St Mary's, Bayford

and War Memorial

The church, rebuilt in 1802, is a plain brick edifice, with square embattled tower, small spire, and 1 bell, nave, cross aisle, and chancel; the interior is neat and spacious, and contains several marble tablets - one of them to William Yarrell, Esq., of St James's, Westminster, president of the Linnĉan Society, who died in 1856, and left £500 to be invested, the interest to be applied in keeping the family grave in thorough repair, and the surplus to be distributed among the poor of the parish annually; close to the chancel is an ancient tomb with a very finely wrought marble effigy, in excellent preservation, of George Knighton Miles, dated 1612; the mattress and lace-covered pillow on which the head reclines are richly carved. The register dates from 1538. The living is a rectory, annexed to Essendon, tithe rent-charge of Bayford £368 16s with 45 acres of glebe, in the gift of the Marquis of Salisbury, and held by the Rev. Robert Holden Webb, M.A., of Christ's College, Cambridge; the Rev. Charles Thornton, M.A., of Clare College, Cambridge, is resident curate.

Post Office Directory 1866

The Manor of Bayford was formerly held by Earl Tosti, the brother of King Harold II; it passed through many ancient families, until it was purchased of the Caesar family, by Sir William Baker, Lord Mayor of London, an ancestor of the present proprietor.

Mr. Baker has very recently pulled down the old Church of Bayford, which was an ugly brick building, and erected a new one at his sole cost. It is a very elegant structure in the Early English style, and is deservedly admired. There is a very fine old monument to Sir George Knighton, date 1612, one of the former owners of Bayfordbury; it is of sculptured alabaster, representing a recumbent figure of a knight in armour, and was removed from the old Church. The new Church has an apsidal chancel with windows of stained glass, and there is a small turret with two bells; there are several other interesting monuments and inscriptions in the Church. In the Churchyard art. stones recording the memory of Mr. Yarrell, president of the Linnean Society, the author of a work on British Fishes, and several members of his family.

Mr. Yarrell left the sum of £500 to keep the tombs of himself and family in repair, and the surplus was to be given to the poor. The living of Bayford is a Vicarage, of the annual value of £150, in the gift of W. R. Baker, Esq. The Register dates from 1538.

Guide to Hertfordshire  1880

St Mary's Church and Churchyard, Bayford

photographed in 2011

Listed Building

Caesar Monument

1740 to Charles Caesar of Bayford and his family.

Listed Building

Tomb with surviving iron railings

Edward Jones, esq., of Birchanger Place, Essex

died 18 November 1850 - and family