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Simon Knott
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sanctuary
sanctuary

St James, Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire

It was time to complete Cambridgeshire. Over the previous three years or so I had visited 308 Cambridgeshire churches, but there were still seven more to go, all of them around St Neots. On a cold, bright late October day I set off with my friend John to visit them all.

Little Paxton is a large village, much bigger than its 'Great' counterpart across the river, now entirely in St Neots suburbia and separated from the rest of the town only by a bridge. Not a big church, but looking very crisp indeed in the late autumn sunshine, and the well-designed modern south porch is a clue to what we will find inside, for it is large enough to contain several rooms, and at the end of what has become a corridor is the church's most famous feature above the south door, a remarkable Norman tympanum that Pevsner declared barbaric and entertaining.

You step through into a light, carpeted interior which appears at first entirely of the 21st Century, for the parish have redefined their building in an interesting and exciting way to serve as a church, parish hall, social area and activities centre all in one go. We had arrived during the hiatus between zumba and something called 'June's Crafts', which gave us time to explore. Older features have been carefully preserved. The Good Samaritan window by Hardman & Co in the south aisle is a good example of the studio's smaller scale work, more interesting than Clayton & Bell's crucifixion in the east window. The small set of George I royal arms in relief above the chancel arch are curious - the fourth quarter is missing the shield for the Holy Roman Emperor's crown, and the date 1610 is discernible on the board underneath. But it is hard to see how they could possibly be a remodeled James I set, and so the board was probably reused from somewhere else.

The 1699 memorial to Robert Throckmorton tells us that he was born in Virginia in 1663 and although he was not so happy as to have a liberal education, that defect was abundantly compensated for by the probity of his life. Other highlights include a very good enameled brass war memorial, and one of those curious tails tied in a knot on a springing to the arcade.

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Taken on: October 24, 2018
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Sets appears in:   • Little Paxton   
Groups appears in:   • This Is England    • Cambridgeshire Parish Churches   
Camera: Nikon D5300, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon D5300
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length: 18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Not Defined
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Light Source: Unknown (Unknown)
Gain Control: Low gain up
Color Space: sRGB
Software: GIMP 2.8.22
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