Watton At Stone, The Church Of St Andrew And St Mary c.1960

Photo ref: W292019

More about this scene

There has been a church at Watton at Stone since the 13th century. It was originally dedicated to St Mary, but St Andrew seems to have been added in the early 19th century. During the Civil War, the Commonwealth soldiers used the church as a prison for their Royalist captives. Although much of the church is original 16th-century - the north chapel was built in 1570 - extensions and restorations were carried out in 1851 at a cost of £7,000. The tower is said to be haunted by a grey lady who threw herself from the top when she was spurned in love. It is an interesting fact that the present bells are not original: they were brought to Watton from a church in north London in 1978. In 1960, at nearby Stoney Hill, bricks were still being made by hand. Four brick makers were moulding and firing about 3,200 bricks per day. Every ten days, the kilns were fired in the outlying fields, and there appeared to be a guaranteed and continuing market for their product.