Saturday 3 November 2012

Old St John's Boughton



This was one of those places I noted on a map while looking for an area to photograph for Geograph.  It said Church (remains of) that was enough for me so after I had been to the town nearby I went to look for the church. This is what Wikipedia tell you.
"St John's Church surviving fragments are to the north of the Green. The church has been in ruins since at least 1784 when the spire collapsed. The current church of St John Baptist is in the village and believed to date from c.1350, with extensions in 1807 and 1874.It has a monument to Mary Tilemount (d.1706)."







Looking down from the entrance the first view of the church you see is this, ivy covered ruins and headstones poking out from the weeds.









To the left of the entrance you can see quite new graves as the place is still classed as a graveyard and people are buried here.






The remains themselves look as though the ivy is holding them together.





Here we look towards what would have been the chancel in the church.












To the left of the window is this alcove that at one time had the effigy of a saint with  the intricate stonework crown in place above











This widow still has the wooden lintel in and one of the carved stone window frames.


Looking out the opposite end of the chapel you see headstones poking out of the nettles.










  A lot of which are in good condition










Nettles are every where making looking at headstones a painful experience if your not careful.
Not helped in the least by brambles which are sharp



This was the East window and under it is  St Johns Spring
 That you can see but is covered in stinging nettles
The South wall covered in Ivy




There was a tower here before it collapsed




Headstones in the nettles





The base of a cross lost in the brambles





The only tomb chest I saw
 A lost grave with the top of a cross marking it in the weeds growing wild




Near the entrance the only part where the grass is still cut and where the more recent burials are




Some graves you see are so sad like this one of Peggy Wellstood who died in the Second World War her mother Martha buried beside her and lived to 106 years of age.
If you are ever near Broughton and head towards Moulton you will pass a set of gates like this then it is worth stopping off for an hour.







9 comments:

  1. Great stuff Bill - you should link this up to Taphophile Tragics.

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  2. Fantastic post. Such a shame that so many graves are lost in the undergrowth.

    Thanks for linking up.

    Beneath Thy Feet

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  3. These are wonderful photos --- thank you for sharing them!

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  4. I have not seen a cemetery so overgrown. Then again, I have not seen one so ancient, either.

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  5. I have another old one to come yet.

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  6. Spent a lot of time here as a child my grandparents lived in Moulton, it has a very strange vibe ! And is well worth the visit.

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    Replies
    1. I could see why, If I had lived nearby as a kid it would have been a favourite haunt

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