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Church
The Nave was built in the 14th century and the west tower in the late 14th century. A blocked 14th century doorway remains in the Nave. The Chancel arch and the font were added in the 15th century. The Chancel was pulled down in 1849 when it was replaced by the present one. The Church has stood on its little hill for 600 years. It was built by local craftsmen with no trained architect, using local materials except stone from Stamford. Transport was very difficult and the tools simple. Drawings from 1831 show a Hertfordshire spike on top of the tower. In 1908 it was given to the Duchy of Lancaster and remains so today. In 1935 it was re-pewed when 19th century deal box pews were replaced by local oak. The original Elm trees behind the church were destroyed by Dutch Elm disease. The iron railings in front of the church were taken down during the war as part of the war effort. There were more railings around the horizontal wooden tomb.
Pre 1937. The church with the old pews which had doors and high backs but made from cheap wood. There was a stove opposite the door which used to get too hot to sit near. The pulpit and lectern are on opposite sides from today. The organ can be seen in the chancel near the choir stalls on the left. Boys would be paid 4d to pump the organ for the whole service. There is a small altar at the end of the chancel. The altar was enlarged in the 1960s and the organ moved to the back of the church.
The Spender window depicting wild flowers, in the bell tower, is in memory of the Spender Sisters' mother.
Flowers in left window (top to bottom): rose, shirley poppy, aquilegia, orchid, wood lily, marguerite, cowslip, poppy, fuchsia, primrose, trumpet gentian, daisy, pasque flower.
Flowers in right window (top to bottom): anemone, wood lily, fritillaria, holly, crocus, gentian, kingcup, tulip, rose, lily, cornflower, nasturtium, buttercup.
The sculptor Percy Portsmouth lived in Youngloves in the 1950s. His patron was the Duke of Wellington and he did commissions for the Wellesley family and a sculpture of Ramsey McDonald. He retired here from the Chair of Sculpture at Edinburgh. His wife Kate started the WI. He made this statue in the church in the 1960s.
Marjorie Lawman's wedding to Mr Brown. She was cousin to Elsie Lawman.
Rushden's five original bells were cast as a peal by John Briant of Hertford, one of the finest English bell founders, in 1787. He died in poverty in Alms Houses in St Albans in 1829 and is buried in the churchyard of All Saints, Hertford. The new sixth bell, made in the Whitechapel foundry, was hung in the 1970s. The Bishop of St Albans (Robert Runcie) officiated. He later became Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Bishop of St Albans with Ralph Winterton and Ronald Maddox RI (later president of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour) with his painting of the Church at the party at Julians. Ralph Winterton of Youngloves was a consultant gynaecologist at the Middlesex Hospital and local historian and bellringer.
