St Mary the Virgin's Church, Cavendish

A Saxon church at Cavendish is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The church is mostly 14th-century, with building dating from about 1300 to about 1485, with some 19th-century additions and alterations. The oldest parts of the church, dating from about 1300, are the Tower, the Porch and the lower parts of the walls of the aisles. In 1350 the South aisle walls were rebuilt to their present height and new windows were inserted.

The church contains a 16th-century Flemish reredos, in the North aisle, showing the crucifixion. It is set in a frame by Sir Ninian Comper. Until the late 1530s, a chantry altar probably stood in the church, perhaps for a guild. There is a squint that would have allowed the chantry priest a view of the high altar. The canopied niche to the right of the chest contains a modern image of the Madonna and child. The altar was replaced by a tomb chest for Sir George Colt, who died in 1570. There is a large roundel memorial in the South aisle to Sue Ryder and Leonard Cheshire, best known for their war relief work in the years after 1945. At the east end of the south aisle is the tomb chest for Sir…