Church of St Vincent, Newnham

The Church of St Vincent in Newnham, Hertfordshire, stands east of the village on a quiet lane. Built in the 12th century and listed Grade II*, it is made of soft clunch rubble with dressed stone around the stair turret. The Victorian render imitates ashlar with scribed lines. The nave measures 48 ft 3 in by 15 ft 9 in, and the chancel 31 ft 3 in by 12 ft 7 in. A small west tower and south aisle with porch were added around 1340. The church is worth visiting for its Newnham Murals uncovered in 1963. These 14th- and 15th-century wall paintings include a late 15th-century St Christopher with cliffs, fish and a hermit’s lantern. John of Wheathampstead, Abbot of St Albans, oversaw repairs between 1420 and 1440. Two monumental brasses remain: one to Joan Dowman from 1607 and another early 16th-century slab showing a man and two wives. A single bell in the tower once belonged to a trio cast by a local craftsman at the end of the 16th century. Inside, visitors find the octagonal baptismal font and the south porch with medieval graffiti. Fragments of 15th-century glass survive in the west window of the south aisle. The chancel holds memorials from the 17th and 18th centuries, and an embroidery of St Vincent is displayed in his memory. The north wall displays the best-preserved mural, while a consecration cross of unusual design marks the stair turret.