Online History

The Millennium Window by Peter Caller (Details represent the life of St Martin)

The village of Preston Hertfordshire grew up around Temple Dinsley, which was the home of the Knights Templar, and is now the Princess Helena College.

The earliest reference to a church at Dinsley was in 1252 when 6 acres of its land was given to the nuns at Elstow in Bedfordshire. The nuns agreed to provide a chaplain to the church, which was then valued at 40 shillings, to celebrate Mattins, Mass and Vespers every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. To support the chaplain, the nuns gave the Templars each year one mark of silver and 4lb of wax for candles to celebrate the feast of St Michael. It is interesting to note that the timber from the grounds of Dinsley was used to construct the new choir at St Albans Abbey in 1314.

The Knights Hospitallers were at Dinsley (now Preston) until their dissolution by King Henry the Eighth in 1542. The Dinsley estate was then given to Sir Ralph Sadleir for his services to the crown. His name lives on at Sadleir’s End in Chequers Lane. In 1690 his son Edwin sold the estate, to cover his debts, to Benedict Ithell who later became a Trustee of Hitchin Grammar School. When his widow died in 1767 the estate was inherited by Thomas Harwood, “her faithful friend and steward” and from him by his and Martha Ithell’s secret son Joseph Darton. Finally, in 1873, the Dartons sold Temple Dinsley to Henry Pryor who sold off parts of the estate, so establishing the village as we now know it.

There is very little on record of worship in the village from the dissolution of the Knights Templar in 1542 until the mid-19^th century. However there are strong links with John Bunyan, who held regular services in a natural amphitheatre – still known as Bunyan’s Dell – in Wain Wood in the 1660s. The villagers were staunch followers of Bunyan, and they built a chapel in 1877 which was regularly used for worship until about 1985.

As far as Anglican worship is concerned, Preston was not large enough to support a church and was part of the Parish of Hitchin. However the village school, which had been built by the Dartons in 1849, was used for Church services until 1900 and Mr Ralston de Vins Pryor, who lived at The Laburnums (now known as Pryor House), ran a Sunday school there. The curate of St Mary’s, Hitchin, who was responsible for the spiritual welfare of Preston, the Rev. B.N.Switzer, suggested that Mr Pryor should donate one acre of his land for a Church and Burial Ground. His grave can be found opposite the west door.

On January 28^th 1899, Mr T.B.Carter, submitted a design with an estimated cost of £1200. This was accepted by the church committee and the people of Preston undertook to raise the money. The foundation stone was laid by Mrs MacMillan (an aunt of Sir Harold MacMillan), who was then living at Temple Dinsley, on St Martin’s Day, 11^th November 1899. The church was consecrated as St Martin’s by the Bishop of St Albans on 14^th July 1900. It has been described as:

“A simple little building set in a formal churchyard, with curiously domestic details reminiscent of C.F.A. Voysey (a prominent turn-of-the-century architect). With a pebble-dashed exterior, steep slate roof and plain nave windows between battered buttresses linked by segmental arches. At the west end is a stumpy towerlet with a gable for bells.”

Money for building the church came in very slowly, supported by a grant of £20 from the St Albans Diocese, but many benefactors provided the fittings.

The altar was given by Mr Pryor, made from oak from his Clifton estates;

The statues of St George and St Alban above the altar were given by Mrs Cazenove and the the Rev. Eadon;

The octagonal stone font was given by Mr & Mrs Cazenove in memory of their baby;

The wooden lectern in the form of an eagle was given by Mrs MacMillan;

The oak pulpit was given by Francis Newton of Hitchin in memory of his parents;

The east window was erected in memory of Thomas Warrin who died in 1888. It was designed by Cristopher Whall and represents the Tree of Jesse.

The window in the south chancel wall is a memorial to Julian Royds Gribble VC, brother of Mrs Leslie Seebohm; it shows Mr Gribble’s face on a representation of St Martin.

Recently two new stained glass windows have been installed. Both designed by Peter Caller, a local stained glass artist. In the south nave wall is the Centenary Window, depicting the life of St Martin and in the south wall of the porch is the Memorial Window to William Palmer, installed on 28^th June 2001.

There is no record of where the organ came from. It was built by Eagles of Hackney in 1856 and is thought to have been a drawing-room instrument. In 1982 an enlarged pedal board and Bourdon pipes were fitted after a number of local fund-raising events.

In the southeast corner of the nave is a 13^th century stone coffin lid decorated with a carved floreated cross with a simple cross on the under side. It was dug up with other coffin lids and with human fragments at Temple Dinsley, and there is no doubt that it covered one of the ancient knights, probably a Master or Preceptor of the Knights Templars.

The pastel drawing of St Martin by Ruby Masters in the entrance lobby is the design for a mural, which was originally intended to be placed below the east window. The architect’s drawing of the interior of the church (hanging in the vestry) shows this intention.

Some more recent gifts include the oak bookcase for hymnbooks in memory of Frederick Geidt, who was the treasurer of the church for many years; the installation of the electric heating was paid for by the collection taken at his funeral. The hassocks were stitched, made-up and presented by parishioners, pupils at the Princess Helena College and other well-wishers of all ages and sexes.

The electrical system and heating were renovated and brought up to modern safety standards in 1994, with funding from the Friends of St Martin’s, while in 1993 the roof was completely rebuilt using new Virginia slates on the south face and the best of the original Welsh slates on the north. In 2001 the interior walls were replastered and the entire church was repainted by a team of parishioners.

St Martin’s, Preston was a ‘chapel of ease’ for the parish of St Mary’s, Hitchin from 1900 until 1967. The changes to the diocesen parish boundaries transferred St Martin’s to the parish of King’s Walden. In 1991, a further revision of the boundaries moved St Martin’s to the parish of St Paul’s Walden.