The lovely church of All Saints, Chalgrave, standing in splendid isolation on the hill and surrounded by chestnut trees, is the sole reminder of a number of small settlements which once made up the local life, now gone forever.  All that remains are some oddly shaped mounds and ditches and, visible from the air, the old pattern of ridge and furrow - a testimony to previous dwellings in the area. 

Yet Chalgrave was one of the earliest parishes in the county and its existence can be traced back to the year 911 when, on orders from the King, it was purchased from “the heathen” (the Danes); the first written record of a land transfer in England.

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Two entries were made in the Doomsday Book, compiled in 1086, regarding Chalgrave (then referred to as Celgrave).  The main entry refers to a manorial holding, held for the King by Albert of Lorraine, who had gained possession of it by 1066, and was one of the few major landowners who kept his land after the Conquest. 

 

In the middle ages the majority of the memorial demesne, (land attached to a manor and retained for the owners own use), lay as a large compact block of closes and woodland in the east of the parish.  The manorial (later parish) church, and manor house adjoining, stood in an isolated position towards the edge of this demesne;  a new manor house was later built further east.  There was never a major medieval settlement in this part of the parish.  The remaining land in the parish was laid out in large areas of arable, with substantial tracts of meadow adjoining the streams; it was cultivated from the settlements at Tebworth and Wingfield, which each had their own common field systems.

 

The medieval focus of the Manor of Chalgrave was in the north-east of the parish. 

 

The earthwork remains of the 12th century manor house site survived until 1970, when it was levelled for agriculture:  they consisted of a low mound, or motte, and an adjoining courtyard, or bailey, lying immediately south east of the church. 

 

In the reign of Henry III, the year 1220, the Chronicle of Dunstable records the dedication of churches at Studham, Chalgrave and Pulloxhill.   There had been Anglo-Saxon church buildings on all these sites, so the churches had obviously been rebuilt.  According to the records, the Bishop Hugh of Lincoln dedicated Chalgrave on Holy Cross Day 1220; He also blessed a Vicarage at Chalgrave the following year. In 1221, the value of the church building was set as 15 marks.

 

Following the Reformation, the English church calendar was simplified and a number of holy days removed from liturgical use (especially around the time of the harvest). Holy Cross Day, was one of the day’s omitted, the church dedicated festival was moved to the first major holy days after the harvest, All Saints Day.

 

The church was administered by the Priors of Dunstable and, in 1273, Dunstable Priory granted a Chantry to Sir Peter Loring.

 

Much more information regarding the history of All Saints can be found in “A brief Guide to All Saints Church, Chalgrave” to be found in the church.

 

 

 

 

All Saints Church, Chalgrave

Church History