History and Description of
COVINGTON PARISH CHURCH

General History

View of the church from the entrance gate (Spring 1998). Floor Plan of All Saints, Covington.

Only the nave remains of the original 12th century stone church (which may have replaced an earlier building but there's no evidence of it's existence now). The chancel was rebuilt c1300 and early in the 14th century a chapel was added on the south side of the nave. This chapel was demolished and the connecting arch blocked at some time in the 15th century. The tower was probably built around 1330 but was considerably altered around 1500. There is some evidence that the tower once had a spire but this may have been pulled down around 1500. Local stories suggest that the top part of the tower did, in fact, fall down. Certainly, the tower exhibits some alarming cracks. Some less stable than others, a fact missed by a recent survey but noted while maintainance and restoration work was being undertaked. A long stainless steel pin has now been inserted to help stabilise the tower. Previously, extensive building and restoration work had been carried out in 1882-3 involving the roof and south porch; the organ chamber and vestry were added at the same time. The south wall of the chancel was rebuilt in 1911 and the northern roof of the Chancel was re-tiled in 1999 with Marley "Dreadnought" tiles - the same tiles as used in 1882-3, except the 1999 tiles are metric. The 1882 roof is visible on the picture (right), but it's not possible to see how badly frost-damaged the tiles were.

On a less serious note, the view from the South-East corner of the Churchyard is locally considered to be one of the best in Huntingdonshire, with a fine view down the valley towards the villages of Tilbrook and Kimbolton, the church towers of which can be clearly seen. Although Huntingdonshire is considered to be a pretty flat county, Covington is situated approximately 76m (220ft) above sea level, which makes it one of the loftiest parts of the County.