St Mary the Virgin Little Coxwell

Cistercian monks of Beaulieu Abbey built the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary in the 12th century as a chapel of ease. Little Coxwell was a dependent chapelry of the ecclesiastical parish of Great Faringdon. In 1866 the civil parish was established.

 The Church of St. Mary's is a 12th Century Chapel of Ease, built by the Monks of Beaulieu Abbey. It contains a number of features of historical and architectural interest, including:

• Norman doorway
• Perpendicular stone porch
• Transitional Priest's door
• Early decorated window
• 3 large perpendicular windows
• 13th Century Bell-cote
• 12th Century Chancel Arch, rebuilt in the 15th Century
• Norman door jambs of the Vestry in the north wall of the nave
• Carved wood rail of organ loft - part of a pre-Reformation Rood Screen
• 15th Century octagonal font
• Iron Hour-Glass stand
• Brass Candelabrum dating from 1729
• George III Coat of Arms

You walk along a narrow lane to find the church and come to this wonderful lychgate

Go though and you are met with a view of the South side of the church
A seat stands to the side of the porch looking towards the Lychgate

Go around to the West end and you find a large window with a rose one above
The North side also had a porch

Though this has been blocked off in the past and a false door placed over where the opening is. The porch is used a vestry

Above the East end window with family vault under it.

Left we look towards the Porch

Standing near you cam look up and see the bells in the cote which dates to the 13th Century
 Right one of the headstops on the window

The ones around the door are very eroded

Priest door in the chancel and the door on the porch

Inside another door takes you to the Nave

Looking down you see the 12th century chancel arch which was rebuilt in the 15th century

Above which you can see the George III coat of arms

Through the arch into the chancelm the sreen at the back is tilted

Behind on the East wall are tow recesses, one looks partly blocked in, they look like they were windows once

The Altar dressed in white

On top of which are simple wooden candle holders and a brass altar cross

The The chancel window depicts the Crucifixion and looks Pre-Raphaelite

Looking back through the arch you can see the 1729 Brass Candelabrum

Looking at it from the Pulpit on the right you can see a dove on the top

Looking from the pulpit to the Nave

Another view of the Brass Candelabrum

Looking up at the Organ loft you can see the rails of the loft which is part of a pre-Reformation Rood Screen
Right a view down from the loft, I might add the stairs are some of the most narrow I have climbed

One thing that is worth looking at above  the stairs is this Stained glass window, it is something you would miss if you did not go up them

Around the church are plaques with scripture on them, from the look they are enamelled tin and in good condition compared to some I have seen

The George III coat of arms

Not easy to read this memorial even if you are close

Little Coxwell Roll Of Honour, some one hand wrote this with great care and devotion

Right some of the kneelers in the pews

along with hymn books all neatly held

View towards the Pulpit

Before heading back out the Font which is near the door

Outside is a mixture of headstones these near the porch have footstones maching the headstone though one has lost it's top

Looking further west the churchyard has been extended

Though I did not wander through the headstones here are not so old

The headstone on the left with ivy growing up is on the Norths side, at the East end you see this family vault

Looking east here at three headstones beside the path

A Commonwealth war grave of Private A.E.King who died in 1918 age 20. The motive of the Royal Berkshire Regiment prominent on top. Many local men belonged to the Regiment, back then this area was in Berkshire, now it is Oxfordshire

Over the far East side more headstones forgotten by family's

A final look from near the seat.
Till Next time I wish you all a peaceful weekend

All Saints Faringdon Pt2

After the look around the outside of the church this week we look at the inside of All Saints. Now such was the amount to see I did my usual look around and wonder where to start first but at least I managed to keep my head together and work in a reasonable order

The nave looking towards the transept and chancel, I was rather awestruck as to where to go first in the church but managed to get my head together and work from the nave

The transept arch on the nave side and chancel side

The altar which is dressed beautifully

The altar has a curtain behind

the altar which was decked with one of the nicest floral displays I have seen

Above the arch leading to the transept and above a George III coat of arms

Inside if you look up you can see recesses and nearby smaller ones with faces looking out

Right the Unton Aisle and left the South Transept










 

Above looking back through the transept to the West end of the church, 

Left I think this is the North Transept the door leads to the Church Office

Right the stained glass windows in the Transept

Looking right through an arch to the chapel off the chancel

The Transept is this pulpit is situated along with the view you get from it looking into the nave

There is a lot of very nice stained glass to be seen in the church

All have an inscription below dedicating them to the memory of a person who attended the church

Above this stunning window is in the Unton Asile

Nice funerary hatchment in the chapel off the chancel

This small case shows a couple of canon balls found nearby they date from the English civil war when Faringdon was besieged by Cromwells forces

Above the Roll of Honour from the First world war.
Right looking across the nave to the North aisle

One of the features pointed out to me is this turtle at the base of a pillar

Above the font you can see in the church with it's cover

The figure you can see in the Unton aisle kneeling in Tudor dress

I think she is Dorothy Unton

Behind is a wonderful memorial

on the base this skull.

Right the brass in tomb in the chapel

The colourful coats of arms

even the brasses have paint on them still

Nearby is another tomb with effigies on top

Both in repose and Tudor dress, They seem to have survived Cromwells men defacing them

Opposite the Unton Asile you can see this chapel

This has a fare amount of memorials in it

The most impressive one being that of Lana Pye

Left looking towards the entrance and the Unton aisle behind

I will leave you with this shot of the into aisle with the musical instruments that are in there

Till Next time have a peaceful week