A Brief History of St. Mary's Church - 2
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The Millicent Memorial
Hidden behind the massive organ in the Millicent Chapel is an exquisite Monument dedicated to Squire John Millicent’s parents and grandmother. Fresh from his triumph over the vindictive Lone family the Squire was determined to consolidate his victory by means of a beautiful monumental structure which would remind future congregations of the importance of the Millicent family in Linton affairs. The precise year of its construction is unknown, but it is most likely to have been completed after the marriage of the Squire to Dorothy Wright in 1705.
The Millicent Memorial was probably so magnificent because the Squire wanted to build a structure which would dwarf the existing Flack and Lone Monuments which were then fixed to the walls of the Chancel, close to the Millicent Chapel. At the top right hand side is the full sized bust of a well dressed woman [photo 9], John’s grandmother Duglas Wright, the wife of Robert Millicent, who died in 1631.
Beneath Duglas are two full sized figures with their hands meeting on a large skull: her son John and his wife Alice Chester [photo 10]. Hour glasses hang by their sides 
[photo 11]. John was regarded as a Civil War hero and went on to play a prominent role in Restoration politics. He was a local J.P. and became the dominant social and political figure in Linton for almost forty years until his death in 1686. The Millicent family were pre-eminent during this period because the Linton Manorial lords, the Paris family, were Roman Catholic recusants and resided in Norfolk.
John and Alice Millicent produced eleven children and the six girls and five boys are shown in shallow 
relief beneath their parents [photo 12]. John is praised in the Latin inscription as a good husband, a fair and impartial administrator of justice and an excellent leader. There is a reference to their ninth child, William, who showed great promise but died young . All the children save for John Millicent junior (1657 to 1716) died before their father’s death in 1686. Squire John revered his parents and grandmother and this explains why he ordered such a large Memorial to be built.
At the bottom of the Monument is a coat of arms and a small plaque with an inscription, "under cold marble are buried here the bones of John Millicent gent and his wife Elizabeth (Gulle)". This John was the founder of the Millicent family fortune and he built the Millicent Chapel shortly before his death in 1577. He had served Thomas Cromwell during the dissolution of the monasteries and acted as a government spy at the time of the Pilgrimage of Grace. Squire John probably left the original small plaque intact and constructed his magnificent Memorial above it.
Church Restoration after 1870
Linton Church had been neglected over the centuries and the building was in a poor state of repair by the 1850s. However, a newly appointed Linton vicar, the Reverend Edward Wilkinson, came in 1859 and was determined to undertake renovations. It required a ten-year battle before the vicar secured majority support in the small group of influential people who controlled the Linton Vestry, but on July 22nd 1870 the Vestry voted by seven votes to six to petition the Chancellor of the Diocese of Ely for a Faculty to remodel the Church, at a cost of around £477, paid for mainly by the Reverend Wilkinson.
The Church interior acquired an entirely new look, very similar to the appearance of our present Church. All the existing pews and seats were removed and replaced with chairs. The floors were made good using four thousand brick tiles purchased from Haverhill, and the Font was re-located closer to the west end of the south Aisle. The old large arch at the east end of the Nave had to be replaced by two arches, and if one views the two arches from the south Aisle it is still possible to see the wide curve of the old single arch in the plaster work. The north aisle gallery (erected in 1790) was pulled down, a new pulpit was built into the southern arch of the Chancel and two desks were positioned on either side of the Chancel arch.
Upkeep of the Chancel was the responsibility of Pembroke College, and restoration work on this part of the church was completed in 1878 to 1879. The Chancel, the Millicent Chapel and the Vestry were all restored, including repairs to the mullions and stonework, and a new lead roof. A handsome oak reredos was positioned across the whole of the eastern wall, with returns north and south and a new oak altar rail and a prayer desk for choirboys was also installed. Various monuments were relocated to other parts of the church, and the Sclater- Bacon Monument was moved to its present position in the south aisle.
At the same time, the old and inferior organ standing in the Millicent Chapel was taken down and funds were raised for a larger new organ, which was installed in the Millicent Chapel in 1879, completely obscuring the Millicent Memorial.
Church Windows
On the southern aisle wall nearest the south porch the various glass shields saved during the restoration of the church are displayed in a window [photo 14]. The East and West Windows were installed and paid for by subscriptions in 1893. The Isaacson family of Springfield House in Horn Lane and the Chalk family of Chilford Hall were major contributors to the East window. The West Window was paid for by the Bennett family who resided at Richmonds in the High Street.
The Queen Victoria Memorial Window is located in the north aisle [photo 15]. Originally intended as the Diamond Jubilee Window the window was eventually renamed to commemorate the Queen's death, since it had taken Linton so long to raise the money!
In May, 1921 the Memorial Window and Oak Tablet with the names of the War dead was unveiled in the Parys Chapel. The Tablet was removed to the north aisle in the 1960s.
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