St Michael & All Angels Alkerton

 

For a while I have been deliberating how to go about visiting  St Michael & All Angels Alkerton as it was one of the five churches I wanted to visit around Banbury as it happend my son had to visit the Horton Hospital for a scan which I knew would take around an hour or so. After a quick look at the map and using the route finder on Google maps it turned out the place was around 15 mins away so enough time for a visit. It worked out well and I though I had time to go to the next church but my son phoned so it was pick up time. I did get to visit a second church with him which I will be showing next week.

"The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of St Michael and All Angels are the lower stages of the central bell tower, which date from the 12th century in the Transitional style between Norman and Early English Gothic. Towards the end of the 12th century the south aisle was added, linked with the nave by an Early English Gothic arcade of two bays. Early in the 13th century the east and west arches of the central tower were replaced with Early English Gothic ones. A stone effigy of a knight in an early 13th-century style was presumably added about the same time.

Early in the 14th century the upper stages of the bell tower were built and the nave was rebuilt. Late in the 14th century a clerestory was added to the nave. The exterior of the clerestory is elaborately decorated with figures of men and animals carved from Hornton stone. The style of carving belongs to a school of 14th century north Oxfordshire masons whose work survives also at Adderbury, Bloxham and Hanwell.

Early in the 17th century the rector, the mathematician Thomas Lydiat, had the chancel rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style. In 1889 the architect JA Cossins restored the church building and added an organ chamber south of the tower and east of the south aisle. St Michael's is now a Grade I listed building. The tower has a chime of four bells but they are not currently ringable. The oldest bell was cast in about 1400 and another was cast in 1618. St Michael's is now one of eight ecclesiastical parishes in the Ironstone Benefice"

Like a lot of the churches build in the area it features that beautiful colored stone

I used my wide angle lens on portrait so the church loos stubby

  

North east view

 

North side

around the the north west

finally the west end

Doors and windows

This may have been a mass dial

I noticed this water spout as I was leaving, it's just a shoot on the other side of the church

 

From across the churchyard 

Tombs as you walk up the path

After I took the photo of these two headstones by the back I checked the dates

The words still readable and the date is 166?

The other one you can read a date of 1652

Not quite as old but 1715

and this one 1725

Looking south of the church

Up by the east end of the church

North of the church is another part of the churchyard

Along the west end

Over by the porch

The caring still there but the words long eroded

The porch leading in

First look as you walk in the church

The nave to the chancel arch

The chancel arch looking through the cross over under the tower

In the cross over a choir

Inside the chancel

The altar just a simple table

Looking back down the cross over to the nave

Through the nave to the back

The pulpit, behind you can see a door that would have you up stares to the opening you see above it coming out in the rood loft

Another view of the pulpit

The view from the pulpit

Pillars ether side of the chancel arch

In the chancel the effigy of a knight which is well worn away and a memorial

Couple more memorials you will see in the church

The windows, I noticed the corbels when I looked at the photo later

Cropping the photo gives a better idea. Normally I would have used my zoom lens but forgot

West window

South aisle

Out line of a solder who did not return

Behind the screen is this small chapel with altar 

Again a simple table

South to north through the cross over

 At the back of the south aisle is the font which looks to be Norman

Final view through the church

Till next time may I wish you all a peaceful week

St Cadoc Raglan

 

The second church I visited on my way back home from Wales, I had been interested in looking around the church for a while ever since I visited Raglan Castle and read the knights were buried in the church. The photos were taken with my compact zoom and iphone and while the ones outside are OK I had trouble with the light inside due to it being dark so they were not as good as I would like them to have been. As luck would have it I managed to return and get some more photos of the inside

St Cadoc's is a substantial mediaeval church, extensively restored in the 19th century by Thomas Henry Wyatt. It houses some much-defaced tombs of the Lords of Raglan. The base of a fine pilgrim's cross can be seen in the churchyard. The first part of the church was built during the 14th century. The church is a Grade II* listed building. For a more in depth history read this St Cadoc Raglan

 

From the roadside St Cadoc's church

Road side view

 

There is not much of  north side churchyard to get a view of the church from

South east view

 

 

 Going around more to the south

The porch

Geeing ahead here with the entrance door

Looking north on the west end

The churchyard north of the church

 Which were taken over the wall

Looking east form south of the church

 

The pilgrim cross base which has been put on a lager base and had a shaft added

Wider view of the base

Further east  the churchyard

Looking over to the south more to the carpark

Back in the porch and the entrance doorway

I took this shot before I went showing the church looking from the back

Cropping it gives a different view

Managed to return for some more view of the inside

 Chancel arch

 Chancel with choir stalls

 Altar and east window

 

 

Back lit cross and east window

 

East window

 Chance ceiling

 

Looking back though the church from the choir stalls

This is the north aisle which has a couple of altars in it

The Mothers Union banner of St Cadoc

One of the altars in the north aisle, there is another on the other side of the partition

The knights tomb or what is left of it, truth is I did see a photo so know what it might look like. During the siege of Ragnor castle Cromwells men  really desiccated the tomb and vault underneath. All that is left of the canopy is on the wall and the effigies are what you see

I think Cromwells me really did a number on them, the lady on the other side has no hear or feet

The lower half of this one gone as well it could be a young man. If you read the link at the beginning on St Cadoc's it tell you more

The plaque attached to the wall tells the story but is hard to read

 Looking west in the north aisle

Some of the memorial plaques in the church

Couple in the south east corner of the chancel

 On the north wall of the nave

The east window in  the north aisle near the knights tomb behind the organ

Another of the north aisle windows

Lectern view down the church

The pulpit is quite large

 And you get to it through here

 The view from the pulpit

Partitioned off bell are in the tower

With quiet a nice stained glass window inside

 

Font is in the corner of the nave

 

The font no doubt Victorian

 

 As the partition was glass I did get a view of the west end stained glass window

 

 

another look in the nave

 

I will leave you with this shot of a cross with the east window in the background.

Till next time may I wish you all a peaceful week