Leaving D picking blackberries in Stoneleigh a few days ago I wandered over to St Mary's church.
The original church was probably a wooden structure and it was rebuilt in the first half of the 12th century when Henry I granted the living to the monastery at nearby Kenilworth which continued until the Reformation. Much remains of this building although there were extensive alterations in the 14th century in the "Decorated" style especially in the nave and Norman tower. In the 15th century a belfry was added and in the 17th century a vestry was built by Thomas, the first Lord Leigh from nearby Stoneleigh Abbey. Under the vestry the Leigh family vault was constructed. The vestry was "Stuart Gothic" in style complete with pinnacles.
On 22nd October 1643 during the Civil War the vicar was threated by Parliamentarian soldiers who had caused a disturbance in the church. They retired and then fired their pistols at the window in the hope of murdering the vicar!
The church is built of red sandstone which was quarried nearby.
One of the features I wanted to see again was the blocked North Nave door.
The tympanum shows two dragons (sadly very weathered) with their necks intertwined and each dragon is biting its own tail. Above in a small panel are two snakes also biting their tails. ie an ouroborus.
The church door looked well and truly locked so first I went to explore the churchyard. Lots of trees but it did look quite manicured although to be fair I did not explore all areas.
You may need to click on this photo to enlarge but its an interesting inscription. It has been moved from the south porch and is now inserted in a blocked doorway.
Note the pinnacles on what I assume is the vestry - they look rather out of place!!!!!
This memorial (not sure if it was meant to be a sundial at some stage?) was dedicated to Edith Pridmore who died in 1923.
I did try the door but it was locked.
I briefly visited the church a few years ago when D and I were in Stoneleigh but the photos of the interior were really poor and I had hoped to get better ones. The main features I wanted to see were the Norman font with carvings of the 12 Apostles, the Chancel Screen carvings particularly those of a snake and bird and the Leigh monuments. I am not sure if the church was closed due to thefts or the Pandemic? but I will check before I visit again to see if it is open.
Finally, a few photos that D took on our walk round. I have excluded most of the building pictures as they were similar to mine.
A rare photo of me!!!
I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
Photos of the church taken by me with the Pansonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera and rest of photos taken by D with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera.
Reference:
Church guide to the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Stoneleigh-in-Arden.
Pevsner Buildings of England Warwickshire (latest edition).
12 comments:
What a lovely outing. Good to put a face to the name too! The memorial to Humphry How shows he was much thought of. The tympanum is especially interesting - guess who had to go and look up "ouroborus"? Shame on me!!
I've only been to Stoneham once, and that was when a friend was showing her young part-bred Arabs at the NEC, now long-defunct. I would never have dreamed, back in my horsey days, that I would become interested in old churches!
Lovely post and church, you do need to visit the East coast some time hopefully, what with it's history, many lovely churches and a big bonus of fossil hunting.
Amanda x
Bove Belle - Thans so much. I think I learned what a ouroborus was after Kilpeck visit and there have been a few interesting discussions on Twitter about them :)
NEC not far from us. I know in my younger days I would never have imagined myself church crawling either :)
Amanda Peters - Thanks so much. The Yorks East coast is definitely on list of possible holiday destinations one day....................
You look adorable, and a tad mischievous too.
I wonder, and really should look into it some more, about the usage of ouroboros in Christian architecture. {look out Google!}
I find small, country churches so lovely, as well as interesting. While the big, Gothic buildings are miracles of construction to be astonished by, they can be so often overwhelming too.
Hope the berry pick was plentiful?
Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much and for your kind words about me especialy - lol! :)
I will be googling more about the use or ouroborous too now you have me intrigued. Think it may be something to do with the shape being a circle and meaning eternity? I agree with you abut small country churches - I would much rather meander round one of those :) Yes thanks re: blackberries. I will show a photo of results in next post :)
that door is really interesting
have you ever been to Stoneleigh Abbey?
The Quacks of Life - Thanks :)
No - in fact I only realised last week that you could visit! Have added to list of places to go!!!
Lovely to see you :-)
It looks like you had a lovely day out.
The carved head over the doorway arch is similar in syle to carved heads on St Mary's, Acton Burnell.
Cherry Pie - Thanks so much. That is interesting at the carved head. I've not been Acton Burnell must do some research :)
The church is lovely, I like it's mellow, golden stone. The door is fascinating and the carvings wonderful. I too will have to google ouroborous to find out more. All the photos are super and how lovely to see you in one of them. You look as if you are having fun. Take care:)
Another lovely old church you have found there. I wonder how many have at least one old entrance which has been blocked. Our church has one but there is permission to restore it. I hear a new Oak door and fittings to match the period are arriving so work on it should start in the near future.
Rosie - Thanks so much. It is amazing what you can find even on the exterior of churches! It was a nice little trip out :) Take care too.
Midmarsh John - Thanks so much. I do wonder if doors were blocked during rebuilding or renovation/restoration work?? I would love to see a photo of your new church door - it sounds as though a lot of care has been taken over it.
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