St Mary the Virgin Buckland

Buckland is along the road from Faringdon and the church here was the first I visited on my little tour of the area. It was not one that stood out for me at first but I saw some photo's of the inside and made it one to visit. The church is on it's own in the village near the manor parking is out the front. I found some history on Wikipedia.
"The Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin is largely a 12th-century building, with 13th-century chancel, tower and transepts, a 14th-century octagonal baptismal font and some minor Victorian additions. The main north and south nave doors are unusual in having a matching pair of Norman arches. Also in the church is a late 12th-century Crusader chest.
In the chancel is a triangular locker containing the heart-burial (1575) of William Holcott of Barcote Manor. He was a staunch Protestant who only just avoided being burnt at the stake by Mary Tudor. After the Reformation, he became a zealous lay preacher, often gracing the pulpit in his "velvet bonnet and damask gown...sometimes with a gold chain".
Other monuments in the church include a number of 14th century tomb recesses, an inscribed slab with a floriated cross to Dame Felice la Blonde and a number of monuments to the Yates of Buckland Manor, including the brass of John Yate (1578), and hatchments of the Throckmorton family. The Barcote Chapel has a decorative mosaic, made in 1890–92 in memory of Clara Jane, wife of William West, of Barcote Manor.
The crossing tower had a ring of six bells until 1915, when they were increased to eight by the addition of a new treble and second bell. In 1636 Roger I Purdue of Bristol cast what are now the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh bells. In 1721 Abraham II Rudhall of Gloucester cast the tenor bell. Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the third bell in 1898 and the new treble and second bell in 1915, and recast the seventh bell in 1960. St Mary's has also a Sanctus bell that John Warner and Sons of Cripplegate cast in 1854.
St Mary's church is a Grade I listed building. Its parish is part of the Benefice of Cherbury with Gainfield"
I sugest a coffee and cake while you read as it is a long blog

The gate leading to the churchyard is set back in a semicircle in the wall

The church with path leading to it.

Right around the North West end of the church

Above the North door with the Norman arch

Left an addition which serves now as a kitchen

 Corner of the North Transept with blocked door

Right the East end with huge window

 Viewing the South east end of the church and the South transept. Note the window in the tower just above the ridge, just above that is the old ridge

The South transept with right the corner. The door I will get  to when we go in the church

 The South side seen from the path

 I seem to have missed out getting a photo of the porch so cropped it out of the previous photo. One thing to note is the old roof line on the tower












Inside the porch you are treated to a stained glass window and  a statue of the Madonna and child in an alcove

 The east wall of the porch which also has a diagram of what you can see in the church

There are two doors in the porch the outer one hides this ironwork beautiful. You have to open both doors to see it 

Inside looking down the nave to the crossing in the tower

  The two arches in the crossing

Inside the chancel looking to the altar

The Huge East end Chancel window

Above the altar screen below the Chancel window

Right the Sedilia

A tomb recess now used as a altar

The carving over the tomb recess

Left a cross on the North side of the chancel

Sarah Kitching memorial

  Above a memorial to Joseph Berington

The organ in the chancel with right one of the stalls in front of it

The choir stall opposite the organ
 

Above looking back through the crossing to the West end of the church and another superb window

 

Above the pulpit with the views of the nave and the South transept chapel

The very colourful South transept

The whole chapel is a superb mosaic

Above the stained glass window in the South wall

Detail of a ship in one part

Angels are all around the chapel

Whales on another part

while on another doves fly

 Saints look down from the walls

The wood carvers have carved 

some beautiful animals

and misericords

Memorial to Mary Courtney

These are in the North transept, the tomb slab on the right has some wonderful church brass

Above the Southby memorial, right a crying cherub on the top of this memorial

Memorial yo Richard Southby

This memorial is to Thomas Hayward and Edward Southby

Above memorial to Catherine Brook with a memorial to William Edward Graham Niven who died in 1915 at Gallipoli

Left the Hayter memorial

If you walk around the chancel you can see these stained glass windows

  all showing saints

Above the organ though I could not tell you if it is a separate one to the pipes you see to the right

Right the wrought iron chandeliers 

 Above a rood loft with door leading out. I could find now way in to the loft from the church so after looking around outside found the entrance on South side of the tower outside

  Above what looks to be part of an older window with wall painting

Left some traces of really old stained glass still remain in the church

 The eagle lectern is well worth looking at

with the saints surrounding it at the base

At the back of the church are a couple of panels that list the fallen from both wars

 In the centre you find verse from the Bible

Above nearby is the font.

Right a list of benefactors to the church







 

One of the things of note in the church is this 12th century crusader chest

Going outside you find the churchyard is quite large to look around

Above the grave of Private RM A.W.Allbone who no doubt dies from the flu pandemic that affected the fleet and HMS Princess Royal
was badly hit

Left some differing headstones

some of the more modern headstone in the churchyard

A covered wooden cross while right a couple of headstones near the church

 Heastone of Lieutenant Rupert Thorneloe

Heading down the East end of the churchyard

Where you can look back along the churchyard to the church

Above an older covered wooden cross  with left some tombs in a overgrown part of the churchyard

Some double headstones  can be seen along with foot stones

Tomb near the East end of the church








 

While walking around the North side of the church I spotted this old bire beside the wall normaly these would be preserved in the church somewhere but this one was forgotten about, one of the handles broken and laid on top

I will leave you with this shot of the beautiful floral display on the font.
Till ext time I wish you a wonderful week