Quendon & Rickling Church Parish is part of a joint benefice with the parishes of Newport and Widdington. The Priest in Charge of the Benefice is the Rev Capt Peter Allen ("Pete").
Pete is also the Coordinating Chaplain at Stansted Airport.
He may be contacted:
Landline: 01799 732059
Mobile: 07878 176551
His day off is Friday
Two Parishes?
Until 2012 there were two Church of England Parishes in Quendon and Rickling, but from the beginning of May 2012 the situation which had developed informally was regularised by officially joining the two parishes. They are now one parish of Quendon and Rickling which is in line with the Civil Parish structure.
Diocesan Safeguarding Policy
We are committed to Safeguarding children and young people and vulnerable adults.
The PCC has adopted the Church of England’s policies and best practice on safeguarding which may be found on the Church of England’s website: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/safeguarding
The Church of Quendon & Rickling complies with the Diocesan Safeguarding Policy.
100 Club
The Quendon & Rickling 100 Club is a joint venture with the Village Hall Committee to help support the churches and village hall. Click here for more details including an entry form to print and fill in.
Here are some notes on the two church buildings.
Church of All Saints, Rickling
Our Web pages can be visited at https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/6547/
Welcome to All Saints Church, Rickling, one of the oldest churches in this area. The unusual size of the nave suggests a pre-Conquest plan; it is possible that worship has taken place here for over a thousand years. The name of the village is found in the Domesday Book (1086) as Richelinga. It is said to mean Ricela's or Ricula's people. Ricula was Queen of Essex in the 6th century.
13th Century
The earliest remaining part of the present church is the 13th century lancet window in the west wall, which can be seen from the inside of the nave above the tower door.
14th Century
The chancel was added about 1340 (the Early English period) and the south aisle and tower at the same time. Note how the chancel is not quite aligned with the nave. The chancel screen is 14th century. The east window is also 14th century and now contains 19th century glass in memory of General William Inglis, Lord of the Manor. There are three 14th century windows on the south side of the chancel and a doorway of the same date. The doorway into the tower from the nave probably dates from this period. Outside of the chancel door there is a Purbeck marble burial stone for Humfrey Waldene the First, the founder of the present church, dated c.1340.
15th Century
The pulpit dating from the 15th century is a particularly fine example. The font is octagonal and made of coarse limestone in the 15th century. It stands on a possibly 14th century base. On the south side of the chancel is a tomb-chest with six quatrefoils with shields, these being the arms of the Langley and allied families, probably 15th century. Rickling Hall, a lovely Tudor brick house, was built to the south of the church around 1500 on the site of a fortified building with two moats.
16th Century
The upper part of the tower which has battlements was added in the 16th century.
17th Century
There is a ring of five bells in the tower, all of which may originally have been cast by Richard Keene in 1699/1700 (two have since been recast). All the old church registers dating from 1662 are in the Essex Record Office at Chelmsford.
19th Century
The row of lime trees in the churchyard was planted by the vicar in 1836. They were the gift of Lord Braybrooke. There was a large restoration during this century when the vestry, organ chamber and south porch were added. The high altar has a wooden reredos, dating from 1879 and carved in Belgium. The central panel represents the adoration of the Lamb. All the nave windows and the south doorway are from the 19th century. The south window has glass in memory of the rev. John Collin who died in 1887. He was vicar here for 53 years and built the vicarage to the west of the church in 1847. This has been a private house since 1917.
20th Century
The extension to the churchyard has been in use since 1917. The bells were rehung in 1928. The oldest person recorded as being buried here was Anne Judd in July 1940 at the age of 100. The modern hassocks in the nave were worked by parishioners around 1970, each representing a saint in reference to the church's dedication, All Saints. In 1978 rot and beetle in the wooden floor necessitated its removal and replacement by stone slabs at a cost of £3,337, including refurbishment of the pews. The work was extended to the choir stalls in 1980.
21st Century
Major repairs to the roof, stonework and drainage started in the year 2000 at a cost of £36,000. Half of this was raised by parishioners with the balance coming from grants to this Grade I listed building. The Church Commissioners, as Lay Rector, funded the work on the chancel. Kneelers for the altar rail were worked by parishioners to celebrate the millennium and dedicated in June 2001. The south window just inside the main door was restored in 2003 at a cost of £8,000, and at the same time the vestry and organ chamber windows were restored by the generosity of a church benefactor.
The Benefice
From 1917 the Rector of Quendon was also the Vicar of Rickling. Sixty years later, on 1 November 1977, the Benefice of Quendon with Rickling and Wicken Bonhunt came in being. Fifteen years later, on 1 November 1992, Widdington joined, with the four parishes sharing one Rector until 2003. In September of that year a further reorganisation created the Benefice of Manuden with Berden and Quendon with Rickling, with one Priest in Charge. In 2013, following the retirement of the Revd Canon Chris Bishop, the parish of Quendon & Rickling left Manuden and Berden and rejoined Widdington in forming a new benefice with Newport under the incumbancy of the Rev. Neil McLeod.
Tourist or Pilgrim?
Whether you are a tourist who appreciates the historical importance of this ancient building, or a pilgrim who values the tranquillity and spirituality of this holy place as you pass by on your journey, please help us to maintain this church for future generations.
Church of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Quendon
Our Web pages may be visited at https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/6546/
The Guide to Quendon Church gives information on this small but attractive church as well as a little of the architectural history of Quendon. Click here to download the Guide.
More briefly the record of its grade II* listing notes: