The Church Explorer: St Helen, Abingdon

I will start by saying I have visited this St Helen, Abingdon a few years ago but was never really happy with the photos and then I found out I missed something I should have seen and photographed so it was on the cards to do a return visit. History is on Wikipedia

St Helen from by St Helens Wharf

West St Helens Street

Down near the church

The south side porch from St Helens Wharf

West side

Part of the churchyard near the Almshouses

Looking south with the other almshouses over to the right

Churchyard near the archway

The main entrance porch

The view as you come inside

I class this as the main nave aisle

Going towards the altar

The modern altar used now

The chancel

The amazing Reredos

Closer to the reredos

It hides the east window

Tracery arch and seats

Looking up at the ceiling

Jumping over to the north aisle by the entrance looking east

The font and cover

Closer look at the font and cover

North wall with lots of memorials to see. To the left of the main door is a covered doorway which I thought could go to the room over the porch but the door in the foreground could be a contender as well with the carved stonework.

The east window

Closer view of the center part

Collage of the lower panels

Statues in ether corner

West window of the north aisle

Impressive monument to Elizabeth Hawkins

The inscription underneath

A children's area in the north aisle and adjacent on

From the back of the north aisle towards the nave

North aisle windows

At the east end you find the rolls of honour which were missing on my last visit

Above this reredos

The roll for WWII

Two from WWI

The next aisle looks to the Lady Chapel

A screen partitions off the chapel from the aisle

In side the altar is backlit

Above the east window

The altar with back lighting

This is what I missed on my previous visit

The painted ceiling panels

Some are faded away

The outlines still there

But considering they date from 1380

They are amazing

Madonna and child banner

Mothers union banner

Between the chapel and north aisle is a tomb chest with coat of arms on it

Dated 1571

Belonging to Johannis Ryosse

Memorial to R.C.A Griffith

West window of the aisle

Close up of the window

I would say this was pew for important people once

It has some carved poppyheads of a lion and unicorn

Couple of plaques on the pillars behind the pews, the long one I should have read about but is on the end of one of the pillars

Not sure if the is the South aisle but its next down from the nave, you look towards the Organ

The organ with piano in front, the organ keys are around the left hand side

Memorial to two members of the Bailie family killed in WWI

Bass on the wall with protected by perspex cover

Kapp family memorial

This is behind the organ

Along with this memorial

Pulpit

View down to the nave from it

Another view

Turning right to the north aisle

West nave window

This of over on the far north aisle shows St Helen

Its more modern but I do like it

There are a few more stained glass windows in the south wall

Though they are not as bight as I would have thought

The light seems muted through them for some reason which might be to do with the nearby trees

The last one does let light through

I did ask and ladies did not mind being in the photo, I call it the south aisle

The east wall is full of memorials

Looking back across the church from the aisle

This is the William Lee memorial who was 5 times mayor of Abingdon it is mentioned in Jarome K Jaromes three men in a boat and represents his family tree. He had 17 children, 78 grand children and 102 great grand children by the time he died at 98