St Peter & Paul Stokenchurch

This was totally a spur of the moment visit due to my son having an appointment nearby, as this would take around twenty minuets or so and the church was a couple of minuets away I thought it would beat waiting around and be more interesting. Needless to say it was.

 Not much on the church in Wikipedia only this 

"The Church of England parish church of St Peter and St Paul has a Norman west tower and numerous late-13th and early-14th century features. The outer walls are covered in modern pebbledash. The north aisle and belltower were added in 1893."
Now I did not expect to see inside but when I got around the South side I saw a lady come out of the porch, so went to see if the church was open. It was and I managed to take some photos. The only difference was you were restricted as to where you could go. This is the second church I have seen like this.  It may be the way things will be for a while so the photos I  bring you will be pot luck if I can go inside

St Peter & Paul looking from the South West

Above the West end with the tower showing.
Left this extension is no doubt the church office and meeting rooms

The South East end

The Chancel on the East end

View along the South side

Above coming from the road to the main entrance you will go thugh this Lych gate

Left the North side where you can also see the North chapel

Looking North West you see the meeting room extension

The chapel

South East with the East end wall

Above passing through the Lych Gate you will go through an avenue of trees

Over to the left a path taking you to the Church Office

Looking the other way to the Lych Gate

Inside the porch a doorway which could be Norman

Inside you get a view to the North aisle

The Nave which is taped off restricting you to the West end

The Church Font & cover age of the font I could not tell you

I could use the Zoom on my iPhone to get a better view of the Chancel arch and chancel, inscriptions can be seen around the arch and over the chancel window

Above the Chancel Stained Glass Window

This one is a memorial window to the fallen from the Second World War the Rolls of Honour on either side

I managed to zoom in to the window in the North Chacel

The roll of Honour beneath the Memorial window, it is worth noting that the last two names are women who died, they are buried in the Churchyard

The Roll of Honour for the First World Was which is beside the stained glass window in the north chapel

Above two shots of the stained glass window in the nave South wall, there is also a memorial there which I could not read that easy

Right the bell tower is partitioned off with I have no doubt a kitchen beneath the Bell loft

The North chapel where you can see a stained glass window in the North wall

Memorial to Eleanor wife of Major John Augustus Fane

nearby a memorial to the Major himself

memorial to Henry Mason who was a surgeon in Henley on Thames

At the North side of the church you will pass though the churchyard and into the town cemetery which was where I came in to the church

It is quite large

In the churchyard you can see some old headstones

Some of the headstones you see near the East end of the church

Looking out between the trees on the South side

Double headstone

Older headstones near the path by the trees

This one has a tomb between between the head & foot stones

The headstone dated 1714 quite readable

A later chest tomb near the trees along the path

with a second further on near the porch

The churchyard along the North chaple

Looking from the churchyard to the cemetery

Part of the churchyard by the North boundary wall

The town cemetery by the churchyard

Further down the cemetery with left the cremation memorials along the hedge

I will leave you with this shot of the cross on the table at the back of the church with a  blessing beside it, the candle the light of the world.

Till Next time Take Care and have a safe weekend

St Laurence South Hinksey

This is a church I have wanted to visit for a while so as Lock down continues to ease I decided to visit Botley Cemetery and then go on to South Hinksey, I thought the church would be locked so when I got there I was not disappointed, I thing it may be the case with a few churches in the future so I think I will be phoning the church wardens up prior to my visits to check if I can get in. History is a little sparse on the internet and nothing on Wikipedia but I found this on the Parish Website

"South Hinksey was first recorded as a settlement when given to the Abbey at Abingdon between 685 and 688 by King Caedwalla of the West Saxons. Among the most ancient buildings in the village, the church has a thirteenth century nave and tower of some time later in the century. The chancel is noticeably different from the body of the church, having been constructed in the eighteenth century.
In many ways a ‘typical’ English village church, the interior of St Laurence contains a number of attractive features. First among these must be the visually arresting rood and its accompanying loft. Prior to the Reformation, this church would doubtless have possessed a rood and loft not unlike this one; however, the present fitting dates from 1932, having been paid for by an anonymous donor. The rood proper is a delicate handling of the crucifixion of Christ, with Our Lady Mary on his right, and his disciple John on his left. Beneath the rood, the legend on the loft is taken from the Book of Common Prayer translation of the hymn ‘Te Deum Laudamus’: ‘We praise thee, O Lord’.
Beneath the rood loft stand pulpit and reading desk, both fitted in 1936, the desk being used traditionally for the reading of the Services, and the pulpit for the sermon. Above the pulpit is a fine window depicting St Laurence, the patron of our church. His portrayal here tells his story. Laurence was an arch-deacon at Rome in the third century. When his bishop, Sixtus, was denounced to the hostile pagan authorities, Laurence was put in charge of the church’s valuables, which he in turn entrusted to the poor of his congregation. Finally arrested, and charged to disclose the whereabouts of the church assets, Laurence showed the authorities the poor and sick of the church, saying, ‘Behold, here are the treasures of Christ’s Church’. Laurence was thus martyred for his refusal to comply by being roasted on a bed of hot iron bars. So in this window, the saint bears the iron griddle in one hand, and the gospels and thurible in another – it being the duty of a deacon to proclaim the gospel at the Eucharist.
In addition, the church contains a number of pieces of attractive contemporary carving, including two wands, a fine remembrance candlestick, and processional cross. These were crafted by the brother of the present church warden."

The church was quite near the road so getting a good view from there was limited

Viewing the church from the south was worse with trees hiding the view

Though you did get a nice view of the churchyard

The entrance porch was one of the nicer ones I have seen

 The only part that was visible was the tower

Plus part of the North side which you could see from the road.

I did like the look of the stonework on the church

Another from the roadside with my iPhone

The churchyard looked to have some quite old headstones in it, some of them covered in ivy

Above the headstone of Private F W Wharton who is buried in the family grave. Looking South across the church yard

This looks towards the village

Above Private G H Cox

Left  an extension to the churchyard where recent Burials take place

Looking North

Statue of a child looking down on the grave

I will take my leave of you this week with a photo of the churchyard from the roadside. The inside from a photo I have seen looks worth going back for so I will see when I can visit again. Till then

Take Care and have a peaceful weekend