Introduction There has been a Christian church located in Hartford for an indeterminate amount of time. There is evidence of Stone, Iron and Bronze Age settlements in the vicinity. The Saxon name for the settlement was “Hereforde”, which translated means “army ford”, so this would have been a crossing point for the river. The earliest documentation of a Church is noted in the Domesday book, which records that a simple wooden church was present in 1086. William the Conqueror clearly realised that someone would be interested in the history of the church in the future, and set about addressing this requirement. Sadly, neither the Angles, the Saxons, the Danes, the Romans nor any of their successors, created further content that has documented the history of the church. The church in its current picturesque location near to the River Ouse was built in 1180, on what is believed to be the site of a Roman watchtower. The church was significantly restored in 1861 and later in 1895. Nave (37 feet by 17.5 feet) The nave has two series of arches supported by columns (arcades). Each arcade has 3 columns. The north arcade was built around 1180, and the south arcade was built around 1190. The North and South aisles(5 feet wide) including most of the walls and windows were rebuilt in the 1861 restoration and the oak South door had a porch added. The following items of interest are located in the nave: An early 17th century carved oak chest. A 12th century font which sits on an 18th century base. This was moved from a position near the South door to its present position in the centre of the west end of the church, during the restoration of 1895. Oak pews, which it is believed were installed during the restoration of 1861. A decorated Pulpit, which was moved a few feet in 1895, to leave the Chancel arch clear. The stair rail was erected as a memorial to Granville Robert Chandler and his wife Gladys in May 1983. The Tower (11 feet square) The tower is built of stone rubble with dressings of Barnack stone and other free stones. It was altered or rebuilt in the late 15th century. The external doorway to the tower, on the West side of the church has been blocked. On the south side of the tower is a doorway to the stair turret which leads to the upper tower where the bells are located. In July 1552 there were five bells, but there are currently six. Five of these were made in 1796 with the remaining bell made in 1799. The Six Bells are not to be confused with the public house of the same name. The wooden screen across the west end of the nave was built as a memorial to Patience Seeley (d. 1938) and was extended in 1995, in memory of Peter & Jean Bath, to completely enclose the choir vestry. There is also a memorial to the reverend Vyner Snell and members of his family. Acknowledgements My primary source for information has been “All Saints Church Hartford – A brief guide and history” which was researched and compiled by Mrs L Coley & Mr D. Cozens in 1980. This was updated in 1999 by Mr J.S. Craven. Thanks are also due to Mike Stephenson of the Huntingdonshire Family History Society for providing and granting permission to use copyright resources of the Huntingdonshire Family History Society for this website. If you are interested in finding out more there are a number of resources both online and using more traditional resources. Those that I have identified are: The Huntingdonshire Family History Society. The Hunts FHS has published the Hartford Parish Registers from 1538 -1890 and the Monumental inscriptions for the years 1707 - 1999. These can be obtained from their bookstall at Huntingdon Library Cambridgeshire Library The British History society The Norris Museum, St Ives The Cromwell Museum, Huntingdon.