Saturday, 18 July 2020

St Peter & Paul Stokenchurch


This was totally a spur of the moment visit due to my son having an appointment nearby, as this would take around twenty minuets or so and the church was a couple of minuets away I thought it would beat waiting around and be more interesting. Needless to say it was.
 Not much on the church in Wikipedia only this 
"The Church of England parish church of St Peter and St Paul has a Norman west tower and numerous late-13th and early-14th century features. The outer walls are covered in modern pebbledash. The north aisle and belltower were added in 1893."
Now I did not expect to see inside but when I got around the South side I saw a lady come out of the porch, so went to see if the church was open. It was and I managed to take some photos. The only difference was you were restricted as to where you could go. This is the second church I have seen like this.  It may be the way things will be for a while so the photos I  bring you will be pot luck if I can go inside

St Peter & Paul looking from the South West




Above the West end with the tower showing.
Left this extension is no doubt the church office and meeting rooms





The South East end






The Chancel on the East end





View along the South side






Above coming from the road to the main entrance you will go thugh this Lych gate

Left the North side where you can also see the North chapel











Looking North West you see the meeting room extension





The chapel






South East with the East end wall





Above passing through the Lych Gate you will go through an avenue of trees

Over to the left a path taking you to the Church Office




Looking the other way to the Lych Gate





Inside the porch a doorway which could be Norman

Inside you get a view to the North aisle
The Nave which is taped off restricting you to the West end
The Church Font & cover age of the font I could not tell you




















I could use the Zoom on my iPhone to get a better view of the Chancel arch and chancel, inscriptions can be seen around the arch and over the chancel window
Above the Chancel Stained Glass Window
This one is a memorial window to the fallen from the Second World War the Rolls of Honour on either side





















I managed to zoom in to the window in the North Chacel
The roll of Honour beneath the Memorial window, it is worth noting that the last two names are women who died, they are buried in the Churchyard

The Roll of Honour for the First World Was which is beside the stained glass window in the north chapel























Above two shots of the stained glass window in the nave South wall, there is also a memorial there which I could not read that easy


Right the bell tower is partitioned off with I have no doubt a kitchen beneath the Bell loft






The North chapel where you can see a stained glass window in the North wall












Memorial to Eleanor wife of Major John Augustus Fane





nearby a memorial to the Major himself
memorial to Henry Mason who was a surgeon in Henley on Thames





At the North side of the church you will pass though the churchyard and into the town cemetery which was where I came in to the church





It is quite large
In the churchyard you can see some old headstones






Some of the headstones you see near the East end of the church






Looking out between the trees on the South side
Double headstone





Older headstones near the path by the trees
This one has a tomb between between the head & foot stones
The headstone dated 1714 quite readable






A later chest tomb near the trees along the path





with a second further on near the porch





The churchyard along the North chaple






Looking from the churchyard to the cemetery





Part of the churchyard by the North boundary wall




The town cemetery by the churchyard





Further down the cemetery with left the cremation memorials along the hedge
I will leave you with this shot of the cross on the table at the back of the church with a  blessing beside it, the candle the light of the world.
Till Next time Take Care and have a safe weekend


14 comments:

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

An interesting building - once you get past that dreadful pebble-dash.

Billy Blue Eyes said...

Yes I have to wonder why it was done other than other than a cop out from sorting out the pointing

Jim said...

Another beautiful church.

Billy Blue Eyes said...

It was when you went inside

Linda P said...

What a shame about the pebbledash! I like the avenue of trees which softens the appearance up to the entrance. There's a lot of history to appreciate once you get inside. Glad you were able to do that. Our parish church has just opened for private prayer for a short while twice a week, but I have been able to arrange a time to go there.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Admittedly, the outside of the church was for me not as impressive as the inside. And, even though the inside was basic compared to some others churches, it was lovely to see. Glad you were able to get inside, however briefly, Billy.

Tom said...

...yoou are so fortunate to be able to visit the inside of so many churches, that rarely happens here. Thanks for taking me along!

Linda said...

It looks very sturdy! I love the Lych gate and the pretty windows.

Amy said...

Those windows are impressive, you're lucky you were able to get inside, so many churches here are locked.

Billy Blue Eyes said...

Yes it was deceiving I admit, the trees were nice though

Billy Blue Eyes said...

No but I was glad to see inside

Billy Blue Eyes said...

Might not be so often here ether at the moment

Billy Blue Eyes said...

Yes that was nice, put the church to shame in a way

Billy Blue Eyes said...

A lot more are locked here at the moment