The church setting
The inscriptions on the gravestones can provide interesting information about the people who lived, and were buried, at Kirtling in years past. But the fact that Kirtling has a graveyard at all is also important, because not all churches had the right to have burials.
'Manor houses and churches are often very close together ...'
That Kirtling did is an indicator of its status as a parish church with a full complement of services (including baptisms, marriages and burials), rather than a less important ‘dependant chapel’ where only masses were celebrated.
Another thing to consider is the relationship of the church to the surrounding houses. Kirtling church is some distance from the village, but there is an old farm house called Hall Farm just outside the churchyard. Was this perhaps the site of a manor house?
Manor houses and churches are often very close together, and the name Hall Farm might suggest a connection to a manor house or hall. Another building whose occupants might have had an impact on the church is Kirtling ‘castle’, now a private house called Kirtling Towers, on a large mound just to the south of the church.
This was probably never a proper stone castle, but it was a fortified site nonetheless. You won’t necessarily find an answer to every question right away, but these are things to keep in mind.
Published: 2005-02-01
