The name of Aldwincle is derived from the two elements ‘Ealda’s nook’. Ealda was the landowner and the village sits in a line of hills beside the valley of the River Nene. Some say that the ‘wincle’ element refers to the great double bend in the river nearby, between Thorpe and Wadenhoe.
The pinnacled and carved fifteenth-century tower for the church dominates the surrounding countryside. The elegant medieval interior is almost cavernous in feel with few furnishings, offering a rare chance to see its beautiful limestone arcades and arches up close. Look out for strange carved birds, beasts and other creatures on the exterior. The Chambre chantry chapel of 1489 is also of exceptional quality.
The seventeenth-century poet John Dryden was born at the Old Rectory, opposite the church in 1631. His mother’s Father, Henry Pickering, was rector here for 40 years; he died in 1637 aged 75 and is buried in the churchyard below the east window. In recent times, his inscribed gravestone was brought inside the church for preservation.
There is another medieval church, St Peter’s, at the other end of the village as there was originally two manors and two villages. It proved beyond local resources to continue to maintain both buildings. All Saints’, which has been disused for 100 years was declared redundant in 1976 and transferred to the care of The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), the national charity protecting historic churches at risk.
Please refer to the Glossary for any terms in the text that you are unfamiliar with.