Saturday 28 March 2015

St Andrews West Hagbourne



A wooden church probably existed here before the Norman Conquest, the stone church was probably built in the 12th century with the rest of the church following in the century's after. Originally in Berkshire the church is now part of Oxfordshire and is part of the Churn Benifice. I had visited the church in the past so but on the last occasion the door was locked .


                   St Andrews is along Church close not far from the village preaching cross


 Nice welcoming sign
And St Andrews Church looking from the gate






Going to the opposite end of the churchyard gives a good view of the bell tower
Which has eight bells the oldest being cast in 1602




Walking round the South side shows the South Aisle













 and a small extension with entrance porch














Down to the East you can see the massive chancel window 




at the base of which are a few old graves








 If like me you wander round the outside of churches then take some time to look at the old memorials, the words may have eroded away but the carvings are still there





on the South Aisle roof is this gargoyle





Another memorial 














and a few more further along.












Being as old as it is the churchyard as some nice old headstones and a couple of tombs




of which this is the most prominent 
 In front is this double headstone with skulls facing opposite ways, Wonder if they fell out

 






The tomb is to the Phillips Family and the inscription though easy enough to read is obscured by the railings round the outside











The rest of the churchyard has headstones scattered around 




or if you go to the east end you can see a few more
One nice this was the abundance of snowdrops






Back to the porch and main entrance on the north side.











This time the church was open
 The chancel looking to the window and altar


 The Altar though I felt sad the chancel window was not stained glass





because the stone work at the back of it looked impressive










 Turn round by the altar gives this view of the church






which looks to an organ loft





This was built into the belltower base and beneath good use was made of the space with a kitchen area










Some other features you can see in the church like these carvings  on the chancel arch





though I like this one most








I moaned about the chancel window having no stained glass well either side of the chance are these windows


 This window is in the North Aisle

 But the best is in the Lady Chapel in the South aisle





In the small vestry off the chancel is this stained glass










 




There are a lot of memorials round the church














Like this to David Michael Alexander  Wedderburn




The name Loader stuck out like a sore thumb to me as I noted one Will Loader on St Marys in Wallingford, he was lord mayor there in 1653





The Humphrey memorial

 




At the back in the North Aisle is the parish roll of Honor












Listing the fallen in two wars. Interesting to note that the second war had more casualties, usually it is the other way round.







The plaque on the left is in the vestry along with the memorial on the right
















Going in the North aisle you walk across this slab on the floor then looking up the aisle you seem a few more to the Loder Family










Looking along the North Aisle you can see a huge coat of arms
which belongs to Charles 2nd





Here we look along the South aisle to the west end





another looking through to the chancel
along with this hole for people to see the service from the South aisle



Couple more interesting things, the font on the right with painted shield and the pulpit which has a date you can see in the photo below

























If  you look up at the ceiling you can see some nice touches like the carvings






The arches on the South













and North side of the church look impressive as well





and you cannot forget the Mothers Union who do some beautiful needlework on the kneelers







I have to say that I was very pleased to be able to see inside St Andrews and that the church had not been spoiled like many when they have been reordered. Rather than chairs replace the old pews with chairs they had new pews made. The church seems to have a good congregation as on the day of my visit they were having a light lunches which was home made soup & bread, the lady who seem to be organizing it said I should stay. I wish I had done by the time I got home.
One last thing to my old mate Cliff who rings the bells here I did like the church, just would have liked to see the bells in the tower sometime and see if they are any better than the Buckets at my local one.

 I will leave you with these photos I took of the snowdrops growing in the churchyard

along with some primroses I noticed.

  In Memory of Cliff Garlick RIP




11 comments:

  1. Thank you for this wonderful tour... A great place for calm!

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  2. Bill, You never cease to amaze me. The churches that you find are such gems and the details that you show are great. Tom The Backroads Traveller

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  3. Wonderful old church and you gave us an amazing photo tour of the property. My InSPIREd post is here... http://happywonderer.com/2015/03/28/inspired-on-bainbridge-island/

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  4. That's quite a beautiful church, inside and out. I love the architecture.

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  5. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour, thanks.

    Diana

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  6. What a lovely place, thank you for sharing it.

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  7. What a wonderful historic church! I agree that the chancel window would be better stained glass but all the exterior and interior details are exquisite. LOVE the ceiling! Great post.

    You left the "l"out of explorer on your ballot. I think a change is a good idea but I didn't vote for the two changes because I think explorer is so generic sounding, and it just mentions churches. I think you should give it more thought and try to include both the cemetery and church themes with your title, maybe. Just my "two-cents."

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  8. Such details all over that church! Fabulous.

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  9. Wow! The exterior looks rough and historic and the interior is stunning! Great shots.

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  10. Some lovely (and enigmatic) stonework both inside and out. Great pictures and tour - thanks :)

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  11. I knew as soon as I saw photo three that this was going to be a fantabulous post Bill, St Andrews is amazing. I noticed straight away the memorials on the outside walls and pulled the image in to check them out, thanks for showing in more detail. Got excited when I saw the chancel window, little bit plain from inside but the other windows more than made up for it. How lucky for you and for us
    that the church was open, so many wonderful, wonderful details not to mention arches, swooning :)

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