St Maurice

Ellingham parish church is situated in the woodland east of the village, you may just see the tower above the trees as you approach.

There has been a place of worship on this site since at least 1150 and possibly earlier. The church is dedicated to St Maurice, leader of the Roman Theban Legion who converted to Christianity and were all martyred for their faith. Churches dedicated to St Maurice are not common, there are no more than half a dozen in the whole country yet two of them are within a few miles of each other, this one and the church at Eglingham. The reason for two rare dedications so close together is not known.

The present church was dedicated in 1862 and replaced the jerry built 1805 construction. This became dilapidated and was pulled down in 1860 on safety grounds.

There are three survivals from an earlier church: the piscina built into the south wall of the sanctuary, the narrow lancet window in the east wall of the south transept and the font bowl lying on the north side of the nave. The pulpit, rood screen and font cover were created by the Ellingham wood carving class at the beginning of the 20th century. In the churchyard are two sandstone pillars from the church built in 1805. Three 19th century stained glass windows are particularly fascinating: the Benedicite window in the north transept, the Te Deum window in the south transept and the window on the south side of the nave depicting the building of the Ark, Durham Cathedral and Ellingham church!

Thanks to an initiative by Ellingham Church of England Primary school the churchyard is a dedicated 'Breathing Spaces' area ,managed by volunteers, and used weekly by 15 children for their 'Forest School' project.