerb, inner passage and burial chamber all clearly visible.
HALLIGGYE FOGOU
1000 miles from Guilsborough Parish
Roofed and walled in stone, this complex of passages is the largest and best-preserved of several mysterious underground tunnels associated with Cornish Iron Age settlements.
INNISIDGEN LOWER AND UPPER BURIAL CHAMBERS
1000 miles from Guilsborough Parish
Two Bronze Age communal burial cairns of Scillonian type, with fine views. The upper cairn is the best preserved on the islands.
HARRY'S WALLS
1000 miles from Guilsborough Parish
An unfinished artillery fort, built above St Mary's Pool harbour in 1552-53.
GARRISON WALLS
1000 miles from Guilsborough Parish
You can enjoy a two-hour walk alongside the ramparts of these defensive walls and earthworks, dating from the 16th to 18th centuries.
CROMWELL'S CASTLE
1000 miles from Guilsborough Parish
The castle stands guarding the lovely anchorage between Bryher and Tresco and is one of the few surviving Cromwellian fortifications in Britain.
Churches in Guilsborough Parish
St Etheldreda
Coton Road
Guilsborough
Northampton
(01604) 846099
http://www.uplandsgroupchurches.org.uk
St Etheldreda, Guilsborough is part of the Uplands Group of Churches (Cold Ashby, Cottesbrooke, Creaton, Guilsborough, Hollowell, Ravensthorpe, Spratton, and Thornby). We warmly welcome all visitors. We endeavour to keep the church open for visitors during the day between 10.00 and 15.00.
The Church has a four-part Choir and an active group of bell-ringers. Our most valuable assets include: a two-manual Victorian Walker Organ (recently fully restored) and some valuable stained-glass windows.
A Church at Guilsborough is mentioned in the Doomsday Book, but there is no evidence of a Saxon church remaining. Guilsborough was probably 'Christianised' by the monks of Brixworth, an outpost of the monastery of Peterborough or, as it was then called, Medeshamsted. We do not know why the Church became dedicated to St. Etheldreda, for in the early times the dedication was to St. Wilfrid.
The oldest part of the church is the tower which was built during the first half of the 13th. century. The nave was completed around 1400 and the north and south porches added during the 18th. century. The tower arch was closed about 1700 when a large gallery was erected in front of it to accommodate the boys from the Grammar School.
An extensive restoration was carried out between the years 1815 - 20, through the good offices of the Rev. Thomas Sikes. This restoration included the oak roof, seven beams of which have been preserved, including the bosses carved in wood illustrating the Seven Ages of Man. The Vicar gave the open seats of oak in the nave. The stone flooring was put down at this time, the gravestones being covered over or removed and small slate plates inserted in the new floor to mark their position.
During this restoration, coloured beads of glass were placed in some of the windows, and it is said that an angry dissenter threw a stone, breaking one of the windows because he considered them "popish".
Another extensive restoration of the Church took place in 1923 and 1924 when the Chancel was distempered, the roof repaired and the pillars and arches of the nave cleaned of plaster to show off the stone-work. The gallery at the west end was removed and a sub-arch under the chancel arch was taken down.
Fairly recently, a number of projects have taken place: conversion of the north porch into a toilet and kitchen; provision of a sound, audio and loop system; and, in celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee, external floodlighting.
Recently, the south porch entrance and footpath have been improved giving better access for disabled visitors.
Pubs in Guilsborough Parish
Witch & Sow
High Street, Guilsborough, NN6 8PY
(01604) 743888
thewitchandsow.co.uk