St Georges Hatford

 

 I took a chance on visiting this church after looking around Pusey and was unsure if it was going to be open. I did find it looked but after looking around it found it a very charming little church. There is quite some history on Wikipedia :-

"Hatford has had two Anglican parish churches. The later of these, the church of the Holy Trinity (built in 1873–4 to a design by William Wigginton) became dilapidated and was finally deconsecrated and sold in 1972, for use as a private dwelling. The older Saint George's was reopened in the same year, reroofed in 1973 and reglazed in 1974; reinstated as Hatford's place of worship.

St George's stands on the site of the Saxon church mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is mostly Early English Gothic, with a Norman south doorway to nave and chancel arch and a Norman font. One Saxon window is still visible. There is a sundial carved into the stone near the doorway.

On 29 April 1555 Anne Dudley, the widowed Countess of Warwick, and Sir Edward Unton of Wadley House were married at St George's. Anne was the daughter of Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset and niece to Jane Seymour, who married King Henry VIII."

 

The approach to the church from by the gate

 

Looking towards the west end an the entrance

 

The east end of the church

 

This is around the north side with a blocked off door

 The east end

 

 

The entrance door with stale tiles around the top for some protection

Closer view of the door an hinges, To the right you can see the lower part of three iron hinges that would have held a door, on the left the wooden lock
 

 I suspect this is the sundial they mentioned in the history which was a mass dial to tell people when the services were

 

 

It looks like there has been  a couple of mass dials made here

Head carving from Norman times

 

The old sundial is nearer the west end

 

Looking along the south side of the church were all you can see are a couple of family tombs at the end

 

This one is quite large and has a small fence around it

The other side one with an even taller fence

Going around the north side over by the wall you find a lot of headstones piled up

 

The door was looked but Looking through the windows you could see in the church. This is looking though the east window at the chancel

Looking through the window on the north side at the altar in the chancel

 

 

This is the other end of the chancel

 

This is going into the nave beside the chancel arch

 

at the west end by the font

 

Looking from the south west window, you can see a balcony to the left

 

Back to the chancel arch

 

The chancel where you can see a tomb recess with effigy in it 

That's all I could get of the church I will see if I can return to get photos inside as it really does look an interesting church to visit.

Till next time I wish you all a pleasant weekend

All Saints Goosy

 

After visiting Denchworth my next destination was Goosey where I could see All Saints Church which is in a small village that was mentioned in the Doomsday Book. I came to the church not expecting to go inside so finding it locked was not disappointed by this. Just means I need to go back when I find it is open again. The history on Wikpedia  

"The Church of England parish church of All Saints' has an Early English nave that was built in the 13th century. The present chancel is a late 16th-century Tudor addition. The church has a king post roof. The vestry on the north side of the church and the bell-turret on the nave gable were added in the 19th century. All Saints' is a chapelry of the parish of St Deny's, Stanford in the Vale. All Saints' building is Grade II* listed."

Above and left the North side as you walk in the gate and along the path

Looking over to the East a small churchyard can be seen

From across the churchyard towards the entrance door

Here we look towards the entrance door, on the left what I assume is the stump of a preaching cross

Walking around the South side and a view towards the church

Back around to the North East side, old misplaced headstones lean against the wall 
 

 

 

 

A commonwealth war grave has been added to this family plot

It belongs to Private L.G.Goodchild

A closer look at the preaching cross stump

Above the memorial to Albert Booker along with the rest of his family mentioned below him

It stands with some older head stones 

Around by the West end a broken headstone leans against the wall

Look South along the boundary wall and you find more modern headstones

Turn East and the churchyard seems rather empty apart from headstones by the hedge

 Mixed in among them are some large family plots

My last look at All Saints till I get a chance to return and see inside

England will be in a four week Lockdown when you read this and after this blog I have two more churches to feature. I had hoped to visit a few more before this happened but other things intervened and it did not happen so I may have to come up with something.

Till Next time stay safe & take care.

 

 

St Denny Stanford in the Vale

I admit this church has been on my list for a little while and as I drove through the village on my way to Shellingford I thought it only right to stop off on my way back. The church sits back off a green in a beautiful part of the village. I was not sure if the church was open and soon found out it was locked and unlikely would be open for a while. I will return when it is open again. one thing I did notice with out looking into the history more is that the nave roof has been lowered as is evident from the outline on the East side of the tower.
"The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of Saint Denys are its late 12th-century south and north doorways. The west tower was built late in the 13th century, but its height was increased later. The chancel is Decorated Gothic. Later are the 14th-century north and south aisles, Perpendicular Gothic clerestory and south and north porches. Remnants of 14th-century stained glass survive in the east and south windows of the chancel. The pulpit and baptismal font are Jacobean. The pulpit is wooden; the font is stone encased with wooden panels and cover. The church is a Grade I listed building
The tower has a ring of eight bells. Abraham I Rudhall of Gloucester cast the third, fifth, seventh and tenor bells in 1700. Abel Rudhall cast the fourth bell in 1753. Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the treble and second bells in 1891.
St Denys' parish is part of the Benefice of Stanford in the Vale with Goosey and Hatford."

Looking down the path to the church

The porch looked a little on it's own compared to the rest of the church

The Porch and the bell tower

Going around the North side you come across this porch that looks rather grand

Heading down the East end and looking along the North side

I went around the Church again with my wide angle lense

It gave a different point of view

In that I could get the whole church in the frame

Above the North porch looks older than the South with the weathered stonework

Right a view of the whole North side

Across from the church on the South side you find the churchyard which is mostly overgrown

Parts near the path are trimmed and the cremation memorials for people to visit

A path is cut through the long grass around the church

Over on the North west end of the church a mown part around the more recent burials

Above a lone tomb stands away from the Tower

I found a few Commonwealth  War Graves in the long grass at the West end of the churchyard

Did not seem a good way to remember them hidden away like this and forgotten

Above over in the Far West end and left looking along the South side of the churchyard

When I turned around I looked North West across the forgotten part of the churchyard

Nearby the more recent burials in trimmed and neat cut grass

A chest tomb and headstone the family's forgotten

Here you look down the North side towards the East end

Looking back the other way through the long grass

Misplaced headstone stacked against the groundsman's hut

The Village War Memorial near the church

I will leave you with this view of the church from the green.

Till Next time I wish you all a safe weekend