This week the church Explorer returns to St James the Great Denchworth this was visited back in 2021 but for some reason I forgot to post it. This seems to be a problem with me because I just found another at Horsepath near Oxford which I returned to as well. I will be posting this next week.
The History of Wikipedia in case you did not read it in the original blog. :-
Denchworth had a parish church by 1086, but the oldest part of the present Church of England parish church of Saint James is 12th century. This is a small part of the south wall of the nave, which seems to have been rebuilt and extended westwards in the 13th century. The south doorway is a plain late Norman arch.
Later in the 13th century the north chapel and the north-west tower were added. The south transept was added in the 14th century and was originally Decorated Gothic. The chancel, north chapel and possibly the south transept were rebuilt in the 15th century, mostly with Perpendicular Gothic windows.The church was restored from 1852 onwards. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The Perpendicular Gothic font is also 15th-century. The Perpendicular-style pulpit is neo-Gothic and was made in 1889.
The south porch is neo-Gothic and was added during the 19th-century restoration. It replaces a two-storey south porch, in whose upper room Gregory Geering and the then vicar established an antiquarian chained library. Its contents included a 1483 edition of the Golden Legend that is now in the Bodleian Library in Oxford and other rare volumes that were transferred to Denchworth vicarage. The library also held curiosities such as a "mermaid's rib".
The church has monumental brasses to Oliver Hyde (died 1516) and his wife Agnes, to William Hyde (died 1557), his wife Margery and their children, and to another William Hyde (died 1567) and his wife Alice. One of the inscriptions for William and Margery Hyde has a commemorative plaque for the foundation of Bisham Priory in 1333 on the back. In the south transept is a memorial tablet to Gregory Geering (died 1690) and four more to members of the Geering family who died in the 18th century.
The tower has a of four bells, but they are currently unringable. Ellis I Knight of Reading, Berkshire cast the treble bell in 1624. Henry III Bagley, who had bellfoundries at Chacombe in Northamptonshire and Witney in Oxfordshire, cast the second bell in 1733. The remaining bells are from the Whitechapel Bellfoundry: the third bell cast by Robert Stainbank in 1868 and the tenor bell by Mears and Stainbank in 1869. St James' has also a Sanctus bell cast by an unknown founder in about 1699.
St James' parish is now a member of the Vale Benefice, along with the parishes of East Challow, Grove and West Hanney."
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The south door a nice Norman arch
where the end of the chapel now hoses the organ
Giving this view of the church
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The south wall of the chancel you will find these brases to the memory of William Hyde and his wife Margary they had twenty children
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One of these Brasses belongs to Williams Father and Mother. The brasses must have been lifted from the tombs in the floor which no doubt were in the chancel
I thought this display was just part of the remembrance day
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But I wonder if the five in the last photo signified one of the fallen listed here
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There are more memorials around the church these being the most impressive
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These skulls are part of the memorials
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Some really nice stained glass in the church, above the east window
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This one in memory of some of the Hyde family
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The font which is most likely Victorian
The sun was shining on this window which meant you could not see the stained glass clear
Memorial plate on a box at the back of the church
20 comments:
The place feels quite evocative and full of memory.
Wonderful and beautiful and so very old!!
What an unusual external design for this church - rather squat. I wonder if there was a taller tower which was lost in the Victorian refurb? Those brasses were something else - and 20 children! My goodness, she must have been permanently pregnant, poor lady.
beautiful, I really do love old churches. I got married in one many moons ago and my family are all interned there. I never think to take photos inside of a church but we do have some beautiful ones in my home town. Thank you so much for this tour. I will take a look at some more.
So much history! Thanks for sharing.
It does seem like it has a lot of memories about it
yes older that in thought it might be
It does look that way being squat & boxy. I did wonder about the tower myself. 20 kids, you have to feel for the poor woman but she was not the first I have come across that have had so many.
I presume you like in the UK so you can find lots of nice churches around. I have visited a lot but not so many outside Oxfordshire & Berkshire other that Wales
Yes a lot of it
What a gorgeous church and so much history. I particularly lke the brasses, the poppies and the stained glass reflection. I do so enjoy your posts as it shows me churches in a different part of England so thank you.
I really liked the church which I found charming with a nice mix of old parts to it. You show me parts I have not visited as well, it's good to know other people with a similar hobby
Great photos of a lovely church. I love the photo of the altar with the sun shining on it.
Thank you for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2022/07/milkweed-visitors.html
It really does look very old. It's not often you see a church without a steeple or a tower.
I can't get my head round having 20 children, but no doubt a lot of them died in infancy.
Such a stunning image of the church against the skyline! Thanks for linking up and for sharing with #MySundaySnapshot.
Another interesting church this week, Bill, with beautiful stained glass and unusual features. Thank you.
Yes that really looked good that day
Depend on where you live, There are a lot of churches I visit with nether just a bell in a cote, but one church I am going to show in a few weeks has both
As always just glad to oblige
Glad you enjoyed it, I try to show them at their best
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