Has to be the last church visit I did in 2023, funny enough it was another church I was considering visiting but had not got around to doing so. Finding it listed on Oxfordshire Best Churches changed that and I decided to try to visit Ducklington and Coggs a few miles away as it was being only a few miles away does not mean it was easy to get to so I just ended up with just one but it was well worth the visit. I did not quite take all the photos I would have liked as there were the churchwarden and a couple of others were decorating the church for Christmas so it was a bit of tactical photography so not to get them in the photo or though you may see one in the background.
"The Church of England parish church of Saint Bartholomew is 12th century. The Gothic Revival architect EG Bruton restored the building in 1871. The bell tower has a ring of six bells. William and Henry III Bagley of Chacombe in Northamptonshire cast the second, fourth and fifth bells in 1708. Robert Taylor & Sons cast the tenor bell in 1829, presumably at their then foundry in Oxford. Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the treble bell in 1889. The Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry of Asten in the Netherlands cast the third bell in 1988."
The north side of the church taken from the roadside
West end with north and the sough aisle behind the headstone
North east view of the church
Wast end of the church
Going around to the south east
Looking up the footpath to the south of the church
South west end of the church showing the tower
The bell tower, you can see the small lancet windows at the bottom of the stair case leading up to the bells
Another view down the path to the south porch
and one from the road on the north side
Quite a few old headstones to see
These with a covering of moss on the north side
Looking from the churchyard across the road to the current cemetery were the more recent burials are
Collage of chest tombs and headstones
From the east end to the north side of the church
South of the church looking west
Inside the entrance porch you find a carved Norman doorway
Inside the church looking over the north aisle to the nave
Looking down the nave to the chancel
Inside the chancel
Altar with reredo behind
Changed to my phone for this one looking at the new altar on razed plinth, this must cover a few tombs from the look of it
Chancel again with choir stalls either side
Altar rails and altar with east window behind
The east window is quite somthing to look at
Altar and wood altar cross
This is the reredo you can see which is on the east wall of the chancel
Above the altar the roof is painted in contrast to the rest of the chancel
Looking back through the church to the tower base
Pulpit and lectern
View down the nave and aisles from the pulpit
From the north aisle to the nave and south aisle
The Norman font and middle aged church chest
The north aisle looking to the altar there
Down the east end of the north aisle
Altar and reredo
On the window sill at he west end of the north aisle you find this beautifully carved depiction of the last supper
But the the main feature to see in the church is the tomb recesses that have some stunning carvings on them
You also need to look up and see these carving in heir recesses
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A little more at the top of the south window
At the east end of the aisle is this screen
Above which is another beautiful stained glass window
But you need to look to the right to see the faded wall painting under which someone had painted what it would have looked like
A couple of Funerary Hatchments and coat of arms you can see in the church
Couple of memorial in the nave floor
The only tomb that you can see which is readable in the nave floor
A few of the stained glass lancets in the church
Recesses on of which is a holy water stoup
North door in the chancel
It was nice to see the advent candles
This stained glass did it for me, I noticed it as soon as I walked in the chancel.
Till Next Time I wish you all a wonderful weekend
