The at-risk Cambridgeshire church that once fell down but was rebuilt again

The church stands central as a prominent landmark in a Cambridgeshire town

Across Cambridgeshire, there are many buildings that are suffering from deterioration and decay. As a result, these buildings have been placed on the Historic England “at risk” register. One building at risk is St Mary’s with St Benedict Church in Huntingdon. This church is said to be the “mother church of Huntingdon”.

The Grade I listed building dates back as far as 972 AD. It’s thought the church at this time would have been a wooden structure and existed in the Saxon times.

The founding of the present stone church was not until 1109 AD. At this time, there was a bishop and 12 monks that created a monastic foundation on the north west side of the churchyard.

Over its history, the church has had its “ups and downs”, according to A Church Near You. During the 13th century, a clerestory was added to the church. Stained glass was then added to the south side of the church, and this is the same stained glass seen in the church today.

In 1609, the church faced a dilemma. Part of the tower fell into the nave of the church, but it’s unsure how it fell down. It was rebuilt between 1609 and 1620. Around 100 years later, another part of the church fell. Part of the south aisle fell in and had to be rebuilt.

The church had to undergo a bit more work in the early 19th century, when the roof supports were replaced with iron ones. This was to make sure the roof didn’t collapse into the church.

Today, the church stands as an important landmark in Huntingdon’s town centre. Unfortunately, it’s an at-risk building as emergency roof repairs had to take place in 2020. In 2025, Historic England deemed the building to be in “poor condition”. It also said it was in “slow decay”.