St Helen’s Church, Wheathampstead

St Helen’s is an active Anglican church in the villageSmall rural collection of buildings with a church. of Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire. It is in the Archdeaconry of St Albans, the Deanery of Wheathampstead, the Diocese of St Albans, and is one of two churches in the BeneficeOriginally used in feudal societies to describe a grant of land as a reward for services rendered. In modern usage it refers to a collection of parishes working together under a single incumbent. of Wheathampstead.^[1]

The church is of Pre-Conquest and Norman origin, the earliest surviving part being the chancelPart of a church containing the altar, used by the officiating clergy.Part of a church containing the altar, used by the officiating clergy., dating from about 1238; the central tower dates from about 1290.^[2] The entire building was restored in 1865–1866 by the architect Edward Browning; it was designated a Grade I listed buildingStructure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. in 1953.^[3]

Architecture

St Helen’s is built of flint rubble and stone dressings, to a cruciform plan, with the naveCentral part of a church, used by the laiety. and chancelPart of a church containing the altar, used by the officiating clergy.Part of a church containing the altar, used by the officiating clergy. of equal length. The main building has slate roofs; the tower has a lead pyramidal roof supporting a spire.^[3] The present-day spire is an 1865 reimagining of what the earlier medieval version may have looked like.^[2]

The font at the west end of the nave dates from the early 14th century, and the oak pulpit from the early 17th century.^[3]