About Us

The parish of Clothall is the smallest of the five parishes in our benefice and lies on the summit and slopes of the chalk hills to the south-east of the town of Baldock. It is a village of scattered farms and homesteads spread over a large area of open farmland. The church of St Mary the Virgin stands on rising ground to the north-east of the village.  It consists of chancel with vestry, nave, south chapel and south tower. The present church was built around 1350–70 on the foundations of the older 12th Century nave, and a font - also 12th Century - remains at the West end of the Nave. The south doorway is of the 14th century and retains the original plank door which is never locked.

The Glass in the East window is the glory of the church and it is thought there are only two other windows like these in England, possibly the work of the same hand. It consists of six late C14 medallions including one depicting Mary Magdalene, reputed to have come from the leper colony at Hooks Green. The medallions are surrounded by diamond panes depicting birds of the English Countryside some possibly now extinct.

The author Thomas Stanley was born in Clothall in 1625 and is buried in the church and there are also some fine and interesting memorial brasses on the Chancel floor from about this period.

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