Facilities and features

Accessibility

Toilets are in the Community Room

Within the toilets in the Community Room

Limited racking is available on the left hand side of the entry porch

Parking on the road outside the church is limited. On Sundays the adjacent school playground is opened for parking. Access is via a narrow road to the left of the church pedestrian entrance.

In the Community Room

A ramp is available and can be provided with due notice.
Call Rev Julie Norris on 07771984699.

We have a hearing loop installed

Copies of the weekly service sheets are available on request.

Assistance dogs are welcome

Gluten free items are usually available in the Coomunity room after the 10.00 Sunday Service.

Wheel chair access is possible through the church doors. At service times there are normally persons by the door able to assist if necessary


Our Building

The church is open daily from 9.30 am to 4 pm.

Our church has stood on this site for 600 years. It was built about 1400 at the expense of Thomas Patesley who was then the incumbent. A rubbing of the original brass on his tomb hangs on the west wall (9*). This building probably replaced a Norman church on the site the only remains of which are seen in the niche (6) and the piscina (7) at the eastern end of the south aisle, now the Resurrection Chapel.

The church suffered at the hands of William Dowsing, a notorious Puritan iconoclast who paid an official visit to the church in 1643 and ordered, amongst other things, the destruction of the original stained glass only fragments of which can now be seen in the windows on the north side of the nave. The original 14m high stone spire was blown down in a gale in 1708 and the tower collapsed in 1798. These were replaced in the first years of the 19th Century using local labour with material salvaged from the wreck. As a result the nave lost one complete bay at its western end, leaving it more or less square in plan. The restoration of the interior, including the laying of the Minton tiles on the floor, was largely carried out during the incumbency of the Revd A.T.Crisford (1852-83). The restoration of the chancel was carried out at that time by the lay rectors, the Master and Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge. The stained glass (5) in the chancel, examples of the early work of the firm of Constable of Cambridge, are memorials to Mr Crisford’s son.

Above the chancel arch is a “Doom” (2), a representation of the Last Judgment, only recovered from under layers of limewash in the middle of the 19th Century. The chancel or rood screen (1) is a restored original. Traces of coloured paint dating from the 15th Century can be found on it. Carved into the back of this screen are representations of the Green Man, an ancient pagan entity. The pulpit (3) dates from 1636 and was originally a “three decker”. At the east end of the north aisle is a parclose screen (4) which formerly enclosed a chantry (a chapel dedicated to the saying of Masses for the Dead). The plinth of the font (10) dates back to the earliest days of the building as it bears the arms of the diocese of Ely and those of John Fordham, Bishop of Ely 1388-1425. There is a ring of 8 bells. Above the porch (8) is a room which used to provide accommodation for a curate.

The Community Room offers a warm space if required.

There is adequate space in the Community Room toilets, alternatively the Choir Vestry may be used.

Listed Building

Music and Worship

The bells are rung for 15 minutes before the 10.00 a.m. Sunday Service; for weddings and funerals (on request), and on other special occasions

Live music events take place at intervals throughout the year - see the Church website and/or Great Shelford Village News for details

The organ was built by Norman Beard and Hill, and used to be situated in the Macaulay Chapel ( as you go in the church, on the north side ). Around 1932 the choir vestry was built and the organ was re-located above.

If you would like to play the instrument, you would be more than welcome please contact Rev Julie Norris or one of the Churchwardens.

Sunday morning the 8.00 service uses the BCP

Sunday morning the Choir is present for the 10.00 Parish and Family Communion Service. We have a full harmony choir of 10 – 13 choristers, ranging in age from 19 to 90. We mainly use the New English Hymnal and aim to sing an anthem at least once a month, and at all major Festivals. We also have Choral Evensong for Easter and traditional carol services for Advent and Christmas.

We are always looking out for more people to join us, as you can see it doesn’t matter how young or old you are. An ability to read music is an advantage but the main requirement is for a joy of singing.


Groups, Courses and Activities

Our Pilgrim Group meets on Mondays 2-3 p.m. We cover a range of topics throughout the year with wide ranging discussion of scriptural themes and their application to our lives today.

Coffee and refreshments are available in the Community Room after to 10.00 service on Sunday. Maureen's coffee morning is heldin the Community Room normally on the first Saturday of the month 10.30 - 12.00

A number of independent groups use our Community Room, including the Friendship Group, the W.I. and the Sewing Group.
We are in Community Partnership with The Cambridgeshire Care Home, the Shelford and Stapleford Youth Initiative (SSYI), and have a Parish Covenant with the adjacent CofE Primary School.

We combine with the Free Church to provide Open Space, and opportunity for children and their parents to meet and for the children to play together in the grounds of our churches. Once a month alternating between our Church and the Free Church. See our Church calendar for dates.

The Friendship Club meets in our Community Room.
See our Church calendar for dates.

A Ukrainian group meets weekly in our Community Room.


Help for Visitors

A Guided tour can be arranged with adequate notice.

A Guide and notes are available for vistors at the back of the Church


Other Features

We hold a monthly Collection for the Cambridge Food Bank.
We maintain a Friendship Box of groceries in the Church porch.

Our extensive Church garden is closed for burials, but there is a Garden of Remembrance for Ashes. There are two Commonwealth War Graves.
Seating is provided for an opportunity to pause and reflect.

Our Parish Church Community Room is a well cherished single-storey building, designed as a meeting room with wheelchair access. It is situated in the churchyard between the Church and the school. The Bishop of Ely formally opened the Room in June 2012.

The room is well used by the groups within the church and village communities.

The PCC welcomes the hiring of the Community Room by other local organisations and individuals. Please check the calendar for current availability

Primarily, it is a meeting room with seating for up to forty, has good cloakroom facilities and a small servery.

We offer a warm room, comfortable chairs and small tables. The servery is well equipped for serving hot drinks and finger refreshments.

However, the Hall will not be suitable for all occasions, hence prospective hirers will need to check their needs with our Hall administrators.

Administrators for the PCC:
Mary Lester (01223 842411)
Dorothy Doel (01223 843946)

We are an inclusive church. Please call Rev Julie Norris 07771984699 to discuss your individual wishes.