All Saints' Church, Huntingdon

All Saints’ Church stands in the market town of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. The earliest church on this site was recorded in 973 AD, originally dedicated to St Mary or the Blessed Virgin and All Martyrs. The present building mixes styles: the chancel is Early English, the main structure Late Perpendicular Gothic from Henry VII’s reign, rebuilt in 1620. Sir George Gilbert Scott led a 19th-century restoration, adding new oak roofs while keeping old carvings or faithfully reproducing them. The church has a western tower with four bells, a carved alabaster pulpit with metal railings, and a stone font on jasper and marble columns. The church holds notable historical records. The registers of St John Baptist, brought here after its demolition, start from 1585, while All Saints’ own go back to 1558. Oliver Cromwell’s baptism appears in the St John’s register for 1599, and a later entry notes his penance for misconduct. His father Robert Cromwell was buried here in 1617. The church also briefly held the body of Mary Queen of Scots en route from Peterborough to Westminster Abbey in the early 17th century. Inside, visitors find a spacious nave with seating for about 500. The organ has three rows of keys and thirty to forty stops, and the oak stalls are interspersed with walnut and cedar. A carved oak reredos from the 1800s enriches the chancel, and the vestry was enlarged with cane ornamentation. Stained glass windows and the tower’s bells add to the atmosphere. The church’s stonework and fittings reflect centuries of craftsmanship and local history.