St Peters Little Wittenham

I visited this church many years back in 2009 so it was the first I returned to on a road trip that took in six different churches. The Village sits beside the River Thames at the base of a hill called Witteham Clumps which dominates the area and is a local landmark. The Village was once owned by Abingdon Abbey from around 1048 and was called Abbots Wittenham as there was a  monastic grange next to the church. The Tower dates back to the 14th century and the rest of the church was rebuilt in 1862. It now sits next to Little Whittenham Manor which was built by William Dunch after he bought the estate in 1552. The Manor is now owned by Sir Martin Wood founder of Oxford Instruments. St Peter's belongs to the Bridge Group  (Clifton Hampden, Culham, Long with Little Wittenham) which I will be featuring in the coming weeks.

 Wittenham Clumps the view you get from the churchyard

As I said it was the first of Six churches I visited and unfortunately the only one I did not get to see inside because it was locked, so you will have to wait till I can go back for some internal shots.  

 The church porch on the left with the east end of the church to the right

 The 14th Century Bell Tower

Inside the porch which is as far as I got is a plaque and a coat of arms 

One of the more affluent tombs with railings round the outside

The churchyard on the east side of the path

Above the simple wooden cross of one of the ex pastors of the church.
On the right you can see some of the older graves near the east end of the church

 above one headstone that is scumming to erosion and moss. To the left is the cemetery which is on the north side of the church

Near the end of it you can see a couple of small wooden crosses

Back to the east end of the church and some of the older headstones

Above one of the more unusual memorials in that it is cast iron, the inscription would have been slotted in but is now lost

the churchyard looking towards the church

another cast memorial this time with the inscription in place. It stands beside a more conventional headstone

Two eroding headstones still with the carving on the top

Above the north side of the church looking towards the Manor. On the left is the foundation stone from when the church was rebuilt

The west side churchyard










 

 View of St Peters
 

Looking from across the road to St Peters. It was a shame the day was so miserable and was a shame I did not get inside but another time.
I have now returned and photographed the inside you can see  the pictures in this blog
Return to St Peters

Have a wonderful weekend