, shortened in 1758, was extended one bay to the east, and a south transept added, opening out of the chancel and south aisle. A new boiler-room was added at the west end of the north aisle and new heating apparatus installed. The nave and aisles were refloored in rubbed stone, with oak under the seats, and the chancel in polished Hoptonwood stone, intermixed with marble and tiles. The nave, aisle and transept were reseated with open seats of wainscot oak; new prayer desks and choirstalls were installed, and a new pulpit, the upper part in oak, the base and steps in Hoptonwood stone. New wrought-iron altar rails were also added. (fn. 439)
Stained glass by Eleanor Brickdale was inserted into the north window of the chancel in 1921. (fn. 440)
The church contains a monument to Charles Hosier and his wife by Sir Henry Cheere, erected in 1758, and others to their daughter, Anna Maria Sharp (d. 1747), her father-in-law John Sharp (d. 1726), and her son John Hosier Sharp (d. 1734), as well as Elizabeth Sharp (d. 1810). (fn. 441)
Until 1587 Wick Dive had only two bells but after the union three more were brought from Wick Hamon church and the whole recast by Lord Spencer. (fn. 442) One of the bells was cracked by frost in 1797 and recast the following year. (fn. 443) The bells were rehung in 1882, (fn. 444) and recast as a set of eight and rehung in a new frame in 1931 in memory of the 3rd Lord Penrhyn. On both occasions the work was done by Taylors of Loughborough and the Douglas-Pennants met most of the cost. In 1931 the chiming clock in the tower was also restored as a further memorial to Penrhyn. (fn. 445)
The Parish Church Of Wick Hamon.
St. James, Wick Hamon, consisted of a nave and chancel about 60 ft. long and 20 ft. wide, and a west tower 10 ft. square containing three bells. (fn. 446) After the union of 1587, instead of services being held alternately at the two churches as intended, St. James was stripped of its bells (fn. 447) and allowed to decay. In 1619 the rector and wardens sought permission to demolish the church, which after a commission had reported on its ruinous condition was granted. (fn. 448) Nothing survived of the fabric in Bridges's day, although he reported that part of the tower had been standing 'not many years ago'. (fn. 449) The churchyard was later let as part of the glebe (fn. 450) and was still known as Old Churchyard or Church Field Close in the 19th century. (fn. 451)
In 1801 Mrs. Prowse dismissed her dairymaid for attending Methodist meetings (where they were held is not stated), inviting the youth of the village to accompany her, and allowing the preachers to call. (fn. 452) Many years later, in 1833, a house in Wicken occupied by John Foddy was certified as a dissenting meeting house. (fn. 453) This appears to have been a shortlived venture, for a few years later the rector assured the Northamptonshire branch of the National Society that there were no dissenters in his parish and thus no dissenting school. (fn. 454) Any Nonconformists in Wicken probably worshipped at Deanshanger, where there were both Baptist and Primitive Methodist chapels in the 19th century. (fn. 455)
The Village School Before 1870.
From at least 1768 (when the surviving accounts begin) Elizabeth Prowse was paying a master and mistress to teach both boys and girls at a school on her estate at Wicken, as well as providing coal and other items, including worsted cloth for the girls to make up. The cost was charged against income from the cottage rents; Mrs. Prowse kept the proceeds from the sale of finished garments. The master was paid three guineas a year for teaching 12 'Charity Boys', plus 1s. a week for another six boys. (fn. 456) In 1800 Catherline Lamburne was the schoolmaster at Wicken. (fn. 457) When the younger Elizabeth Prowse died in 1810 she left one share in the Grand Junction Canal Company to the rector and churchwardens of Wicken, the dividends on which were to be used to help meet the expenses of both the day school and Sunday school (established in 1788). (fn. 458) In the 1830s the share was producing ab