Witham Friary is a village of some 100 houses and several farms.  Hugh of Avalon was tasked by Henry II in 1179 to establish the first Carthusian monastery in England, part of the king’s penance for the murder of Thomas Becket. The monastery buildings did not survive Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries and the church, which was the lay brothers’ chapel, and the Dovecote, (now an architect’s studio) are the only remaining buildings and are listed in B.L.Harris’ ‘Guide to Churches and Cathedrals’.  The church is listed Grade I and mentioned in Betjeman’s ‘Guide to English Parish Churches ‘.  Three fish ponds, reputed to provide for the monks’ non-meat diet, can be found a mile outside the village on the site of the mediaeval monastery.

The church became a parish church in 1459.  The building has had much done to it over the centuries.  There was a significant restoration in 1828-29 including the addition of a tower which was taken down in the next major renovation in 1875.  The thick walls are supported by flying buttresses installed in 1875 and the west end was also rebuilt with a bellcote for three bells.

However the church has a very rare stone ribbed vaulted roof – the work of St Hugh of Lincoln, Prior of Witham 1179-1186 – and a semi-circular east end, typical of Carthusian severe, contemplative design. The font is thought to date from 1459 and was buried under the tower and brought back out in 1875.

The south windows designed by Sir Ninian Comper  in 1922 tell the story of how St Hugh came to Witham and went on to be Bishop of Lincoln where he was responsible for the rebuilding it after a collapse.  The east windows are headed by the Carthusian order’s vows: Silence, Prayer, Solitude.