Parish Church Of Saint Denys

The Parish Church of Saint Denys is a Grade II* listed building located in Little Barford. It has origins in the Norman period, with significant elements from the 14th and 15th centuries, and some 19th-century alterations. The structure is built from brown cobbles with ashlar dressings, featuring 20th-century tile and some slate roofs.

The church includes a chancel, south vestry and organ chamber, nave aisle, and a west tower. The chancel dates from the Norman period and early 14th century, having been reworked in 1869. It features three lancet windows on the east side and two north windows in a 14th-century style. The early 14th-century chancel arch and a two-bay south arcade from the same period are notable features. A south chapel from the 14th century was demolished in 1834 and replaced by the vestry and organ chamber in 1869.

The nave combines Norman and 14th-century elements, with reworkings from 1834 and 1871. It has a three-bay pointed arched north arcade and three south windows, one from the 16th century set at a higher level, while the others are 19th-century in 12th and 14th-century styles. A late 12th-century south doorway features a square head under a semi-circular arch, decorated with zigzag and dogtooth designs and scalloped capitals. A holy water stone projects externally to the east of the door. The clerestory from the 15th century includes two windows on each side, and there is a plain parapet.

The north aisle, dating from the early 14th century, has been reworked in the 19th century. It includes reset 12th-century windows to the west and east, with the east window significantly altered. Other openings are from the 19th century. The late 15th-century west tower is three stages high, featuring an embattled parapet, paired belfry windows, and a restored five-light window.

Inside, the church contains a late 13th-century octagonal font with beaded angles, five columns, and traces of red paint. There is a 1535 brass set in the nave floor, and a 15th-century projecting piscina, which has been reset in the vestry, featuring an arched opening to the west and a head imitating ribbed vaulting. A 15th-century screen, also removed to the vestry, shows indications of old colour from repainting. The roofs and pews are from the 19th century, and the west window was designed by Kempe in 1887.