St Mary is the third church to have been built in the village of Ichen
Stoke. The first was built before 1270 on a site near the River Itchen,
but it suffered from damp, became dilapidated and was pulled down
around 1830. Some traces of it remain. The second church which replaced
it was built on land in the centre of the village which was donated for
the purpose by Lord Ashburton, who held the advowson. Charles Ranken Conybeare, son of the geologist William Daniel Conybeare, became the incumbent
in April 1857, but he took a dislike to the church, complaining that it
was cold and damp, and that remedying these defects would be more
expensive than demolishing and replacing it. Consent for the demolition
was given by the Bishop of Winchester and the new Lord Ashburton, and the present church was erected on the same site in 1866. (Information from Wikipedia)
The church became redundant and is now under the care of the Church Consevation Trust
This was the first of three churches I visited and cemetery on this occasion.
Driving past St Mary you cant help but think its a high church
and walking up the path to the church adds to the sense of height
and walking up the path to the church adds to the sense of height
My wide angle lens does not help here with the perspective
Over the top of the porch you can see the rose window
Getting a side view of the church was out of the question in the churchyard as you can see on the left showing the South side. The North side has the entrance to the vestry
Going round the east end you see the aped chancel and it's high windows
The whole church seems so tall & thin
A feature I noticed was the gutter outlet, not see one like this before
Not sure if it goes in the hopper or on the roof below.
On the left you can see the foundation stone I noticed
Going inside only adds to the effect of it's hight
A feature I noticed was the gutter outlet, not see one like this before
Not sure if it goes in the hopper or on the roof below.
On the left you can see the foundation stone I noticed
Going inside only adds to the effect of it's hight
It felt rather cold and bleak in this church
The most impressive features were the stained glass windows
The rose window on the west end being the most impressive
That is not to take any think away from the Apse window in the chancel. Shame it was not a sunny day
I thought the pulpit was very high, I can imagine a Victorian preacher giving a sermon from here
looking sternly down at his flock
One thing I thought odd was the lack of an altar
Around the bas you can see this incription
But it was not far away being moved to just outside in the nave for some reason
I think there must have been some retoration work going on or the place had been used for some other function
This Prayer Desk or Prie-dieu has a very intricately carved panel on the front
Simlart to the ones on the Pulpit
The church looking from the center of the apse
or from the lectern if you like
Above your head is this beautiful chandelier
This wonderful memorial was vandalised and the Trust Covered it up while it is retored. Hope they don't mind me showing what is there
This memorial is down near the floor
Over in an arch is another meorial
Which as you can see is quite hard to read
Up in a couple of the windos on the North side you can see the Lords Prayer and some verse from the book of Exodus
I took this photo to show the intricat ework on the wall panels round the church
You can also see the village war memorial on the wall
along with a memorial to Alexander Henry Baring JP
On the back wall are some Brasses that must be from the original church near the River Ichen
You can also see this beautiful font
I've not seen another like it. On the right you can see what looks like another font just off the porch
So a final look down the ailse and we go outside
The North East of the church is where most of the headstones are
Most I only date make to the 1800s
and see well cared for
These two look the same though only the incription on one is visable
The East end of the churchyard has a few more graves
some clearly being more recent than others
You can find on Commonwealth War Grave to Gunner W G Jackson
in the corner is a solitory cross while the headstone to the right caught my eye
Becuse of the Kneeling Angel
The East end of the churchyard has a few more graves
some clearly being more recent than others
You can find on Commonwealth War Grave to Gunner W G Jackson
in the corner is a solitory cross while the headstone to the right caught my eye
Becuse of the Kneeling Angel
9 comments:
I really like those high pointy windows.
WOW, big and spectacular Jim...Happy Easter
So gorgeous!!
Thank you for all these many wonderful details. What a church! But how sad that you must tell "the church became redundant."
Your new blog name is very nice.
Happy Easter, Jim!
that front window section, gorgeous!! Happy Easter! ( ;
Magnificent church! I hope you had a lovely Easter.
It's a beautiful church. The windows are lovely from the outside, but even better when you see the details from the inside.
A very beautiful church ! quite some artwork inside.
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