Ramsey St Mary's

Ramsey St Mary's is a village in Ramsey civil parish, part of the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England.ChurchDuring the 1850s, the need for a church in Ramsey St Mary's was realised, due to an increase in the population of Ramsey which was outgrowing the capacity of the Parish church, Thomas a Becket. This increase was in part due to a large number of settlers, who had moved onto reclaimed land when Whittlesey Mere, Trundle and Ugg Meres were drained. Also, houses existed which were at least four miles from any church. The church was founded in 1858 by Mrs Emma Fellowes, widow of William Henry Fellowes of Ramsey Abbey, Cambridgeshire, and was opened in 1859. The Parish of Ramsey St Mary was created on 3 July 1860, and in 1861 had a population of 1,088, increasing only slightly as the century progressed. In addition to the church, a large vicarage was built on its East side, and a school and school house were built on the West side. The Vicarage was demolished after suffering subsidence. The school house and school still standing, being used as a private dwelling and a garage. All of these buildings were constructed using buff-coloured local brick.The building is an elegant Victorian Church, built in the Early Decorated/Gothic style, with yellow brick and facings of stone. It stands on a vaulted foundation supported by a large number of long bog oak piles, which were driven through peat and soft clay down to a level of hard clay by pile driver, the weight for which was left in the corner of the churchyard for many years. The architect was Richard Armstrong of London and the builder John Bird of Huntingdon.The building consists of a tower, nave and chancel. The tower was originally surmounted by a wooden and slated broach-spire complete with a weathercock. Over the years the spire became unsafe, and was removed about 1920, leaving battlements which were themselves removed from the tower in 1974. The tower contains a clock with two faces, one to the north and one to the west, and also two bells, one weighing 4 cwt. 2 qrs. 7 lbs. and the other 4 cwt. 14 lbs., each inscribed "G. Mears Founder London 1858", supplied by Chas. and Geo. Mears of 267 Whitechapel Road, London.