Saving the lost chapel of Long Marston

Tucked away at the end of Chapel Lane in Long Marston is a hidden gem that is relatively unknown. The Old Church Tower and its surrounding graveyard are part of the historic fabric of the village.

The tower is registered as a Grade II* listed national monument. The graveyard is a place of deep serenity, with a perfect fusion of a natural environment and thoughtful maintenance and planting over the past 25 years by residents of the adjacent properties, helped recently by a group from the local Women’s Institute.

The tower, thought to date back to the 15th century and hidden by a number of yew trees, is a remnant of the 12th-century Chapel of All Saints, Long Marston.

Prior to the late 1800s, it was a local place of worship for the residents of Long Marston. The main body of the chapel was pulled down in 1883, partly because of the deterioration of the building and partly because it was considered too small for the needs of the community. At this time, a larger church was built in the village, the Church of All Saints – but the spirit of the tower lives on in the new church with pieces of stonework and wooden items from the original church incorporated into the fabric of the new church, along with the font and the organ.

Although the main body of the church has been removed, the tower has not been officially declared redundant and so, in theory, services could still be held there. The last recorded event was a wedding in April 1882 when only the contracting parties were allowed inside owing to the dangerous state of the building. The graveyard has few graves and only served as a burial ground for 34 years, between 1832 and 1866. ‘Many of those buried there were infants and young people, so it is perhaps fitting that a churchyard that itself had a relatively short life received many young people whose own lives were tragically cut short,’ says Sue Foster, chair of The Old Church Tower Trust.

As the tower is registered as a national monument, there is a duty to maintain it and ensure its safety. There have been many attempts to renovate the tower over the years, but most floundered due to lack of finance.

Undeterred, in 1999, a small group of villagers met to explore what urgent action could be taken to restore the tower as a fragment of local history. No church funds were available, but this group set about the huge task of raising funds.

Although some money was received from grants, events were held including musical ones, cream teas and stalls. In addition, several generous donations were received.

The work on the tower was immense – it included a new parapet, a new roof and water chutes, removal of significant ivy growth, flint and stonework repairs, replacing window lintels plus many other improvements. Clearance work also included removing pigeon droppings, which were almost 4ft deep.

The total cost of the renovations came to approximately £47,000 – a huge sum back then and likely to be at least double in today’s money.

Twenty five years later and a new challenge faces the tower. It had been financed by the parish of Tring since its restoration in 2000 but, due to the large costs involved, and as the parish has to maintain five historic buildings, funding has ceased.

As some urgent work is needed to make the tower safe for visitors to the churchyard, with ongoing maintenance and insurance costs to take into account, the diocese agreed to the formation of a charity run by a trust, with the group continuing to run fundraisers to preserve the tower.

As Sue explains: ‘What is particularly heartening is that this group includes both those new to the village and some of the previous ‘1999 group’ – bringing together different generations to share their experiences.’

It has already held Easter egg hunts for the past two years, and reinstated tea at the tower last year, which was a favourite way of raising funds for the restoration project 25 years ago. This year there’s an open garden event on Sunday 28 June and tea at the tower on Sunday 6 September.

The open gardens will include not only beautiful gardens, but a plant stall with proceeds going to the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK, and information about Hearing Dogs for the Deaf with a special appearance by Spirit, a hearing dog. The Women’s Institute will be serving tea and cake. Old lawnmowers will also be displayed, and there will be an exhibition of vintage radios in the village hall.

Email towerconservation@aol.com for more information.