St Mary Magdalene Church, Ickleton

[1] Its parish is part of a combined benefice with those of St Peter's, Duxford and SS Mary and John, Hinxton.

[2] Dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, it is early Norman in date, built of rubble and flint with Barnack limestone dressings.

[1] It was originally dedicated to St Mary the Virgin but was later rededicated to Ickleton Priory's patron saint.

[4] The church was built in the late 11th[1] or early 12th[3] century with a nave, chancel and central tower over the crossing between the two.

[1] In the 13th century the crossing was given pointed Early English Gothic east and west arches, but their Norman responds were retained.

The height of the tower was increased: English Heritage says this was in about 1340[1] but Nikolaus Pevsner dates the bell-openings to about 1300.

[1] The nave clerestory was increased in height and given a new roof, and the lead-covered broach spire was added.

In the middle of the 15th century the chancel was rebuilt and a Perpendicular Gothic north chapel and vestry were added.

[3] By 1877 St Mary Magdalene's churchyard was no longer sufficient for parish burials, so in 1883 a new cemetery and funeral chapel were opened beside Brookhampton Street just north of the village.

Thomas Newman, who had bell-foundries at Norwich and Cambridge,[7] cast what are now the fourth and seventh bells in 1729.