11m/18km N.W. of Luton
OS SP919248 GPS 51.9148N, 0.6653W
The finest parish church in the county, in an attractive market-town setting; 13th-century, of cruciform plan and with a gigantic spire. It had an excellent restoration after a major fire in 1985.The walls were raised in the 15th century and the magnificent timber roofs of typical flattish pitch were then constructed. The complete collegiate late 15th-century chancel, with seating and screens intact, is the great treasure of All Saints. Medieval graffiti on the piers, including a drawing of a Decorated window in the S. chapel. The elaborate ironwork on the W. door may be by Thomas of Leighton, creator in 1294 of the delicate grille at the tomb of Queen Eleanor in Westminster Abbey. There are good Kempe windows, 1887–1905.
LUTON † St Andrew
Blenheim Crescent
OS TL082227 GPS 51.8928N, 0.4279W
A fine church by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, 1931–2, it is built of red brick with pantile roofs and a massive W. tower, and effectively lit by grouped clerestory windows.
LUTON † St Mary
Between Church Street and St Mary’s Road
OS TL095212 GPS 51.8787N, 0.4102W
This magnificent church resists, by sheer architectural merit, the desolation of its setting. Begun in the 13th century, enlarged in the 14th, it reached its present form in the 15th when Lord Wenlock built his sumptuous chapel. Octagonal 14th-century baptistry, a work of great richness and competence. The W. tower has flint and clunch chequerwork panels, the latter, in part, replaced by harder limestone in modern times. Street’s work in the chancel is of a dark richness, but the external refacing of the E. end was heartless. 14th-century font and canopy; Wenlock tombs.
ELSTOW: ST MARY AND ST HELEN – sturdy Norman arcades run down the nave
MARSTON MORETEYNE † St Mary the Virgin
6m/10km S.W. of Bedford
Village also spelt Marston Moretaine
OS SP996411 GPS 52.0598N, 0.5484W
A magnificent building practically rebuilt in 1445, in a decade that yielded much rich architecture. The nave is very grand, with slender pillars, and a roof resplendent with bosses and angels. Detailing is bold and confident, though lacking the full richness of stained glass and screening. The detached bell-tower is a fine massive building; the whole is reminiscent of neighbouring Elstow.
NORTHILL † St Mary the Virgin
6m/10km E. of Bedford
OS TL149465 GPS 52.1054N, 0.3238W
The church is a blend of Totternhoe clunch and ironstone. Inside are 14th-century collegiate stalls. The golden glass of 1664 was commissioned by the Grocers’ Company. Originally this formed the E. window, but the three panels were moved to the S. aisle in 1880.
ODELL † All Saints
8m/12km N.W. of Bedford
OS SP966580 GPS 52.2118N, 0.5865W
Set on an eminence in a good stone village, this is an excellent example of a unified 15th-century church. Grand W. tower of Northamptonshire type; the gentle incline up to a pinnacled parapet relieves what might otherwise be an overpowering bulk. The interior is marked by tall arcades, an original rood screen and very satisfying diamond-pattern flooring in nave and aisles. A group of seraphs in the 15th-century stained glass E. window of the S. aisle of a rare and naive beauty.
OLD WARDEN † St Leonard
7m/11km S.E. of Bedford
OS TL136443 GPS 52.0856N, 0.3424W
Perpendicular mostly, St Leonard’s was substantially renovated in the 19th century. A Norman tower arch remains, and the interior has Jacobean panelling and an abundance of other carved woodwork, much of it culled from abroad, especially Belgium. Monuments include a lifesize Classical statue of Sir Samuel Ongley, d. 1726.
LEIGHTON BUZZARD: ALL SAINTS – refined medieval graffiti and rich carving in the choir
PAVENHAM † St Peter
5m/8km N.W. of Bedford
OS SP991559 GPS 52.1929N, 0.5510W
On the hillside above one of the loveliest of the riverside villages, Pavenham church, like Old Warden, is full of carved panelling and rich woodwork, most of it installed in 1848; Jacobean in the main, consisting of everything from marquetry to high relief. There is a two-storey 13th-century S. porch, otherwise everything is mostly Perpendicular.
PODINGTON † St Mary the Virgin
5m/8km S.E. of Wellingborough
OS SP941626 GPS 52.2543N, 0.6218W
Mostly 13th-century, with 14th-century leaning spire, the church contains a Norman font, monuments and Orlebar wall-plaques.
SHARNBROOK † St Peter
7m/11km N.W. of Bedford
OS SP993595 GPS 52.2256N, 0.5468W
Perpendicular outside, including the noble spire which surmounts a Decorated tower, St Peter’s is a sensitive modern restoration. Massive 19th-century Magniac Mausoleum stands in the churchyard.
SHELTON † St Mary the Virgin
11m/18km N. of Bedford
OS TL033687 GPS 52.3076N, 0.4852W
Remote and rustic, and delightfully chaste inside, the building is a mixture of Norman and later fabric. Pews, screen and clear glass form a comely assemblage, and there are a few wall-paintings.
SHILLINGTON † All Saints
8m/13km N.E. of Luton
OS TL123339 GPS 51.9926N, 0.3647W
This is a wonderful hill-top site, typical of many similar church-crowned hills along the line of the Chilterns. Alas, it was rather too long to fit the top comfortably, a factor which doubtless caused the failure of the tower footings in 1701. The present red-brick erection of 1750 is not really worthy of the church. A clerestoried hall, hardly interrupted in its continuity from W. to E., is mainly a work of the 14th century, only slightly altered subsequently, though with much 19th-century window tracery. The rood screen (15th-century with some later repairs) inside forms the only actual division and, save for the loss of its loft, is perfect. A vaulted crypt lies under the chancel; there are brasses, pews and screens to delight the eye.
STEVINGTON † St Mary the Virgin
4m/6km N.W. of Bedford
OS SP990536 GPS 52.1722N, 0.5532W
On a terrace above the Ouse, the church has a pre-Conquest tower complete with long-and-short quoins, augmented in the 15th century with an upper stage. There is a 14th-century nave roof with shield-bearing supporters, and a brass to Sir Thomas Salle, d. 1422.
SWINESHEAD † St Nicholas
10m/16km N. of Bedford
OS TL057658 GPS 52.2806N, 0.4508W
St Nicholas is a handsome Decorated