St Mary Hampton Poyle

 

 This week the Church Explorer visits St Mary Hampton Poyle which I only realised it was there after visiting S Mary the Virgin Kidlington where I was told it was a really nice church to visit. I thought about going along when I had more time. I found some history on Wikipedia :- 

"The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the Virgin was built in the 13th century. The earliest known written record of it is a charter from about 1225. Features surviving from this period include the priest's doorway on the south side of the chancel and probably the three-light east window of the chancel. In the 14th century north and south aisles of two bays were added to the nave and the present chancel arch was inserted. The arcades of the two aisles are dissimilar, and the south may be slightly earlier than the north. The two arches of the south arcade are separated by a surviving narrow section of nave wall. A third arch at right-angles to this section of wall divides the two bays of the south aisle. Between the two arches of the north arcade is an octagonal column. Its capital is a relief of the upper halves of four hooded figures with their arms linked.

This style of lively 14th-century sculpture is more common further north in Oxfordshire, including Adderbury, Alkerton, Bloxham and Hanwell. At the east end of the north aisle is another relief of a human face, forming a corbel that supports a piscina. In the north aisle are 14th-century recumbent effigies of a knight in armour with a lion at his feet and a lady with a dog at her feet. The lady is in an arched, pinnacled and traceried recess bearing the arms of Poyle and another family impaling Poyle. But the recess is Perpendicular Gothic and thus later than the effigy. And it is too short for the effigy, suggesting it was made for another Poyle family monument, now lost. The north window of the chancel was inserted in the 15th century. Medieval stained glass, made about 1400–30, survives in four small lights at the top of the window. They represent the symbols of the four Evangelists, each with a Latin inscription.

At the west end of the nave is a bell-gable with two bells, one of which is 17th-century. In the south aisle is an 18th-century monument by Peter Scheemakers for Christopher Tilson (1669–1742), who throughout his adult life was a clerk to HM Treasury. The church building was restored in 1844 and again in 1870, on the latter occasion under the direction of the Gothic Revival architect GE Street. In one of these restorations was inserted in the north windows of the north aisle and in the east window of the chancel. St Mary's is a Grade II* listed building. St Mary's is now part of the Church of England parish of Kidlington with Hampton Poyle."

Photos are a mixture of iphone and Canon  EOS R6. Get a coffee I cake while you brows through

The south side of St Mary looking from the private gate to the churchyard

View you get of St Mary from just outside the main gate to the churchyard

Walking a little over to the left in the churchyard to get a view along the south side

The east end wall with the chancel window

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another view of the south side showing the south aisle 

Going along to view the church from the south west

Walking around to see the north side

Then along to the east end

The door leading to the chancel

On either side a headstop can be seen

 

 

This fellow lost his nose sometime

The churchyard has a mixture of modern and old headstones the two on the let being more recent

Looking over towards the north side of the churchyard

The north side looking west

The south west end of the churchyard

Where some headstones stand forgotten

This one was more unusual, their name along the side their name blending it

By the boundary wall old misplaced headstones stand forgotten the ivy starting to hide them way

 

 

This cross marks a family plot

 

Time to go in

 

 Over to the nave and look towards the chancel

 

The chancel

Altar with east window

 

 

 The east window or chancel window as it is also known

 

 

The frame hits of a rood screen that may have been here

 

Some photos with my iPhone showing the chancel

 

The altar

 

 Closer view showing the tiled wall behind

 

Looking back towards the west end

 

 

Back with my camera showing a statue of the Madonna & Child with pentecostal candles and memorial in the chancel

 

 Wider view through the chancel towards the rood cross and nave

 

 This curtained area is a kitchen cum vestry

 

 I thought the was a carved back to a bench but it looks like a bench in front of a partition which has been carved

 

 

The north door bricked up
 

 

In the old doorway a brass has been transposed there

 

 The pulpit over to the left of the chancel arch

 

It looks to be the same age as the screen at the back

 

 

Looking down towards the nave and south aisle

 

 

The south aisle looking east, my camera back is on the table

 

This memorial is along the south aisle is to Christopher Tilson who died in 1684 aged 15

 

Another view of the south aisle

 

Memorial to Private Hubert Victor Spirren

 

 

This one to Lieutenant Peter  Alan Vickers

 

You can find it on the cabinet in the south aisle, the plaque behind is a roll of honour

 

 The north aisle

On the north wall you can find this tomb effigy
 

 

 Of a recumbent knight

 

 

On the east wall the effigy of his lady

 

 

You can still make out her face

 

 

She lies in this recess

 

 

The other end of the north aisle is this organ

 

 

stained glass lancet window

 

 

There are a couple of more windows in the church with coloured glass in them

 

With coats of arms in them

 

 

George David Parks memorial

 

Ada Frances Parkes

 The font

 

 

 

  Carving of a head

 This pillar has quite an amazing carving on it

 head with hands interlinking around it

 

Around the lady's tomb recess you find more carved heads

 

This one is a damaged angel

 

The other in better condition

 

Below the angel  what looks an Orks head

 

 

Doves hang on one of the pillars supporting the south aisle arch

 

they look ever fragile

 

Kneelers down by the altar

Carved Pew ends

 

 Quiet detailed

 

 

I did come across a few tomb in the floor

 

memorial to rich people of the past now forgotten
 

 

A cross with poppy by a vase on one side of the Tilson memorial  

 

I will finish with this view of a chandelier with the rood cross in the background. Till next time I wish you all a peaceful weekend. 

Remember in your thoughts and prayers the tragedies you heard about in  the US and UK on the news this week.