This will be the last post from the Church Explorer for 2019 and is a church when I found out about it that I wanted to visit. It is Norman church that has changed little since it was built in 1160, then it was a small village beside the Rover Thames but over the years it has become absorbed into the City of Oxford. The is a little history on the church on Wikipedia
Finding the old Village let alone the church was a bit of a task but I got there in the end and found a typical English Village set in the city suburbs.
Be warned this will be along blog so I'd get a coffee and cake while I show some Norman Architecture. The photos were taken with both my iPhone and DSLR
I found getting a photo of the North side difficult and should have used a wide angle lens
The West end with the Norman doorway
South side and another entrance
Both North and South side doorways
The East end
Above the East end showing the window while left the top of the tower
Another North side view
Above the tower and entrance to the bell loft
Left closer shot of the West end
The West doorway is most impressive
The carvings around the outside quite outstanding
It is hard to comprehend that all this was carved by a Norman Craftsman
The detail is incredible
Inside you look along the nave to the crossing
and see even more Norman workmanship
Here from the crossing in the tower you look to the chancel
The altar is quite beautiful to look at
Looking the other way through the arch
Left the altar screen on the West wall
The piscina (left) and sedilia
The floor of the chancel beside the altar had memorials on
you can just make out the inscriptions. I should have taken a photo of the altar rail as the gate slides inside the rails, quiet unique
Above the West window with the North and South widow here left and right
I think one of the outstanding features is the rose window in the West end
Left looking through the Nave and chancel arches
The stone carving is just wonderful
I think you could spend ages looking at it and finding things to look at
I laid on my back to get the last few photos.
Left some of the detail on an arch
More of the amazing detail
Taken with my iPhone
I really cannot get over what I see
Back at the Rose window and the Organ over on the left
The architecture would be at home in a cathedral
The candelabra looks a little out of place
As you walk in to the right you can see this moder piece of stained glass by John Piper
Opposite is another modern window
Though if you look you can see older glass around the church
Though after visiting Henley I wonder if some is Victorian made to look older
There is a lot of Victorian stained glass in the church
The Rose window again with lights above it
Couple more windows in the nave
Above a benefactors plaque from the early 1700's
Left the Pears memorial with Right you see the Roll of Honour
There are a few old memorial along with another plaque from the First World War
The memorial on the left makes sad reading as Jon died aged one month and his twin when he was 5. Richard Allin lived to the age of 71
two more memorial beside the nave arch
These memorials are beside something that puzzled me at first, there are few places like this around the church
The cleaner there told me they thought these plaques were attached to those places once
This did not take much to work out, there was a rood loft in the church once
Left the organ and right the font
The cover is quite modern
And well Worth taking a few moments to look at
Outside you can see quite a few headstones
Most are of an age
with moss growing on some others sinking in the ground
I found it a pleasant churchyard to look around
In the corner a sculpture
Outside the entrance what I can only assume is an old font
Looking East along the boundary wall
some of the graves beside the South wall of the church
moss covered tombs
Headstones and crosses
The winter day adding to the feel of the churchyard
The cross above marked a huge family plot in the churchyard
Right we are near the entrance
Looking back at some of the churchyard opposite the North side of the church
Across the road is a churchyard extension
which I must admit looked quite full up now
St Mary's church looking across the cemetery
and as I walked out a headstone that took my eye
I will leave you for this year with this Advent Wreath and will wish you all a
Merry Christmas and Happy new year
