St Mary Magdalene, Ickleton
There are three Sunday services each month at Ickleton church: Parish Communion with Sunday Club at 10am on the first Sunday, a more informal All Age service at 10am on the second Sunday and an 8am BCP Holy Communion on the fourth Sunday.
Church and Village
Ickleton is an elegant, architecturally distinguished village on the western side of the River Granta, just where the ancient trade-route of the Icknield Way crossed over. Walk along Abbey Street, and you can see a lot of the village’s history on display. From the name of the street to the pieces of masonry in the walls of the houses, reminders are everywhere of Ickleton’s role in the middle ages as the home of an important Benedictine nunnery.
But our most amazing inheritance from that time was hidden away for 400 years, and only came to light by accident. In 1979, an arson attack on the church unexpectedly revealed rare and beautiful wall paintings beneath the whitewash of the nave. They date from the 12th century, and they are unique in England. Nowhere else has such early surviving art from an age when every church had illustrations of saints’ lives and Bible stories bursting out all over the walls, like holy picture books or sacred comic strips. On summer days, Ickleton church’s frescoes glow in the sunlight in shades of rose and brown. In winter, by the candlelight of evensong, they make the past generations of Ickleton Christians seem very close.
Friends of Ickleton Church: maintaining our unique heritage
Ickleton Church has stood at the centre of the village for over 1000 years (you may have you spotted the Saxon Grave tops on the Church wall). The Friends of Ickleton Church has come together to ensure that we maintain this unique heritage. Our first aim is to support the restoration and conservation of the wall paintings.
To celebrate the launch of the Friends we have produced a new Ickleton Guidebook in partnership with the Parochial Church Council (PCC), Parish Council and Ickleton Society. As well as providing an introduction to the whole village the guide features the wall paintings in detail as they are a precious and rare example of medieval wall paintings. The renovation is projected to cost tens of thousands of pounds. We are optimistic that, because of their national importance, grants will be available. However we do need to support these grant applications with funds from within our own community. The establishment of the Friends will address this immediate challenge whilst ensuring that the Church is looked after in the longer term. More copies of the guidebook are available from Ickleton village shop or the church @£5.
In the present, the church is at the heart of a vigorous and active community life. As well as Sunday services, twice a month on Tuesdays at 10am the church hosts its regular
Coffee Mornings.
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