Wittering, Cambridgeshire

Wittering is a village and civil parish in the Soke of Peterborough in the East of England. The village is about 3 miles (5 km) south of the market town of Stamford in neighbouring Lincolnshire and about 9 miles (14 km) west of the City of Peterborough.

Wittering
Wittering Location within Cambridgeshire
Population	2,297 (2001 census)[1]
OS grid reference	TF053026
Civil parish	Wittering
Unitary authority	Peterborough
Ceremonial county	Cambridgeshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Peterborough
Postcode district	PE8
Dialling code	01780
Police	Cambridgeshire
Fire	Cambridgeshire
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	North West Cambridgeshire
Website	Wittering Parish Council

All Saints', Wittering

Parish church

The Church of England parish church of All Saints was built between AD 950 and AD 981.[2] Surviving Anglo-Saxon parts of the building include the south wall of the nave, the east end of the chancel and the very substantial chancel arch.[3]

As originally built the church would have had no aisles. In the middle of the 12th century a Norman north aisle was added, linked with the nave by a two-bay north arcade.[3] The present south doorway of the nave, and the east and south windows of the chancel are late 13th century Decorated Gothic insertions.[3] The ashlar west tower is late 13th or early 14th century.[3] In the 14th century the north aisle was rebuilt and the north chapel was added.[3] The north chapel has an early 14th-century tomb recess.[3] The tall Perpendicular Gothic windows in the south wall of the nave were inserted later in the Middle Ages.[3]

The south porch was added in the 19th century and the stained glass east window was made by C.E. Kempe in 1903.[3] The vestry was added in 1969.[2] Apart from the tower, the church is roofed with Collyweston stone slates.[3] All Saints' is a Grade I listed building.[3]

The west tower has a ring of six bells. The fourth bell was cast at Leicester in about 1399.[4] The bellfounder Tobias III Norris of Stamford[5] cast the third and fifth bells in 1681.[4] John Taylor & Co of Loughborough cast the treble, second and tenor bells in 1974.[4]

All Saints' parish is now part of a single benefice with the parishes of Collyweston, Easton-on-the-Hill, Ketton and Tinwell.[6]

RAF Wittering

The main gate of RAF Wittering

In 1916 the Royal Flying Corps established a military airfield at Wittering. It became RAF Wittering in 1924 and was an important base for RAF Fighter Command in the Second World War.

In 1954 the airfield was enlarged and became a base for Handley Page Victors, which served as part of the UK's V bomber nuclear strike force until the 1960s and then as aerial refuelling tankers.

After RAF Strike Command was formed in 1968, RAF Wittering became "The Home of the Harrier". Since the UK withdrew its Harrier Jump Jets in 2010, RAF Wittering has been the base for a number of logistics and support units.

References

1. "Area selected: Peterborough (Unitary Authority)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
2. Archbishops' Council (2010). "a church history All Saints Church Wittering". A Church Near You. Church of England. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
3. Historic England. "Church of All Saints, Church Lane (1226058)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
4. Baldwin, John (27 April 2007). "Wittering All Saints". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
5. Dovemaster (25 June 2010). "Bellfounders". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
6. Archbishops' Council (2010). "All Saints, Wittering". A Church Near You. Church of England. Retrieved 21 October 2012.

External links

• War Memorial details