2017 Review

Happy New year everyone
Time for my yearly round up of the places I visited during last year and my favourite churches. This year I have done some changes to the blog page in that I have added pages at the top showing the counties that the churches are in. This was a suggestion of John Ward of Oxfordshire Churches who's link is over in the side bar on the right. The idea being it made life easer for people to navigate and find the churches or cemeteries.  I also moved the map onto one of the pages as well so you can
see where in the country the churches are.

The first church visited was St Laurence Reading

One which I used to pass on my way to school every day when I was young. The church was damaged in an air raid during WWII and 43 people were killed in the attack You can still see traces today. I have not managed to go inside yet as the church seems to be always locked but one of these days I will
After my usual round-up blog I visited All Saints West Ilsley  a church on the edge on the Berkshire Downs which dates back to around the 1600's and where the Morland Family (who started a local brewery) are buried in the churchyard

I visited All Saints Farnborough which I found was worth visiting from the sexton at West Ilsley
The church dates back to the 12th century and has some interesting features in it along with a wonderful memorial window situated in the West End to John Benjamin who lived next door  and which must look wonderful in the setting sun.

It was nearer home with my next church St Helen's Benson 
One I had visited before but this time the church was open and it was nice to see what the church was like
February saw me showing some from my archive , the first was St James the Less in Pangbourne one which I do intend to return to again for some better photos
This was followed by St Mary the Virgin Whitchurch another I would like to return to for some up to date photos.
St Laurence Tidmarsh followed again one I really need to return to as on the day I took the photos a service was in progress.


The month ended with All Saints Marcham. These were taken quickly while I was on a hike with a few friends looking for WWII pillboxes
St Nicholas Fyfield  was visited the same day as Marcham but I did not get any photos inside as the church was too dark on that occasion but I will return there as there are a few churches in that area I want to visit.

March saw me visiting churches from the Langtree Team Minsitry and St John the Evangelist in Stoke Row was the first was the first

followed by St Peter & St Paul Checkendon parts in & two
I did like this church , particularly the inside

St Katherine Chislehampton  ended the month. This church now belongs to the church conservation trust and is one of two I need to visit in the area again

April came around and I visited St Leonard Woodcote a very nice church in the Gothic Revivalist stile.
Around that time also I updated the blog with tabbed pages at the top as an index showing the counties I had visited and the churches there a sugestion made by John Ward of Oxfordshire Churhes
The next church was New All Saints Newnham Courtenay 
I had visited before but untill this visit I had not realised the church had been closed and was now used as  storage facility

 April ended with a visit to St Mary East Ilsley 
a very nice old church which unfortunatly is suffering from lack of people attending it and in danger  closeing unless something can be done.
May started with  Tretower Churches 
which were photos I took many years ago  though I do intend to return to the church when I get a chance

May saw  Fairmile Cemetery Henley as the next  place, one I visited many years ago and one which I should return to for an update

After the best part of a month break I went to St Bartholomew Brightwell Baldwin
which was done in two parts the church was well worth visiting

The Holy Rood Cuxham
was just along the road and next on my list in July, one which still held some of it's Saxon heritage

I returned to Wales for the Trail of St Michaels Churches and St Michael in the Willows Llanfihangel
A fine old church set out of the way in its own grove of trees 

I visited St Cannen next one I thought at first belonged to another Village and one with some history to it as well

The last of my churches from Wales that month was St David Maesmynis
I was lucky to get in as the people who were cleaning it were about to go but waited till I finished taking my photo. I also got a surprise because the churchwarden knew who I was.

The following week I did a piece on Headstones because I had come across so many with different designs on them.

I was back in Wales for the next church and another from the Builth Wells group of churches with
 St David Llanddewier cwm another nice old church dating back to the 12th century

I dug into my archives for the Holy Trinity Bolton and I have to admit I never got to go in there because it was closed and derelict  but I'm glad to say it still has a use being converted into flats

I was off to St Peter Easington
a very pleasant little church set back out of the way  near Cuxham and one which still has medieval traces about it

The next church I came across while on my way to visit another St Pauls Highmoor though was closed and for sale so I stopped off on the way back to record what I could be fore it was sold

 My next church in September was St Mary Magdalene Crowmarsh
Now I had been there before but by chance I spotted the church was open when I went to a nearby builders merchants so I came back with my camera for some photos of the inside

St Nicholas Rotherfield Greys was the Church I was the church I was on my way to visit when I past Highmoor. and one I want to return to to see the  magnificent tomb effigy in the church

I showed some churches I had seen in Dundee in my next blog though as much has I would love to visit them there is little chance at the moment

 St Giles Newington was the next church I visited, one I pass on occasion and one I would dearly like to see inside

September ended with a visit to St James Little Milton a Gothic Revival stile church that I stopped to look at one day

In October I finally managed to visit St Nicholas Newbury, one Church I chav wanted to visit in a long time. I did this in two parts because there was so much Stained Glass to see in the church

The Holy Trinity Theale is not far from Newbury and was the next church I featured, pity I did not see inside at the time but it was locked.

St Peter Drayton is a church that I had on my list and I finally managed to get along to see it.
This was another church I had to do in two parts because of what you could see in the church.

I featured the Dundee Submarine Memorial for Remembered day, I felt they remember forgotten hero's who played a big part in World War II

It was back to Wales again with the Parish Church of St John Devine unfortunately it was locked at the time of my visit but I may well get a chance to visit again

St David Llanynis followed  this was a wonderful little church that is well of the beaten track beside the River Irfon not far from Builth Wells. It's pity it is only used occasionally.

I realised I had not featured the Strict Baptist Chapel in South Moreton even though I had taken photos of the pace a few years previous.

I finaly got around to visiting St Leonard Wallingford for the next blog to finish off the year.

What will 2018 bring, well if you look at the map you will see I have added lots of pins ( I'll be adding more), these are the churches I hope to visit through out the year I doubt I'll get to them all but I will try along with some churches I wish to revisit.
Thank you for visiting and I hope you have enjoyed my blogs through the year