After visiting the pumpkin patch and then having lunch we drove to nearby St Mary's church.
St Mary is located on the east bank of the River Lugg a short distance from Marden village. It is Grade I listed. The present church was built around 1220/30 and the chancel ends in a polygonal apse built in the C14th.
The North West tower is C14th and has some unusual carvings on the buttress. We visited the tower first for this reason.
The carving in the photo below is said to represent a bird or possibly a mermaid - to be honest I cannot see its resemblance to either. Marden does however have a very interesting legend about a mermaid who stole the church bell. Apparently the story was told to Ella Mary Leather, a British folklorist, author and song collector from Herefordshire, by a Mr Galliers of King's Pyon. Interestingly, my paternal great grandfather lived in that area of Herefordshire and he had a double barrelled surname one of which was Galliers! I wonder if there is a connection. Anyway I digress...........
Many centuries ago before they were hung in towers bronze church bells were attached to a wooden frame in the churchyard and they were rung by the priest to call people to mass, services or funerals. The bells took on a sacred significance. One day in the churchyard of the original wooden church the priest rang the bell so hard that it fell off the frame and rolled into the nearby river. A mermaid living in the river found the lost bell and used it as a place to sleep. The villagers and priests were very sad to see the lost bell being used by a mermaid and plans were made to retrieve it. They gathered a team of a dozen white oxen held together with yokes made from the wood of the sacred yew. They managed to hook the bell and the oxen pulled it from the river with the sleeping mermaid inside. Everyone had been told to be silent so as not to wake her but the villagers were so excited that they called out waking the mermaid from her slumber. She immediately dragged the bell back to the river and it was never seen again although it is said that the mermaid hid it in a pool close to the church.
Interestingly, in 1848, when the pond was cleared out an ancient bronze bell was discovered and it can now be seen in Hereford Museum. No-one knows what happened to the mermaid but there are stories that on certain nights she can be heard singing sad laments from the river.
Mermaid or bird?
The other carving on the tower buttress is of an axe head.
I completely forgot to see if the tower door was open as I think there is a museum inside and also you can climb up the tower which D would have enjoyed.
The tower has a legend about a ghost. During the Civil War a royalist soldier was being chased by the roundheads and he hid in the church tower. Sadly, he was found by Cromwell's forces and murdered in the upper bell chamber. His ghost is said to haunt the tower. Sometimes when the door to the tower has been locked a door inside which had been left closed the night before was found open the next day.
I do wonder if the carving of the axe head on the tower buttress is connected to the soldier's murder?
After a quick look round the churchyard I visited the church interior briefly while D sat in the car and read.
In 1857 the church was in quite a dilapidated state and T. Nicholson rebuilt the nave and aisles in 1858 using the old materials to reduce the cost. The south porch was added by Nicholson in 1858-60.
On the side of the arch is a head carving of St Ethelbert and the one on the opposite side depicts Pope Adrian. More of St Ethelbert in a short while.
Church interior looking towards the chancel.
The font probably dates back to around 1300.
In the church library at the west end of the church is St Ethelbert's well which has another legend attached to it.
In 794 King Ethelbert of East Anglia travelled to Herefordshire hoping to marry King Offa's daughter. There are various versions of the story but it appears Offa's wife persuaded him to have the "young and virtuous" Ethelbert murdered as he was a rival and a dangerous threat. En route to Offa's palace at Sutton Walls Ethelbert was beheaded at Marden. Where he lay a column of light and a miraculous spring appeared which is now known as St Ethelbert's well in Marden church. Afterwards King Offa regretted what he had done and went to Rome to see Pope Adrian. He was told as his penance to build a church on the site of Ethelbert's murder which was to be dedicated to St Mary the Virgin.
In the Middle Ages the present church became a site of pilgrimage and that is why the church is so large even though it only serves a small population.
Church interior looking towards the chancel.
The modern benefactors' window installed in 2013 recognising the major donors for the church roof replacement project of 2010 and in 2016 the major benefactors of the restored bells and bell tower were added. Sorry not the best of photos.
Marble pulpit of 1858-60
The Nave
West Window 1895 said to depict the "road to Emmaus" by Alfred O Hemming.
The chancel with its polygonal apse. Restored in 1865 under the direction of William Chick, clerk of works to the cathedral architect.
Kneelers
An unusual gravestone in the churchyard.
Old Man's Beard growing in the hedgerow.
On the Friday D and I decided to revisit the ruined motte and bailey castle at Richard's Castle and I'll write about that in the next post.
I don't know whether anyone else is having problems with blogger but sometimes when I come on here "My Blog List" instead of showing most recently updated blogs in order just shows a list of the blogs on the list. It seems to be an intermittent problem as sometimes it works fine.
Reference:
Leaflets and Display Boards in Marden Church
"Buildings of Herefordshire" Alan Brooks and Nikolaus Pevsner, 2013, Yale University Press
"Herefordshire Folk Tales" by David Phelp
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera and those marked *D by my son with the Canon SX50HS. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or one of my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).
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