When the foundations of the 'new' parish church of St. Mary Magdalene were being dug in 1877 an interesting discovery was made. Quantities of fine chiselled stones were unearthed. These were later verified as being the remains of an old Gothic Church which stood on, or near, the site hundreds of years before. Watson's 'History of Wisbech and District' tells us that at Guyhirne there was from very early times a church, "Capella Maria Magdalene de Guyhirne" and, also, that in the year 1406 a certain Sir John Gray was Chaplain of Guyhirne. At the beginning of the 16th century it appears that the old church at Guyhirne was allowed to fall into decay. Following the retirement of one William Susan, Chantry priest of Guyhirne, on a pension of £3 and ten shillings per annum, the village was left without a resident clergyman for over three hundred years -surely one of the longest interregnums in history!.
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