Another Visit to Herefordshire - Part 5: St Michael and All Angels, Croft

 

St Michael and All Angels at Croft predates the present castle. The first church was built in the C12th and the present church dates back to the C14th and the church was enlarged in the C15th.

The bell turret with the ogee shaped cupola was added in the C17th.

The plain octagonal font, according to Pevsner, is probably C14th.

The tiles date back to the C15th/early C16th and are from Malvern and Monmouth with one dated 1486.  They are mostly heraldic.

The Chancel

Looking down the nave from the chancel

East Window by Hardman 1916

This stunning monument is to the memory of Sir Richard Croft, Sheriff of Herefordshire, MP for Herefordshire in 1471 and the Governor of Ludlow Castle He was created a knight after the Battle of Stoke in 1487 and died on 29th July 1509.  The tomb is also for his wife Eleanor who died 1520.  She was the daughter of Sir Edmund Cornewall of Burford, Salop, and widow of Sir Hugh Mortimer of Kyre.

The tomb chest has standing angels holding shields beneath crocketed canopies.  According to Pevsner the tomb was inexpertently reconstructed when it was moved from the former north chapel.

The recumbent effigies have a lion at the feet of Sir Richard and a lion cub and puppy at the feet of Eleanor's effigy.  

It is a pity I am not taller or I could have taken better images of the effigies!

Against the rear wall there are saints in two tiers. The lower tier has St Anthony and St Roche and the upper tier shows St Sitha and St Margaret.

The Mortimer Connection

The Croft family were friends and allies of the Mortimers of Wigmore (Marcher lords).  A traditional story suggests that a member of the Croft family with the Mortimers helped with the escape of Lord Edward from Hereford Cathedral in 1265.

Sir Richard Croft (see tomb in photos above) was a important supporter of Richard, Duke of York and joined his son Edward at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross where they defeated the Lancastrians led by Owen Tudor.  

(A bit of background to this - when Edmund IV Mortimer died in 1425 without a son his Mortimer inheritance passed to his sister Anne's son who was Richard Duke of York.  His son Edward, the future King Edward IV was proclaimed King and crowned after the battle of Towton.  Sir Richard Croft was a close friend of Edward after he became king and his wife Eleanor was governess to the King's son.)

Photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Reference:

"Buildings of England Herefordshire" by Alan Brooks and Nikolaus Pevsner, The  University Press, 2017

Old Arley - St Wilfrid's Church and NGS Open Gardens

 

First a small posy of the first sweet peas from the garden. I ordered the seeds from Higgledy Garden along with a few other packets of flower seeds and I am really pleased with the results.

The Sunday before last D wanted to drive to the nurseries at Hoar Park Craft Centre and I was keen to visit ngs open gardens at Old Arley. The two places are fairly close together so we were able to combine a visit to the two.  First the nurseries where we bought some ceramic pots - luckily they were half price and I also bought a new lavender plant. You can never have too much lavender!

Then we drove to Old Arley. By then it was becoming horribly hot and humid but when we arrived I noticed St Wilfrid's church was actually open. When I last visited Old Arley it was closed! So first visit was to the church which was a little cooler than the outside temperatures!

St Wilfrid's,  Old Arley

War Memorial

The north nave wall of the church is partly Norman. The rest of the church is in the Decorated style for example the West Tower and the chancel with ogee headed priest's door and side windows with Kentish tracery.

There was (shudders) a Victorian restoration by Bodley and Garner 1872/3.

Red sandstone octagonal font.

Tower West Window by James Powell & Sons 1930

Nave window (I think also by James Powell?) entitled The Good Shepherd.

Mosaics

List of Rectors

Gothic Organ case in tower arch 1938

Looking towards the chancel - chancel screen by Bodley and Garner 1873. Sorry some of the photos are dark - light poor in church and I couldn't find the light switches!

A partly obscured monument of  a recumbent priest with 2 angels at his pillow c 1350.

Kneelers and tiles

East window by Burlison and Grylls as are the side chancel windows.

The best feature of the church was this window containing medieval glass fragments.

We then had a look around the two closest ngs gardens - some were much further away and it was so hot and humid that after wandering around two I couldn't face any more.

I was really impressed with the first garden we visited and it had made such good use of a relatively small space.  They had raised vegetable plots, pots, herbaceous borders, bee hotels, a wildflower meadow in the front garden and many pollinator friendly plants.

The second garden was what I would call a more "modern" garden with plenty of places to sit and entertain interspersed with flowers.

I loved this dragonfly and carved wooden owl.

A foliate head on a house wall - I loved this!

Bench spotted on the way back to the car.

Reference:

"Buildings of England Warwickshire" Pevsner.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my sons I would be grateful for an email first - thanks)