Saturday 4 January 2014

Hampstead Norreys Church


The church of St Mary the Virgin in Hampstead Norreys was a church I had on my list to visit for a while and still is. The photos you will see are external ones as I found when I got there a service was in progress. The weather was in my favor either being rather misty.

 St Mary the Virgin



A plaque on the wall of the churchyard  giving the heritage of the village and it's older name





The footpath leading to the church porch




Looking west up the churchyard








The west end were the bell tower and church clock can be found






















Looking back up the churchyard it can be seen to be long with many old graves
 Looking back along it to the church gives an idea to the size



Over in he corner a couple of family graves can be seen.











Walk out of the churchyard and across a lane is the new cemetery.






 A quick look round shows a couple of war graves of RAF personnel though I could not say if they were from the old RAF base just outside the Village

 At the top of the cemetery is this seat in front of a Celtic cross



Even the cemetery has old graves and is on a hillside


















Heading back into the churchyard and past the bell tower to walk down the south side of the church










You can see a bricked up doorway used by the parishioners in days gone by



















Further along I came across a family tomb made  from cast Iron











Shaped like a pyramid it is one of the more unusual ones I have seen.
It has been a while since I visited the place and a return is on the cards . 
Have a Peaceful Sunday.
Taking part in Taphophile tragics & Cemetery Sunday




12 comments:

EricaSta said...

What a quiet place, such an Old Church ... Like it very much. Only The bicycles On The wall are terrible ... ;)

Anonymous said...

Love the very old gravestones and that cast iron one was amazing.

SeaThreePeeO said...

Fantastic post. That cast iron monument is really interesting.

Thank you for linking up with Cemetery Sunday.

Beneath Thy Feet

Dzjiedzjee said...

A great post again Bill!

I hope that you'll have a great week! ;-)
Gert Jan Hermus
dzjiedzjee.blogspot.com

Jen said...

That cast iron tomb is unusual -- and very interesting. As always nice to look through all your photos. :)

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

I love old churches and cemeteries and this is a wonderful one! So very interesting. I hope you get to visit the inside some day. Thanks for sharing and thanks for visiting my blog today.

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i love the fog. enjoy the pyramid shaped one. so cool! ( :

Louis la Vache said...

«Louis» would be quite interested in reading the names on that cast iron tomb.

He posted this community church in Cloverdale, California he found on one of his trips up U.S. 101.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Wonderful stroll around St. Mary's Bill... Beautiful stonework, lovely arched windows.. A real visual treat.

Mo said...

I love the fog hanging over the graveyard. It would look even more spectacular if you got the fog before it lifted.

Mike@Bit About Britain said...

You certainly visit some lovely churches. That cast-iron tomb is amazing too. You can probably check out the war graves on the CWGC website.

Unknown said...

The pyramid is amazing! Wonderful place and great photos.