St Mary the Virgin Kirtlington

 

This week the Church Explorer visits  St Mary Kirtlington the last church I visited in 2022. This was the third church I managed to visit during morning and one I thought might be pushing it until I found Bletchingdon was locked, lucky Kirtlington was not far away so I decided that I would OK with time and as luck would have it the church was open. This blog is quite long with the photos of the inside so get  a coffee and enjoy. History off Wikipedia ::-

"The earliest known record of a parish church at Kirtlington is in the Domesday Book of 1086. The oldest visible parts of the present Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin include the early 12th-century Norman arches supporting the central bell tower, and a tympanum of the same date that is now over the vestry door. Beneath the floor of the chancel are the foundations of a former apse that was also built early in the 12th century. About 1250 the nave was rebuilt and north and south aisles were added, each linked with the nave by arcades of three bays. The transeptal chapel of Our Lady on the south side of the tower may be of the same date, and the apse was replaced with a rectangular chancel late in the 13th century.

The west window of the nave dates from the 14th century, as do two windows flanking a blocked 13th-century doorway in the north aisle.The east window of the chancel, west doorway of the nave and south doorway of the south aisle are also 14th century. In the 15th century, a clerestory was added to the nave and a porch was added to the south door. The Lady Chapel was also rebuilt in the 15th century, and other late Medieval additions include the Perpendicular Gothic windows of the south aisle and another Perpendicular Gothic window in the north aisle.

By 1716 the Lady chapel was ruinous and Sir Robert Dashwood, 1st Baronet had it converted into a family chapel and burial vault. In 1770 the tower was unsafe and was demolished, leaving its arches between the nave and chancel. In about 1853 Sir Henry William Dashwood, 5th Baronet had the bell tower rebuilt by the Gothic Revival architect Benjamin Ferrey in a Norman Revival style. In 1877 Sir Henry and Lady Dashwood had the chancel restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott. At the same time the organ was installed in the Dashwood Chapel, obscuring a 1724 memorial to the first three Dashwood baronets and other members of the family. St Mary's is a Grade I listed building.

The rebuilt bell tower has a ring of eight bells. Henry III Bagley of Chacombe, Northamptonshire cast three of the bells in 1718, presumably at his then bellfoundry in Witney. Abel Rudhall of Gloucester cast the tenor bell in 1753. Two bells came from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry: one cast by Charles and George Mears in 1853 and the other by Mears and Stainbank in 1870. The current ring of eight was completed when John Taylor & Co of Loughborough cast the treble in 1938. St Mary's also has a Sanctus bell cast by Henry III Bagley in 1718. St Mary the Virgin is now part of the Akeman Church of England Benefice, which includes the parishes of Bletchingdon, Chesterton, Hampton Gay, Middleton Stoney, Wendlebury and Weston-on-the-Green.^"

 First view of the church which looks old

 Walking around to the west end

The a view of the north west

along to the north east

the east end

Looking up at the tower

Few of the details you can see around the outside of the church, top centre looks like the north door in the nave was blocked to for a window at first before being filled in

Churchyard as I came in looking east

The brambles and Ivy are hiding a some graves here

The west side part of the churchyard

Couple of the more interesting headstones

Commonwealth  War Grave of Lance Cpl Arthur Edgington

The churchyard on north side of the church

memorial seat alongside the path

Little Angel looking after her charge

Time to go inside

First look inside the church

Looking down the nave

The crossover arch

A little nearer showing the altar in the chancel

Altar & east window

The altar simply covered with altar cross on the table

Looking back through the cross over to the nave, I suspect the chancel was built out of line with the rest of the church.

Cross over beneath the tower

If you are wondering what the shiny section is well it's a glass floor to shoe the original 12th century tiled floor underneath. Even in reality the glass was covered in water droplets

Lectern and pulpit

This is a panoramic view of the nave with south and north aisles 

The huge east window

Lancet windows with saints

Triple and double stained glass windows

South aisle with the organ at the end of it

View of the organ

At the west end of the south aisle is this display case with the Dashwood family history and some donated items

The north aisle the end of which is now the vestry

In the first photo I took as I came in you might have noticed this wall with the remains of a wall painting, you can also see the north door that has been blocked up and the font

 

The wall painting which looks to be St George killing the dragon

Closer look at the font

Some of the various memorials in the church

These are more prominent

The former Lady chapel now that Dashwood chapel and vault with two large funerary hatchment's over the entrance

Wide view of the chapel

Panoramic shot

Altar in the chapel

Dashwood memorial

Memorials to the members who died in the Two wars

Two of the funerary hatchment's in the chaple

 

One on the west wall

Another three over the arched entrance

The Norman arch to the crossover

 

Entrance to the vestry with blocked window, makes me wonder if there was a rood loft as the is a blocked window in the nave

The 12th century tympanum

 

 

 This memorial took my eye

I will leave you with this photo of the advent candles. 

Till next time have a wonderful weekend