St Mary the Virgin Great Milton

 

I had noticed a church in Great Milton when I drove though the village one day & added the church to my list of ones to visit. Now lockdown has eased I decided to go along and visit while I had a chance. There are no internal views as the church was locked but I will return when I can find the church is open. Some history from Wickipedia:-

"The nave and chancel of the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary were built shortly after the Norman Conquest of England. The building was damaged by fire in the 13th century. During the 14th century the chancel was enlarged and the north and south aisles were added. At this time the church served a parish including the villages of Chilworth Valery and Chilworth Muzzard, the hamlets of Combe and Little Milton, and the manor of Ascot. In 1850 St Mary's was restored at a cost of £2,000.

In 1552 St Mary's had four bells plus a Sanctus bell, and in 1631 Ellis I Knight of Reading, Berkshire cast a ring of five bells. It now has a ring of eight. Ellis II & Henry III Knight recast what are now the fifth and eighth bells in 1673. Thomas Rudhall of Gloucester cast the treble, second and third bells in 1771 and the tenor bell in 1772. In 1848 William Taylor of Loughborough, who at that time also had a foundry at Oxford, cast the sixth bell. In 1825 W & J Taylor also cast the present Sanctus bell.

St Mary's has a church clock that was made in 1699 by Nicholas Harris of Fritwell.^"

I did not know what to expect when I came to visit this church but it was a nice surprise to see one different to what I usually come across

The church looked most impressive with a tower that looked quite small in comparison to others I have Visited 

The tower was not much bigger than the rest of the church. The porch looked huge in comparison with the room over the entrance

Waling around to the North side you could see the North aisle and entrance in the side

Going down the churchyard you got a nice view  showing the tower at the West end and the staircase spire higher that the rest of the church

At the East end you could see both the South and North aisle either side

In the corners of the porch and aisle gargoyles stuck out

 

  On the West side a human looking one watched over the churchyard

  

 

 On the corners of the church you find recesses that would once have held a statue

 

 

 

 

 

 

The porch on the South side has a wonderful arched roof

 

 

 On the West wall you find a tomb slab

 

 

 

In the corner between the tower and the porch you find the village war memorial

Over to the West was the churchyard

Around the North side

Looking around you can see some interesting graves, not often you see a Head and foot-stone like this

At the far end of the churchyard near you find more graves and crosses

Above cast iron crosses lined up by a wall 

Left looking North across the East end of the churchyard

Turning West towards the Church

Above tombs and a fenced tomb chest

I spotted this headstone with a pheasant on it and below I noticed spent shotgun cartridges, made me think he used to shoot

Above an old headstone

Right looking West near the Porch

Looking back East

Looking along the path to the second entrance to the churchyard

I noticed an old headstone used as a slab over a gully by the church

The South side held a lot of old headstones

Some in better condition than others

The words carved in this one clear still today over three hundred years later

I will leave you with this view of a few of the older headstones.

Till Next time stay safe and have a wonderful weekend

Since writing the blog I have returned and taken photos inside of the three churches in the parish. I will publish the photos from St Mary the Virgin in the next blog.