2024 Review Pt2

 

 

This week I review the second half of 2024 where I managed to visit more Churches in Oxfordshire plus a few revisits 

July  

We start with St Peter Filkins which did not have much history due to it being built in Victorian times, none the less it was a nice church to see

St Peter Broughton Poggs is only a short distance from the last one and was a church I had been looking forward to seeing. It dates back to Norman times and still looks old inside  

While in Wales the previous month I also visited a couple of Welsh Chapels which were both locked though I did get photos through the window of one.

I decided that I would try and visit some of the churches on The Clerics trail when I go to Wales and managed to visit St Michael & All Angeles Clyro which was the fist church that Rev Francis Kilvert was rector of 

August 

 

I stopped off at St Meilig Llowes on the was back from Clyro because Kilvert had visited the church which was interesting especially and it has St Meiligs cross 

For the next church it was back on the Oxfordshire Best Churches trail and I went to St Nicholas Idbury which was about as far west as you can get in Oxfordshire. It was a really nice church with an unusual tomb in the churchyard 

The next church was St Simon & St Jude at Milton-Uner-Wychwood It was featured in the Oxfordshires best churches but I wonder why as it was Victorian and did not look that special apart from the bell turret

St Mary Shipton-under-Wychwood came next and had a mention in the book in the information on another church but in truth I felt it more worthy than the last church

I managed to visit St Michael Leafield for the last church on this trip which did feature in Oxfordshires Best Churches and though it was another Victorian Church this one I could see why it was in the book, it also had a very impressive spire

September 

The first church in September was All Saints Spelsbury where I bumped into the Family History Society who were recording the names on headstones, the churchyard had some old headstones but the church was more interesting to look around with some interesting monuments.

St Nicholas Chadlington was not in the book but must have been in the running as it was a beautiful church to look around

All Saints Shorhampton is out in the country beside a farm but when you walk in you can see why it was listed in the book with the  medieval wall art to view and the simplicity of the church

For the last church of the month I revisited St Luke's Garford a church I visited years ago and never got to see inside, the revisit rectified that and I was really pleads I made the effort to arrange the visit

October  

I started October off with a visit to All Saints Marcham which was another return visit for me. On my first visit I only had a quick look around but this time I found more to see.

St Mary Magdalene Shipon was a return visit only this time I managed to go inside for a good look around the church

St Peter Wilcote was the first of three churches close together that I wanted to visit to fill in an area on my map of churches I had missed

St James Ramsden was one church that I missed on a previous visit to the area so this time I managed to get to it for a look around and found  a beautiful Victorian church

November  

Started with a visit to St John the Evangilist Hailey which was built back in 1761 and I found to be a nice church to visit, there was also a nearby cemetery that looked like it belonged to the previous church

St Peter Bucknell had me back after churches in the book Oxfordshires Best Churches and I could see why it was considered one of them

St Mary Ardley was next and it had a Georgian look about it but it was letdown for me as the church was locked so I came away with disappointment which only  worse when I found the next church I had in mind I could not find a way to get to due to being on a private estate behind gates, this got rectified at a later date.

St James the Apostle Somertom came next in my quest to visit churches from the book I had and it proved why it was included in the book as it was quiet a church to visit

St Mary Upper Hayford was the last church I posted in Novemeber , the churchyard looked quite empty till you noticed the cemetery opposite the church and inside turned out more interesting than it did outside

December 

St Mary Lower Hayford is only a could of miles away and I found a much nicer church to visit with more of interest both inside & out 

All Saints Middleton Stoney was the church I could not get  to on a previous visit but after emailing the church warden I found out it was quite easy to access and it was a church that I found very interesting with a large Commonwealth War Cemetery

My blogs are written in the order I visit the churches and I usually like to write one with some hint of Christmas in it for the last one of the year so felt let down when I could not get in the church I was going to post about but as luck would have it I managed to revisit St Peter Alviscott which I was really glad I made the effort to revisit.

I did manage to visit St Edburg Bicster just before Christmas but that is a blog for next year. I hope you enjoyed the churches I visited during 2024 and I hope to bring you more in 2025 which will comprise of a few revisits to churches I would like to get new photos of. As there are about 14 churches I would like to visit from Oxfordshires Best Churches I intend to try and get to those even though they take over an hour to drive to, I also intend to get to some more churches in Berkshire as well as a few more in Wales. Thank you for visiting my blog and  I hope you will come back again in 2025

Till next time may I wish you all a peaceful week

2024 Review

 

 Happy New Year to you all It is time for my review of the churches I visited during 2024, my intention to start with was to visit more of the churches in the book Oxfordshires Best Churches and at the start of the year I had quite a few to get through by the end I have around 14 left as well as a few on Oxford itself. The problem is now they are taking an hours driving to reach so I have to try and combine a few other churches along with them to make the trip worth the effort. This year I revisited a few of the churches I had been to before, visited more in Wales as well as thous in Oxfordshire, by Decemeber I had managed to visit 52 churches the most I have done in one year

January 

St Bartholomew Ducklington was the first church I wrote about and was one of the churches from Oxfordshires Best Churches, at the time of my visit it was being readied for Christmas and was quite a superb church to visit with some stunning carvings to see around tomb recesses in the south aisle not to mention the other carvings high up on the walls

St Mary Cogges  was not far from the last church but I fund quite hard to get to so I had to make a visit through a back road to get there. The church is another one mentioned in Oxfordshires Best Churches though from my point of view I found it a bit disappointing 

St Mary Ipsden is only a few miles from where I live and I felt it was time to update the photos with a re visit. It is one of thous churches that you can spend a few moments of peace in

February 

St Margaret Little Faringdon is one of the churches featured in the  book Oxfordshires Best Churches but was not an east place to get to being in the west of Oxfrodshirebut it was worth the effort of getting there

St Matthew Langford  was the next church I visited from the book Oxfordshires Best Churches, it was an odd church to look at but did have some really interesting features to see

St Mary the Virgin North Stoke is only across the river from our village and was a revisit to update the photos I took back in 2013. The church is on the Ridgeway path and one which is well worth looking at if you are walking the route, it was also another off my list of churches in Oxfordshire Best Churches

St James the Great Stonesfield rounded off February and ticked another of the list form the book. It was a beautiful church to visit with some superb stained glass and pulpit dated 1629 to see 

March

March saw me visiting St Mary Chalrbury a church that you may have seen on the TV series Father Brown.

The next church I went along to was St Mary Witney a rather formidable looking church with a tall spire and lots of history surrounding it. It was another tick in my Oxfrodshire Best Churches list

 St Johns Burford was a revisit for me to get photos of what I missed the first time so the blog was republished and another of Oxfordshires Best Churches. This church gets a lot of visitors during the year looking around the church and the churchyard with its famous bale tombs

St Kenelm Minster Lovell is a lovely church to visit with nearby ruins of the hall to visit as well.

St Nicholas Asthall is not that far form Minster Lovell and is an unusual church to look at and worth looking around, it also had some of the oldest dating headstones I have seen

April

Come April I wrote about St Mary Swinbrook a church that had some wonderful tomb effigies to see from one family plus a churchyard with very old headstones and lots of bale tombs to see

I went local for the next church which was Wallingford Methodist Church, as it happened I found it open when I walked past one day so went inside to find out if it was OK to get photo's. Turned out to be a lovely little church

My next church was St James the Great Fullbrook which was just up the road from Burford where I went after. It was a beautiful church with a superb mass dial on the chancel wall, though I missed out hearing the organ being played. Another church ticked of by list of Oxfordshires Best Churches

St Oswold Widford is another church in Oxfordshires Best Churches, this one looks like it is in a time warp sitting out in the middle of a field where a Medieval village once stood

May

On my visit to St Mary Westwell I found that I was nearly in Gloucestershire the village was so close to the county, what I found was a beautiful old church with an interesting churchyard and I could see why it was in the book Oxfordshires Best Churches

The next church was one I passed by on my way to Shilton so I stopped off at St Mary Holwell for a look at this Victorian church which to my disappointment was locked, being where it is I doubt I well revisit

I managed my first visit to a church in Wales at St Ellyws Llanelieu which was one I had been looking forward to visit for a while, the reason was because I thought it had a rood loft but what I found was a rather superb rood screen 

June 

Come June I had also visited Talgarth a town I drive though going to our caravan, the church I had spotted as I drove through so on the way back from the last church I stopped off at St Guwendoline for some photos  

I also updated a couple of churches I had visited in Wales many years ago with some new photos  St Michael Cefnllys is a lovely church sat out below a hill out in the countryside with sheep for compnay. This time I found out the pulpit was dated 1660. St Michael Bryngwyn was the second church I visited to update the photos I was not happy with

St Peter Alvescott turned out a disappointment for me because I found the church closed for what turned out to be safety reasons but there was a happy ending I as I managed to return for photos of the inside

 

St George Kencot did not disappoint, it was open and had some wonderful old features to see around the church dating back to the Normans 

St Stephen Clanfield was next and was another beautiful old church to visit with a Medieval statue of St Stephen to see on the tower

St Peter & St Paul Broadwell was another beautiful church with it's spire and churchyard with very old headstones dating back to the 1600's, inside was no less a joy to look around.

I will leave you at that and next week bring the second review of 2024,

Till next time may I wish you all a peaceful week

Return to St Peter Alvescot

 

After managing to visit St Peter Alvescot for the second time I have decided to use it as my Christmas Blog. On my original visit I was disappointed to find the church locked but found that I could visit if I arranged a date and time so after quiet a few months I arranged for the church to be opened for me by the Church Wardens and I must admit I was very glad I did because it is a wonderful church to visit. The reason for the church being locked is because the roof joists had become unsafe so the church had to be kept locked in case of injury.

 

A reminder of what the church looks like

 

Inside the porch a Norman doorway

The headstops on the end a little worn with age

Although I noticed  few marks on my last visit I did not take that close a look so was pleased when these marks were pointed out to me. They were most likely made by pilgrims visiting the church, the one on the right clearly a arm with hand at the top

Inside looking down the nave

The chancel arch

Inside the chancel with choir stall ether side

Altar and east window

The window is quite spectacular to look at

The altar dressed with simple wooden cross and candle holders. Behind is a reredos

This is a bit lost on me though I have seen similar in other churches, a blocked window perhaps?

Stained glass window in the south wall of the chancel

One of the sets of choir stalls

 

On the north wall being the choir stall are a couple of windows

Behind both sets you can find a squint

This kneeler took my eye

Memorial to Arthur Cage and his wife, the brass is very tarnished

Other memorials in the chancel

Eagle lectern beside the pulpit

The looks Victorian the base looks older

From the pulpit looking to the nave, I forgot to get a photo of the nave from the chancel arch

South transept is closed off for use

 

On the south wall beside the chancel arch is the roll of honor

On the right hand side a hand written list of the that is fading a little

Nearby a prayer desk

With this brass plaque with a list of the lost in WWI

Inside the south transept you can see a couple of stained glass windows

Both in the Pre-Raphaelite stile of the time

There is also a brass showing a noble and his with with their two children

On the way out I spotted the arches had the remains of paint on them

Pews over in the north transept

In the west wall a new door leading to an extension that housed a toilet

East wall and to the right the squint

You can also see this beautiful stained glass window showing the Madonna and Child

In nave you can see these impressive memorials

This mosaic of the Shill valley was propped in one of the pews

In the bell tower there are more impressive memorials

You can also see a couple of commemorative plaques

This one is for the treble bell given in honor of S/Sgt Raymond Abbots

Also a memorial to Alice wife of John Wayne who died in 1675

From the tower arch a view down the nave

Looking up around the church you can see these corbels from the old roof before the roof was razed

This what the roof loos like, it should be over the whole ceiling bit the ply covered area leaks so they are stored in the south transept till it is fixed, some of the roof beams have been replaced and others strengthened with steel

The font is 13th century

I will leave you all with this photo of the advent candles and church. 

That is it for this year, the next blog will come out the first Saturday in 2025 and well be featuring the first of two reviews of the churches I visited this year

Till next time may I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful new year