St Faiths Parish Church

The church, at the end of a leafy lane, is surrounded by ancient beech, elm and pine trees. Close by is the Old Rectory, the façade of which was remodelled by Sir John Soane in 1788. With little through traffic, Kelshall, with a population about of nearly 150, remains essentially a farming community sharing parish boundaries with Sandon and Therfield. The incumbency is shared with Therfield where the Rector resides.Of an earlier church building in Kelshall, nothing can now be seen, but a late 14th century preaching cross stands in the churchyard (in front of the South Aisle) and the list of Rectors dates back a century before construction of the present building was commenced. St Faith’s is a rare example of a church building scarcely altered since its inception in about 1388. Between then and about 1425 the present building was constructed. The two sculpted heads either side of the porch entrance are believed to be Richard II and Bishop John Fordham, King and Bishop of Ely at the time when the church was built. The Fordhams were prominent landowners in the area and remain so today. There are painted images of the King, Bishop and St Faith on the new screen to the Tower. AA sympathetic, mainly internal, restoration in the 1870s by the Revd George Turner secured the building for the future, with some replacement roof timbers, repairs to bell hangings, new pews and window glass. The church is of a conventional plan with porch, nave side aisles chancel and tower. The churchyard is walled about with a lych-gate leading into Church Lane. The lower churchyard has been in use for a century and has 25-30 graves in it. The upper yard around the church was levelled during the 1950s. Exterior walls of the church are local flint with stone dressings

Interior features

Entry to St Faith’s is through the south porch. The church door is original, made in the early 15th century with original sanctuary, lifter and massive lock. Above the porch is a parvise accessed by a similarly old door and winding stone steps and used in earlier times as a village school. In the north west corner of the nave can be seen a tall recess, the banner cupboard of the pre-reformation church, but without its door. Only the dado of the polychromed rood screen survives with its portraits of King Edmund, King Edward the Confessor and two bishops. Conservation work was carried out by the late Anna Hulbert in 1979. There are only three medieval painted screens in Hertfordshire, this being the only one with figure panels. The former rood loft stairs are concealed in the left chancel arch and the door leading to the rood loft is above. Rychard and Maryon Adeane, local farmers, placed their memorial latten (brass) in a purbeck marble slab at the chancel step in 1425, before they died hoping their inscription would be completed. The medieval roof of the nave is original although a repairs were necessary at the time of the Victorian restoration. A fine canopy of honour can be seen in the former lady chapel at the East end of the north aisle but its background colour is no longer blue. The roof to the chancel required considerable work in 1870 and insufficient timbers were left to be copied. They now carry a design similar to many East Anglian churches of that period. The overall effect of the roof has been described by English Heritage as ‘spectacular’.The glass to the east window in the chancel was replaced in 1875 and depicts Faith, Hope and Charity. It was a memorial to the Fordham and Orde Hall families and was made at the arts & crafts glassworks of Lavers, Barraud and Westlake. Faith is to a design by Henry Holliday. The side windows are signed by the same glassworks and all the chancel windows are recorded in the William Morris Society library.

The Parish Church at Kelshall is dedicated to St Faith, a little known martyr of Agen in Aquitaine, her commemoration date being 6th October. The patron of St Faith’s is HM the Queen through the office of the Lord Chancellor.

The list of Rectors is complete from 1277. Notable incumbents include the puritan Janeways in the mid 1600’s, father and son; the Revd G Turner and the Birks, father and son and prominent theologians in the late nineteenth century. There are memorials to a number of the Rectors in the church. Five bells hang in the tower; three were originally cast in 1642, the other two in 1748 and1790. In recent years a WC and kitchenette has been installed in the tower to improve the facilities available to visitors and the various functions and musical evenings held in the church.

Visitors to the church can obtain an informative booklet of historical notes and commentary by the late Ann J King. This was published under the auspices of the North Hertfordshire Villages Research Group in 1984.