Building record 0447100000 - HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, PENN

Dimensions - Width 15m, Length 25m.
Plan Form - Irregular.
C13 to C15 with C18 alterations. Roughcast, flint and brick. Good C15 timber roof. Square west tower. (Full description). List of vicars and rectors, 1273-1823 (B1-4).
Early C14: chancel, nave, W tower. Mid-C14: S aisle and ?S chapel. Early C15 clearstory and new roof; N porch and S porch (B5).
At NGR (B10).
Grade I. C13 to C15 with C18 alterations. Roughcast, flint and brick. Good C15 timber roof and interesting painting of 'doom' on wood. Brasses, hatchments and monuments, including hatchment of Queen Anne (a frequent visitor) and monument over vault of six grandsons of William Penn, sons of Thomas Penn, 'Proprietor of Pennsylvania'. Marquetry C17 pulpit removed from Curzon Street Chapel 1899. (RCHM I 266 Monument 1 VCH) (B11).
The parish register notes that Lord Howe retiled the chancel with marble in 1918, and surviving Penn tiles from the chancel were accessioned to the Herts County Museum at St Albans. The Lady Chapel Millennium floor tile project saw the return of tiles in the collection of the British Museum and together with those found at Grass-Side to form the new floor and new tiles made by Diana Hall, a new floor for the altar platform was made. Following the retirement of Rev Oscar Muspratt, 32 tile fragments were found in the vicarage wrapped in 1967 newspaper. The tiles were believed to have come from graves outside the north porch. One was an octagonal tile with the crudely drawn head of a lion or mythical beast, which appears to be part of 9-tile design requiring a large tile in the centre (B14).




(SU 91639328) Holy Trinity Church (NAT) (B16).

5134 PENN CHURCH ROAD (south side) Parish Church of Holy Trinity SU 9193 4/4 22.12.58 I GV
C13 to C15 with C18 alterations. Roughcast, flint and brick. Good C15 timber roof and interesting painting of "doom" on wood. Brasses, hatchments and monuments, including hatchment of Queen Anne (a frequent visitor) and monument over vault of six grandsons of William Penn, sons of Thomas Penn, "Proprietor of Pennsylvania". Marquetry C17 pulpit removed from Curzon Street Chapel 1899. (RCHM I 266 Monument 1 VCH). (B11)

The parish church of Holy Trinity is situated at the east end of the village Penn. It consists of a short west tower, a nave, a south aisle, a chancel and several accretions. The south aisle, west tower and porches are covered with rough-cast; the chancel and south chapel are partly of flint, partly of brick and the south chapel is partly cemented. The roof is covered by tiles. The west tower dates to the early 14th century. The queen post roof of the nave was built in the early 15th century and the north porch also dates to the 15th century. The chancel arch and south chapel were rebuilt above the windowsill in 1736, which is recorded in a tablet over the north doorway. The single-light pointed windows are probably of circa 1800, whereas the east window and east wall date to the 19th century. The three dormers were renewed in the 20th century and were originally from the 1730s. The church contains a Doom painting on boards which dates to circa 1400 and the late 15th century. The painting depicts Christ in Majesty with Angels holding the Instruments of the Passion, Angels sounding the last Trump, the Apostles and the Virgin with St John the Baptist. The church contains a monument to six grandsons of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. They were the six sons of Thomas Penn. (B5 and B17).

NRHE Insert 2009, Update 2005 and 2013 (B18).

This record includes National Record of the Historic Environment Information provided by Historic England on 4 June 2025 licensed under the Open Government Licence.