St Andrew Boxford

 

Third of the churches I visited in West Berkshire and sadly another that was locked but on the bright side I found out when it was open so I will try and revisit. There is a bit more history below on Wiki  

 The Church of England parish church of Saint Andrew consists of a chancel, nave, north aisle, north-west vestry, south porch and a west bell tower. The chancel may be Anglo-Saxon, and an Anglo-Saxon window was discovered in a wall of the church in 2011.^[13] The Jacobean pulpit dates from 1618,^[14] the font from about 1662^[14] and the west tower from about 1692.^[15] Much of the church was rebuilt in the Victorian era and in 1841 the north aisle was added.^[15] However, the arcade between the nave and north aisle was probably by John Oldrid Scott and Sons in 1908.^[15] The building is Grade II* listed.

 The village war memorial just outside the church

 Nearby is the lychgate 

 

From the churchyard the south side of the church

 

East end, the north aisle looks like it was added at a later date

North east view

Around the north east and an even later addition that looks like it might hold a restroom

The tower from the north west

South view of the tower

South west view

The east window

Which is where I spotted these headstops

Inside the porch which is as far as I got.

Churchyard beside the path

Looking west around the north side

Right over in a corner of the churchyard

This is another corner east of the church

From the north west of the churchyard

Churchyard collage with the commonwealth war grave of Seaman F.A.Chandler who was 18 when he died and belonged to H.M.S. Victory

Over the north side of the churchyard you find this small garden wit a seat that you can go in. Not a lot this week but I will try and revisit when the church is open. 

Till next time may I wish you all a peaceful week 

St John Stockcross

 

 The second of the churches  I visited was St john Stockcross which when I was looking at the OS map I noticed was off the road I would be taking to Boxford. Problem I had when I got there was how to get to the church let alone park near it. The church which I had spotted seem to be out the back of a house and I could not see the road leading there at the time, I found it after my visit. I also found out the benefice the church is in and will try to find out when I can return to look around the inside

Very little in the way of history on Wiki

" It is the site of a brick-built church, St John's, erected and endowed by the vicar, the Rev. H. W. Majendie in 1839"

 South side over the churchyard

West end with some of the north side of the church

South view again with my camera

 Churchyard with the church

East end which I took as I was leaving

Churchyard looking south east from the porch

Along the south side of the church is this fenced off family plot

Far east end of the churchyard

Commonwealth war grave of Corporal J Pocock 

On the far side of the hedge you find a churchyard extension

Like I said a short blog.

Till Next time may I wish you all a peaceful week 

St Mary the Virgin Speen

 

This week the Church Explorer take a trip to West Berkshire and four churches that I decided to visit near Newbury. After my trips to north Oxfordshire and churches in Oxford  where I was spoiled with open churches I was really disappointed to find that not one of the churches on this trip were open.  

Not a great deal of history on the church but this is what is on Wiki 

"The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the Virgin is late Saxon and is the oldest church in Berkshire. It is the burial place of Giovanni Battista Castiglione (1515–98), Elizabeth I's Italian tutor and servant, who was given the nearby Benham Valence house and park in 1570"

The south side from the path

South side looking east, getting a side view of the south was not possible 

Going around the north side

A few taken with my iphone. South east end of the church

South west

North side view

Across the north side of the churchyard is this lychgate, the path will take you to a place called the Ladywell, if I go back I will see if I can get a photo

East end of the church

East view of the church again looking over the churchyard 

As you walk in the churchyard there are a lot of headstones and tomb chests to see

Most the inscription has gone off them

 

This part looks more recent though I am not sure 

 

Looking across the east of the church

Graves line ether side of the path

Headstones and tombs, the two headstones at the top still have the rough outline of the cherubs on them

Going around the west end of the church

The north side is huge, you can see the lychgate to the left in the distance

From by the lychgate, there must have been a lot of rain a few days before because a lot of soil had been washed down the path through the gate into the churchyard covering some memorials 

The north side also seems to have more recent burials 

Lot of crosses near the boundary north of the churchyard, the near two are wood

Commonwealth war grave of Sergent R.L.Philby who was a pilot RAF 19th October 1942

Near the fence was a lot of small crosses all similar in looks

One of the crosses

Couple of different type tombs

View down to the church

I will leave you with my favorite photo of the church. I'll see if I can get back here to see inside as I'm intrigued that the church is the oldest in Berkshire, the outside does not give that impression.

Till Next time may I wish you all a peaceful week