St Peter, Petersfield

All Saints, Idmiston

All Saints is a delightful church, nestled in the lovely Bourne Valley between Salisbury and Andover. In the care of the Churches Conservation Trust since 1978, it is renowned for its fine set of decorative corbels, in the form of carved heads.

The tower is Norman, but heavily restored (the pyramidal cap is Victorian); inside both nave with its 2 bay arcades and the chancel are 13th Century, the chancel retaining its simple Early English lancets. The arches of the arcade and the tower arch are made of alternating grey and green stone, a surprisingly effective form of decoration. The aisles, clerestory, panelled wooden roof and two-storey north porch are all late 14th or early 15th century Perpendicular.

The 37 corbels inside and the gargoyles outside provide a fine gallery of mediaeval carving: these include heavily bearded men (one of whom holds his jaw - presumably a representation of toothache), women with a variety of headdresses, kings and angels. It is thought some may represent villagers.

Fittings include a fine 17th Century monument to Giles Rowbach (d. 1633), depicted kneeling at an altar; a sturdy 14th century octagonal font in Purbeck marble; and memorials to the Bowle family, including John Bowle (1725-88), known for his translation of Don Quixote.

St Mary, Upton Grey

 

St Stephen, Up Nately

St Mary, Greywell

 

St Michael, Cheriton

 

St Mary, Overton

At first sight, St Mary's looks like a classic Hampshire Victorian church, many in the area around Basingstoke having been rebuilt in the early to mid-1800s, as local landowners replaced older buildings.

However, a few external clues show that, while the Victorians did rebuild (mostly in 1853, though the tower underwent further work in 1909), the interior retains much of its mediaeval form. This includes the handsome late Norman arcade of around 1180, the chancel of around 1250, and the tower (and west bays of the arcade) in the late 1400s. The roof beams may also date from the same period.

The furnishings are less noteworthy, although the East Window by Kempe is worth a look and in the inner sill of the north east chancel window has a memorial inscription reading: "Hic jacet do. Willms Savage quondam rector istius ecciesie". (Here lies Dominus (Master) William Savage, formerly rector of this church.) It dates from around 1400.

The Church today is the centre of a lively parish life (and they have an excellent and sympathetically designed parish hall, behind the church) of regular services catering for all ages and different styles of worship.

St Peter, Carlton

St Peter, Wenhaston

St Mary, Halesworth

St Peter, Yoxford

St Mary & St Peter, Kelsale

St Peter, Theberton

St Edmund, Southwold

St Peter, Westleton

Sr John the Baptist, Snape

St Mary, Woodbridge

Holy Trinity, Blythburgh

All Saints, Darsham

St Andrew, Wimbledon

St Andrew's sits tucked away, despite being just a few minutes' walk south from the main shopping area. This isn't the upmarket Wimbledon of the tennis or the Common, but of modest terraces and social housing built originally for the working class.

Founded as a mission church of Holy Trinity Church on the Broadway, the first temporary building was opened in 1883. A growing congregation soon required something more permanent, and architect William Henry Lowdell delivered a competent if unremarkable neo-gothic design in red brick with sandstone detailing, featuring an impressive 8-light west window about the main doorway. The building was consecrated in 1909, and St Andrew's became a parish in its own right in 1910.

The interior has a nave with 4 bays of arcades, with wide pointed arches on round piers, and a Lady Chapel. Most of the glass is clear: the east window contains images of Christ enthroned flanked with the patron saints of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

The church has a traditional service at 9am and a more informal service at 10:30, with a 'play and praise' service especially aimed at parents with young children at 10:00 - full details are on their  website.

St Andrew, Herbert Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 3TJ

St John the Divine, Merton

The picture above gives a slightly false impression; while St John the Divine has as charming a churchyard immediately around it as any, it is located in a very urban part of south London, a few minutes' walk from South Wimbledon underground station. Sandwiched between the High Path housing estate and the large industrial estate on Merantun Way, it sits amidst the noise of constant traffic on the adjacent A219 and A24.

The church itself was built in 1913-14 to mark the centenary of the death of Admiral Lord Nelson, whose residence (with Lord and Lady Hamilton) at Merton Place was located close by. The land for the church and the adjacent gardens was gifted by J Mackerell, the great nephew of Rear Admiral Isaac Smith (1752-1831), the first officially recorded European to land in Australia in 1770. The architect was C H Gate, who delivered a competent neo-Gothic design, with north and south aisles, chancel, Lady Chapel, and a north-west tower with porch under.

The furnishings most of interest are the altar, made from wood from Nelson's Flagship HMS Victory, and pre-Raphaelite stained glass in the Lady Chapel by Edward Burne-Jones. The church now is part of the Merton priory team, and features a busy parish life with Messy Church alongside traditional services.

St John the Divine, High Path, Merton SW19 2JY

St Augustine, Snave

Declared redundant in 1983 and now maintained by the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust, St Augustine's sits alongside a quiet side road off the busy A2070, with only a few houses and a farm for company. It doesn't even have a surfaced path - just a grassy lane, which in Spring is a carpet of daffodils.

The church dates from the 13th Century with a tower added early in the 15th. The interior is unusual in that the wide, aisleless nave opens eastwards through two separate arches, onto the chancel and the spacious Lady Chapel. The roof has slender crown-posts on tie-beams, clearly of an ancient date. The whitewashed interior is plain and dignified, with simple Victorian pews and clear glass. There is a fine Coat of Arms of George II, and the pulpit reuses tracery from a Perpendicular screen.

In the chancel, there is a fine 15th Century Piscina and a single Sedile with an embattled top. The Lady Chapel was, at some point, graced with an open fire grate in the corner - presumably to warm the Vicar before winter services...

St Augustine, Snave, Ivychurch TN26 2QJ

St Peter & St Paul, Appledore

St Mary, Kenardington

St Matthews, Warehorne

All Saints, Woodchurch

St Mildred, Tenterden