History of St Faith’s Church, Kilsby

Kilsby's church was originally founded in the early 1100s as a daughter chapel of the neighbouring parish of Barby. The two villages still share a priest to this day, and there are close links between the churches in the two communities.

The church is now dedicated to St Faith, but had an earlier dedication to St Andrew (as revealed by wills dating from the c15th/c16th) and perhaps an even earlier one to St Denys (c12th).

The present building dates from the 12th century, with the north aisle added in the 13th century and the south aisle shortly after. Kilsby was a strongly Puritan village following the Reformation, and the church's medieval decorations, including wall paintings, rood screen and stained glass, were destroyed. The present stained glass is mostly Victorian, and the upper clerestory was also remodelled at this time. The box pews are Georgian.

The church building has withstood many potential disasters, including a fire in the tower in 1911, and due to subsidence many years ago the north aisle leans quite alarmingly, but it is quite safe!

A spiral-bound booklet is available documenting one thousand years of history of the church and chapel in Kilsby: 'A History of the Church in Kilsby', (c) Gren Hatton 2004, 38 pages, illustrated

Details, dates and dimensions; the story of medieval catholicism, Puritanism, and the early non-conformist Independent chapel; parish registers, incumbents, the chantry chapel, the fire in the bell tower, Georgian splendour and 19th century renovation ... and much more. It's all here, in accessible and readable form.

Copies of the booklet are available (price £3 + p&p) from the churchwardens.

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