News & Events - Historic Churches Trust Ride & Stride

Saturday 12 September 2026

by Nick Bailey

There is a secret 11th Commandment which states: Thou Shalt Not Suffer Foot Blisters Or Saddle Sores!

That's why Denise and I took the car for this year's sponsored Ride, Stride and Drive initiative - visiting churches in and around Northampton while raising funds for St Matthew's.

First stop was the beautiful St George the Martyr Church, Wootton. Small inside, the fabulous church currently uses infra-red heaters to keep worshippers warm. Just as well, because history tells us that in 1943 the entire congregation suffered carbon monoxide poisoning when its coke-fired heating system went into meltdown.

Next up was the 13th Century St John the Baptist Church in Quinton with its sensitive stained-glass windows installed in memory of three fallen World War heroes.

A gentle drive took us to the redundant 12th Century Church of St Peter and St Paul in Preston Deanery which is now run by the Churches Conservation Trust. Having become a ruin, in 1580 the landed gentry sold the church bells and turned its tower into a pigeon loft. At the time, pigeons were considered a luxury food and their dung was scooped up to make fertiliser and saltpetre for gunpowder. The chancel was used as a kennel for greyhounds.

Down the road is St John the Baptist Church, Piddington, dating back to 1290. Its 100-year-old clock was made by Dent & Co - famous for constructing Big Ben. The legendary Baptist missionary John Carey was married in the church.

Across town, we visited the monastic 12th Century St Luke's Church, Duston. Passing through its beautiful lynch gate, we were looking forward to seeing its stunning stained-glass windows. Unfortunately this beautiful house of worship - built for Augustinian monks from the nearby St James Abbey - was closed.

This called for a short period of wailing and smiting. I even suggested gnashing of teeth, but Denise said we should save those for our sandwiches.

Then we headed down memory lane to St Mark's Church Whitehills. This simple, modern church was our house of prayer after we got married in 1984 and where both our beautiful daughters were christened.

Our phone Satnav then directed us east to the 11th Century All Saints Church in Little Billing. This wonderful church, with its side tower, is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Inside, we saw its original Saxon font - one of the most important pieces of church stone carving in the county - and still used to this day.

Final stop was St Andrew's Church, Great Billing. This building is Grade 1 listed because it contains an overbearing black and white marble monument to Henry O'Brien, 7th Earl of Thomond who owned Billing Hall. Described as ‘shockingly inept', it is thought to be the last work of legendary sculptor John Bushnell who died in 1701.

During church restoration work in 1980, a sealed burial vault was opened. A gold plaque inside informed historians that the Earl of Thomond buried inside was so fat that his bowels had to be interred separately.

Amazing what you learn!

We had a wonderful day, seeing magnificent churches still standing after 1,000 years and meeting the many lovely volunteers who work so hard to make this possible. God bless them.

Mission accomplished!

Please find below a selection of photos.

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