St John the Baptist, Devizes

The market town of Devizes is known for having one of the largest concentrations of listed buildings in the country - the historic centre boasts over five hundred. Among this impressive array of architecture and history, St John's holds its own: an example of Norman architecture of outstanding quality.

Built - along with the nearby castle - around 1130, both were the legacy of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury. Of Roger's church, the chancel and tower survive virtually intact; the transepts are also clearly Norman but with later additions. The nave of 6 bays was rebuilt in 1450 (albeit the westernmost bay and West front dates from 1863) in the Perpendicular style, to which two chantry chapels were added, flanking the chancel: the grander Beauchamp Chapel to the south, in 1492, and the Lamb chapel to the north,  around 1483.

Looking from the west end, the interior is one of clear contrast: the slender Perpendicular nave arcade draws the eye to the low, Norman crossing arch, barely half the height of the east nave wall: the space above the arch - now blank and scraped - must surely have once hosted a wall painting, presumably a Doom? Passing through the arch, we enter an intimate and purely Romanesque space, and one of very high quality: the chancel has ribbed stone vault, its arches carrying an abundance of dogtooth and zig-zag. The capitals mirror this quality and include a splendid Green Man, but best of all is the intersecting blind arcading of the Sanctuary, with scale pattern above the spandrels. Sympathetic furnishing adds to the atmosphere. The East window, although in the same style, is in fact a Victorian replacement.

The furnishings include a fine array of 18th century memorials, and a Jacobean brass to John Kent (d. 1630), the Town Clerk, and his wife - oddly set into a later memorial stone dated 1788.

The church today remains the centre of a busy parish life, with concerts and talks, in addition to the pattern of regular Worship.

St John the Baptist, High St / Long St, Devizes SN10 1PA

St Cyriac, Lacock

Many visiting the wonderfully preserved and atmospheric village of Lacock and the adjacent Lacock Abbey never make it as far as the church. This is a pity, as it has much of interest.

The present building replaced an earlier Norman church, and oldest parts are its transepts, and date from around 1300. The rest of the church was rebuilt on the back of the area's wool wealth in the 15th century, in the Perpendicular style. The impressive Lady Chapel was added around 1430; and in the 17th century a peculiar "church cottage" of three storeys was attached to the south transept. Restored by Sir Arthur Blomfield in 1861, the chancel was remodelled in 1902 as a memorial to the photographic pioneer (and owner of nearby Lacock Abbey) William Henry Fox Talbot. A more recent claim to fame is that in 2006 it hosted the wedding of Laura Parker Bowles, daughter of the Queen Consort.

The interior comprises a three-bay with aisles, and is impressive throughout for its height, including the transepts which are unusually lofty and impressive, and match the nave and clerestory combined. The most impressive part is, however, the Lady Chapel, which has a splendid vaulted ceiling, still bearing traces of original paint. Here lies the church's most important monument, to Sir William Sharington (d. 1553). His tomb chest is dated 1566, and is early Renaissance in style: Pevsner regards it as "one of the finest 16th century pieces of decoration in England".  It combines delicate strapwork, arabesque and shell decoration, and two putti. Again, traces of colour survive.

The church has another monument of interest, a brass to Robert Baynard (d.1501) and his wife and eighteen children - fifteen boys and five girls. It appears from the brass that all the children survived infancy.

The church is open during daylight hours for visitors, and has regular services as part of a combined benefice with Corsham.

St Cyriac, Church Street, Lacock SN15 2LB

St Michael, Melksham

Like many churches in this part of Wiltshire, St Michael's size and architecture testifies to the wealth derived from wool in the late Middle Ages. It sits apart from the town centre in a spacious churchyard, with an enclave of charming period buildings.

Although the church's Perpendicular appearance reflects rebuilding in the 15th Century, there are traces of Norman frieze and arcading in both the chancel and the west wall, indicating the original Norman church was of similar size. The nave arcades of five bays are late 13th century work, although the clerestory, two-storey North porch and the impressive Lady Chapel date from the 15th century. The tower was moved in during the restoration in 1845 from its original crossing position to the west. The result is a spacious church with many attractive wall tablet monuments, and some nice glass by Kempe, although the walls are sadly scraped of plaster. An oddity is the offset chancel arch; the east nave wall around it contains a painting of the Transfiguration, painted in 1921, in the sentimental style typical of the period.

The parish today comprises the churches St Michael's, St Andrew's and St Barnabas, and offers a range of worship styles with a growing congregation. On our visit, we were warmly welcomed and offered a guide to the church, tea and biscuits!

St Michael, Canon Square, Melksham SN12 6LX

St Andrew, Chippenham

St Matthew, Rowde

St Paul, Covent Garden

St Giles, Cripplegate

Holy Trinity, Bottisham

St Mary, Swaffham Bulbeck

St Cyriac & St Julitta, Swaffham Prior

St Cyriac & St Julitta is one of two churches in the churchyard of Swaffham Prior, the two towers standing just yards apart. Whereas the mediaeval St Mary's continues as the parish church, St Cyriac & St Julitta is now in the care of the Churches Conservation trust.

The churches were originally in separate parishes, probably reflecting separate lordships of the area. It is thought that St Cyriac is the older of the two, but by the early mediaeval period – just after the Domesday survey – it is likely that the population in the neighbouring parish of St Mary's was the larger, although St Cyriac was the better endowed church. However, the two churches continued to function, with separate patronage: after the dissolution of the priory of Ely in 1539, the Bishop held St Mary's, and the Cathedral Dean St Cyriac. Moreover, worship in St Mary's tended towards a Puritan tradition, with St Cyriac in the more conservative Laudian style, with vestments, ornament and candles. This was to lead to some unrest between the two, and resulted in the destruction of images, carvings, altar rails and stained glass in the Commonwealth period.

The arrangement ended in 1667 when the parishes were combined. By the early 19th century, St Cyriac's had become ruinous, but an attempt to remove the spire of St Mary resulted in that church's nave roof being damaged. In 1809, it therefore was decided to restore St Cyriac's as the parish church. A new nave was built, abutting the mediaeval tower, in a spare Georgian Gothic style, with timber window tracery. In 1903, changing taste in architectural and liturgical fashions resulted in the situation being reversed, with St Mary's being restored and St Cyriac falling into ruin. After passing into the care of the CCT, St Cyriac was restored as a concert and performance venue.

The 15th century tower is in the Perpendicular style, with a large square base surmounted by an octagonal bell chamber. This leads into the austere Georgian nave - almost square, with the roof held on four quatrefoil columns - the absence of arches means they can hardly be called arcades. There is a small organ gallery over the entrance from the tower porch, and a south chapel. With whitewashed walls and a bare stone floor, and with almost all the furnishings and monuments being transferred to St Mary's, it now presents a slightly barren appearance, in the absence of events and exhibitions.

St Cyriac & St Julitta, High Street, Swaffham Prior CB25 0LD

St Mary, Swaffham Prior

St Mary, Burwell

St Mary the Virgin, Saffron Walden

St Thomas, Lymington

St Thomas is a prominent landmark on Lymington's High Street, with its gothic chancel and south-west tower, topped by a pretty 17th century cupola. Substantially rebuilt in the 18th century, the interior is a happy blend of Gothic and Neo-Classical.

The earliest parts of the church date from the mid-13th century, and the chancel and north chapel (14th century) have a mix of Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular Gothic windows. More early Gothic windows can be found in the west wall, now inside the narthex. The battlemented south-west tower was added in 1670 (its cupola later, possibly in the early 18th century); the nave, with its wide aisles and galleries, was rebuilt in the late 18th and early 19th century; and a narthex was erected at the west end in 1811. 

The nave is a curious mix of architectural styles: the south windows date from the 19th century and have Geometric tracery, which at least gives the exterior some architectural harmony. But the galleries are supported on two tiers of paired Tuscan columns, which also function as arcades, giving the interior a thoroughly Classical feel. The panels of the gallery fronts record benefactors of the church through the ages. The west gallery contains an impressive, substantial organ - originally built in 1831, but modified in 1847, 1862, and most substantially in 1911, when it was enlarged to its present size.

Most of the furnishings are from the 19th century, though it has a an elegant 18th century baluster font and the Royal Arms of George I, dated 1716. The chancel walls - unplastered but whitewashed - are crowded with wall monuments. One of these - commemorating Captain Josias Roger (d. 1795) - is of a female figure against an urn: she gets rare praise from Pevsner, as "exquisitely elegant".

The church today has a regular roster of church services, reflecting both traditional choral traditions and modern, informal worship styles and a Messy Church for children, alongside regular concerts, talks, and other events. On my visit, it was set up for a choral concert in aid of a local hospice.

St Thomas, High Street, Lymington SO41 9ND

All Saints, Milford-on-Sea

 

St Saviour, Brockenhurst

Manchester Cathedral

St Bartholomew's, Wanborough

St John the Baptist, Puttenham

St Laurence, Seale

St Martin, East Horsley

St Dunstan, Mayfield

St Martin, Eynsford

Eynsford is an elongated village with a pretty bridge and ford next to each other, both overlooked by the prominent tower and shingled spire of St Martin. The road over the bridge leads to Lullingstone Roman Villa, famous for its 4th century Christian wall paintings.

The church comprises a west tower and porch, nave, north aisle, south transept, chancel and an apsed sanctuary, much altered during its life, and now very brightly whitewashed and with a modern stone floor. It dates from the late 11th or early 12th centuries, clearly seen in the elaborate 12th century west doorway, which has a rounded arch with double rows of zig-zag and spirals, which continue down the sides. A smaller and later pointed doorway is set within the earlier one. The tower itself is 13th century, as is the south transept. 

Inside, the chancel has two blank arches of similar 13th century date, indicating two long vanished north chapels, the pointed lancets within them reset following their demolition. The chancel's south wall has two Norman windows, but the chancel arch itself is 14th century. The north aisle (with cross gables) is 16th century.

After this rather complicated architectural history, the furnishings are relatively limited: there is a handsome and well preserved Perpendicular font with alternating rosettes and shields; an unusual trefoiled double piscina on shafts in the chancel, and a very jolly Coat of Arms to George III. In the porch are two mediaeval stone coffins.

Eynsford is part of the Benefice of Eynsford with Farningham & Lullingstone, and has a weekly all-age communion with choir and Sunday School, except for the first Sundays, which have an alternating joint service with Lullingstone.

St Martin, Station Rd, Eynsford DA4 0EH

St Botolph, Lullingstone

St Botolph lies in the grounds of Lullingstone Castle and found through an impressive red-brick Tudor gateway, to the side of the expansive lawn of Lullingstone Castle house. The house is largely early 18th century, but encloses a Tudor core.

The church itself in some ways echoes the house, for its current form essentially reflects the 16th and 18th centuries - but more on that, later. From the outside, it seems a typical Downland church, with flint and brick walls and a small bell-cote, the only slightly jarring feature being an early 18th century porch, classical in style, and painted brilliant white. 

But the inside is a surprise (see photograph above): what was essentially a Gothic building - all the windows are 14th century Decorated - was thoroughly restored in the early 18th century by Percyvall Hart, who also altered the adjacent house. Most obvious is the fine plasterwork, but his work also extends to the pulpit, benches, a black and white marble pavement, and the font, oddly enclosed in a tall wooden box with a pyramidal top.

Of the Tudor period, there is a fine screen, erected in the early 16th century by Sir John Peche. This was later topped by a classical balustrade, but the original detailing includes pomegranates (the symbol of Katherine of Aragon) and Peche's own symbol, an "E" on a peach, a play on his name. The Tudor - 18th century theme continues with an impressive collection of stained glass and monuments. The Tudor glass in the nave includes a George and the Dragon, and the martyrdom of St Erasmus, his entrails being wound out like wool onto a distaff.

The monuments dominate the sanctuary and north chapel: the effigy Sir John Peche himself (d. 1522) lies below a slab and surmounted by a huge arched canopy, which divides the sanctuary from the chapel. The first Sir Percyvall Hart (d. 1581) and his wife lie opposite, on the south side of the sanctuary, the monument again filling the whole wall, through the style is now Classical. The effigies Sir George Hart (d. 1587) and his wife - affectionately holding hands - lie on a tomb chest in the chapel, the corners surmounted by statutes representing Labour, Rest, Death (a particularly eerie shrouded skeleton) and Resurrection. The monument to Percyvall Hart (d. 1738) effectively comprises the west wall of the chapel, covered in arcading incorporating palm fronds. In the chancel are three good brasses, to Sir William Peche (d. 1487), Alice Baldwin (d. 1533) and Elizabeth Brooke (d. 1544).

The church proudly proclaims that it is a parish church and not a private chapel, and it is part of the joint Benefice of Eynsford with Farningham & Lullingstone. There is a weekly Sunday service with monthly communion, using the Book of Common Prayer, and a monthly Sunday School.

St Botolph, Lullingstone Castle, Lullingstone Lane, Lullingstone DA4 0JA

St Lawrence, Caterham

Saint Lawrence is the ancient church of Caterham, dating from the 11th century. Superseded by St Mary's Church on the opposite side of the road in 1866, it's an atmospheric example of a church untouched by the 19th Century, and its archaeology is unusually easy to read in the fabric.

The church was built in 1095, and originally comprised a nave and rounded apse. Of this period, part of a Norman window remains, and the outline of the apse is partly visible outside on the south wall. To this was added in the 13th Century first south and north chapels, then a south and a north aisle, each of two bays. Towards the end of this work, the chancel was extended and a new chancel arch inserted. In the late 18th century the east end of the chancel and the north aisle wall were rebuilt, partly in brick, and the belfry replaced. The porch was added in 1832. 

The south aisle and chapel are long gone, but the outlines of the arches are clearly visible inside and out, as well as the capitals (inside). The north aisle remains, as wide and longer than the nave. The result is a quirky medley of periods: the north aisle arcade is barely pointed, yet the piers alternate, rounded and octagonal: above the central pillar is a rather alarming gargoyle-like head, bearing a fine set of teeth. The roofs look original, and are certainly old. Although most of the plaster is unpainted, there are faint traces of colouring, including two angels - one in each spandrel of the chancel arch. The chancel has the rustic remains of the lower part of a screen, and a rather striking monument to Elizabeth Legrew (d. 1825) by her son, with a kneeling figure in an ogee arch.

The church has a monthly evening service of contemplative music (Iona or Taize) and in the summer is open on Sunday afternoons for tea and cakes, as well as occasional tours, organised by the Guild of Friends of St. Lawrence's Ancient Church. I can vouch for their welcome, and quality of the cakes!

St Lawrence, Church Hill, Caterham CR3 6SA

St Mary the Virgin, Stratfield Saye

St Mary's is very much an estate church, and sits half a mile from the main house in the grounds of the Stratfield Saye estate. This has been the home to the Dukes of Wellington since the estate was purchased by the first Duke in 1817, with funds voted by a grateful Parliament following the Battle of Waterloo. All but the first and sixth Dukes are interred here.

The church was built to replace a mediaeval church in 1754-8 by the first Lord Rivers (the previous owner of Stratfield Saye). Built of red brick on a Greek-Cross plan in a very restrained classical style, it has a shallow, octagonal dome, and a handsome entrance portico or three arches beneath small round windows. The overall effect is strikingly modern, and resembles inter-war Underground station design (and that is a complement).

The interior is more conventionally chapel like, full of box pews painted a blueish-green, but otherwise very plain. The main points of interest are the memorials, the largest being that of Sir William Pitt (d. 1636) and wife, retained from the earlier church (a bold early classical piece with alabaster effigies). This is flanked on one side by a wall monument to the Pitt family dated 1680, and on the other by an impressive piece by John Flaxman for George, Lord Rivers (d. 1803) with two life-size standing figures in Roman attire. 

The memorials to the Dukes of Wellington and other members of the Wellesley family are altogether more modest affairs, and a brass plaque in the north transept records those family members buried in the vault, including Catherine (d. 1831), wife of the first Duke. The alabaster stemmed font is Victorian, in the style of Wren.

The church has a monthly all age service on the first Sunday, except in January and August. Access is via a drive from the Copse, just south of the main estate entrance, through automatic gates.

St Mary the Virgin, Church Road, Stratfield Saye RG7 2DA

St Tysoi, Llansoy

Llansoy lies in the area of rich farmland between the Usk and the Wye. Its attractive little church, built of red sandstone with a stone tiled roof, is the only known dedication to St Tysoi or Tissoi. 

The date of foundation is unknown, but Tysoi is believed to have been a pupil of St Dyfrig, first Bishop of Llandaff. After the Norman conquest, 'Llandesoe' is listed as being part of the Lordship of Usk, and a rector is recorded here in the 14th century. The current churchyard takes up half of the original oval monastic settlement or "llan".

Although the church has one doorway (between the tower and nave) of 13th/14th century date, most of the fabric dates 15th century, including the nave and the small chancel (both with original barrel-vaulted roofs). There was originally a rood screen and loft, the stairs to which can still be seen.  The low, crenellated tower is later, replacing a wooden belfry in the 17th Century. The church was restored sympathetically in the mid-19th century, and, with the exception of the 18th century altar-rails, the furnishings all date from this period. 

The interior is whitewashed, except for the words "This is the Gate of Heaven" painted above the chancel arch. One of the south nave windows has some brightly coloured late 20th Century glass, depicting the earth, moon and sun, above a rainbow with a dove: jolly or jarring, depending on your point of view!

The church is of particular interest to me, as it is one of the few where my forebears have identifiable graves: my Great-great-great grandmother Ann was one of the Jenkins family, who were farmers in the parish for over 150 years, and a number of their extensive family (including her parents) are buried here. Ann had 14 siblings, some of whom never married and remained working the farm throughout the 19th Century. Her father, the redoubtably named Hercules, was churchwarden here.

The church is now part of the Monmouthshire Ministry Area, with a Holy Communion on the second Sunday and a lay-led service on the fourth.

St Tysoi, Church Lane, Llansoy, NP15 1EX

St Cadoc, Raglan

St Cadoc sits on a slope below the crossroads in the little town of Raglan, its tower a prominent landmark. Like the town, the church is rather overshadowed by its impressive castle, but it is worth a look nonetheless.

The church reflects the succession of the owners of the castle: although probably founded by the de Clare family, development from the 12th to the 14th century was thanks to their successors, the Bluets. Of this period, the 14th century chancel survives. Major rebuilding took place in the 15th century under the Herberts and then the Somersets, Earls of Beaufort. They rebuilt the nave, and added both the tower (c.1460) and the Beaufort Chapel of two bays, north of the chancel. 

The church suffered badly during the Civil War, when Parliamentary troops damaged the chapel and desecrated the tombs during the siege of Raglan. A comprehensive restoration by Wyatt in 1868 for the 8th Duke of Beaufort saw the chapel restored, a north aisle of two bays erected to its west, and most of the windows replaced.

With its rubble walls and stone tile roofs, the church belies the grandeur of its patrons: this effect continues inside, where the modest nave and chancel with their scraped walls and barrel-vaulted roofs feel positively rustic - an effect heightened by the dark Victorian stained glass. Of greater interest is the Beaufort Chapel, which has the shattered remains of the effigies: these comprise the 3rd and 4th Earls of Worcester, William Somerset (d. 1589) and Edward (d. 1628), and Edward's wife Elizabeth (d. 1621). The Somersets themselves lie buried in a crypt beneath the chancel: this has been opened several times, and a brass plaque in the chancel described those thought to be buried there. The remaining fittings are all 19th century, although the pulpit has five panels of blind tracery, apparently C15, believed to come from a lost rood screen.

The church is now one of a dizzying number in the Heart of Monmouthshire Ministry Area, and has a regular Sunday Holy Communion, with a mid-week communion, alongside meetings of the Mothers' Union. The church is evidently very popular for weddings - there were two during my stay here.

St Cadoc, Chepstow Road, Raglan NP15 2EP

St Peter, Bryngwyn

Bryngwyn feels very tucked away, located on a quiet road junction a few miles north west of Raglan. It serves a scattered, rural settlement of farms and houses, typical of this part of Monmouthshire. Perhaps surprisingly then, no less an author than Gerald of Wales records that there was a church here in 1180, built by Aeddan Gwaethfoed, Lord of Clytha. The Cadw listing also records that the Rev. William Crawley was rector for an impressive 62 years, 1834-96.

The oldest parts of the present church date from the 13th century, and include the west doorway and a lancet above, now both opening into the tower, added in the late 14th or early 15th century. The remaining fabric was substantially rebuilt in the 15th century, including the nave, chancel and pretty wooden south porch. The two-bay north aisle, chancel arch and east window owe their existence to a thorough restoration of John Pritchard in 1871. An interesting feature is the late medieval two-level window at the south east end of the nave, to illuminate a long-vanished rood.

The cosy interior is cheerfully bright, helped by the prevalence of clear glass and whitewashed walls. Most of the fittings are Victorian, save for a late mediaeval font and 17th century altar rails, and a bold neo-Gothic reredos of 1923.

Remote it may be, but it is clearly well looked after - the churchyard being immaculately mown on my visit. Part of the Heart of Monmouth Ministry Area, it has a fortnightly communion.

St Peter, Bryngwyn NP15 2DB

St David's, Manordeifi

 

St Llawddog, Cilgerran

St Mary, Cardigan

St Brynach, Nevern

St Andrew, Bayvil

St Mary, Newport

St Thomas, St Dogmael's

St John the Baptist, Axbridge

St Andrew, Cheddar

All Saints, Nunney

The village of Nunney, just south west of Frome, is best known for its attractively moated castle, described by Pevsner as "aesthetically the most impressive castle in Somerset". The nearby church, approached from the castle via a footbridge over the Nunney Brook, contains the impressive tombs of some of the castle's owners.

The church itself (and the chancel in particular) dates from the 13th century, with transepts added in the mid-14th, the arcades slightly later, and the roof and tower in the late 15th or early 16th century. The church was heavily restored in 1874, when the aisles were extended west (they now flank the tower very symmetrically). Inside, the chancel walls are rather scraped, but the real interest lies in its furnishings.

Most impressive are the monuments of the families who owned the castle, grouped together in the north transept. Beneath the window lies Sir John de la Mare (d.1383), the castle's builder, his feet resting on a lion. Beneath him lie Sir John Paulet (d. 1436) and his wife Constance. Sir John's surcoat is decorated with the De la Mare lions and wears the Lancastrian collar of interlinked 'SS', over a tomb chest with shields within quatrefoils. Adjacent is the tomb of Richard Prater (1540-1580) and his wife, he in armour and both wearing ruff collars. The tomb chest has Ionic columns and more shields, only this time in rather florid cartouches. Prater bought the castle just three years before his death, in 1577.

The church also has a badly defaced 14th Century wall painting of St George on one of the north arcade piers: St George and his lance can easily be made out, but not much of the dragon. The background is decorated fleur-de-lis and the White Hart, symbol of Richard II. Nearby is the Norman font, decorated with a turban-like spiral, and a splendid conical font cover, dated 1684. The rather battered chancel screen is 15th Century, decorated with tracery, vine leaves, angels and family crests.

The church is now one of five in the parish of Postlebury, along with those of Wanstrow, Witham Friary, Cloford, and Marston Bigot. All Saints has a Holy Communion every Friday and on the third Sunday of the month, and on alternating second Sundays hosts "Soul Food", an informal evening service of worship.

All Saints, High Street, Nunney BA11 4LN

All Saints, Chitterne

The village of Chitterne sits hidden in a fold of Salisbury Plain, its church of All Saints is a Victorian replacement for two mediaeval parish churches.

The church was built in 1863, to the designs of Thomas Henry Wyatt (1807-1880). At one time president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, he was particularly prolific in Wiltshire, designing or overseeing the restoration of over 50 churches. Built of flint and stone in a chequerboard pattern, All Saints has a stout west tower, and a large nave of four bays with broad aisles and clerestory, all executed in the Perpendicular style. The chancel is a rather more modest affair, a polygonal apse just half the height of the nave. The spacious interior is plastered but not whitewashed, and pleasantly bright, despite the prevalence of Victorian stained glass.

The furnishings include a Norman font, with a series of plain roundels at the foot of the bowl for decoration. The pulpit is also from the earlier church, a pretty example of Jacobean woodwork. The chancel of the old St Mary's survives half a mile away, still in use as an occasional mortuary chapel.

The church hosts services on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, with a 10:30 all age family service of communion on the second and an 9am said communion on the fourth. There is also a monthly prayer and bible study on the first Sunday of the month.

All Saints, Townsend, Chittern BA12 0LG

St Nicholas, Shepperton

 

A mile or so beyond the branch line terminus that bears its name, the attractive old village centre of Shepperton sits on the bank of the Thames, where it curves sharply through a 180 degree meander.

The river has played a decisive role in the development of the church, for in 1605-6 a flood took away much of the 12th Century building. It was rebuilt using salvaged materials, although recent archaeology suggests at least some of the 12th Century structure survived to be incorporated into the new church. Externally, much use was made of flint and stone chequerboard, and it looks as though some of the Perpendicular windows survived, too. 

The west tower was added at the expense of the Rector, Lewis Atterbury, in 1714. This is a quaint brick structure with the surprisingly small plan of 12ft by 8ft, which necessitated an external staircase to the ringing chamber and west gallery. The story goes that Queen Anne, to whom Atterbury was Chaplain, suggested the church would be improved with the addition of a tower, so he paid for it himself - but clearly kept the costs down. The attractive tower clock was added in 1769.

The interior has a modest, homely nave, with transepts and a rather dark chancel, thanks to some heavy Victorian glass. The west gallery was added in 1834 and bears the Royal Arms, probably those of William IV. In the north transept is an unusual survivor in the form of a manorial gallery, accessed by an external staircase. The fittings are all from the 19th Century and include several rows of box pews in the nave, complete with poppyheads.

The church is centre of a busy parish, with close connections to the primary school that bears its name.

St Nicholas, Church Square, Shepperton TW17 9JY

All Saints, Kingsley

All Saints sits 5 miles west of Alton on the road to Bordon. It's a good representative of those small Victorian parish churches, built by estate owners, in their dozens in villages across England.

Built in 1876 to replace the older parish church, it comprises a nave, chancel and south porch. The exterior is of polygonal stonework with ashlar and ironstone banding. The west end is a bell turret with twin openings, and what looks like three bells. Windows are filled with plate tracery. The interior is a bit of a surprise: the nave has rather startling exposed crimson brick, with patterns executed in yellow brick, leading to a more restrained whitewashed chancel. The fittings are all Victorian.

The church sits in a well-kept churchyard on the edge of the village, next to the starting point for a number of walking routes around the delightful Kingsley Common. It is in a combined benefice with Oakhanger, with which it shares regular Sunday services (though, at the time of writing, further parish reorganisation is on the cards).

All Saints, Forge Road, Kingsley GU35 9ND

St Andrew, Earlsfield

St Andrew's is a late Victorian red-brick neo-Gothic church executed on a grand scale, with some nice Arts & Crafts furnishings.

The church was built in 1889 to designs by Edward William Mountford (1855-1908), architect of Sheffield Town Hall and the Old Bailey. Intended to serve the burgeoning (and then working-class) suburbs growing along the London & South Western Railway line, its present scale derives from the addition of a further two bays to the nave in 1902, together with an imposing west front with twin turrets and three big lancets.

The layout comprises a continuous nave and chancel, with transepts and aisles, a south chancel chapel and north vestry, the roof surmounted by a fleche. Inside, the nave - over 45ft high - has three bays of large pointed arches with aisles, with a further bay for the transepts, and a further two bays for the nave. The exterior and interior are almost inverted in their colour schemes: the exterior is red brick, with golden Doulton stone dressings; the interior is light brown stock brick with red brick dressings, again with Doulton stone piers for the arcades. In contrast, the St Andrew's Chapel has a more intimate, almost cosy feel.

The largely Arts and Crafts fittings are a delight: best is the large but incredibly delicate iron chancel screen, which actually came in the 1920's from the church of St. Mary, Trinity Road; the rather more sturdy screens in the chapel were made by Starke Gardner & Co. The octagonal font is by Doulton & Co, in stone and blur terracotta, and has an impressive cover. Four of the eight sides depict biblical scenes, comprising the finding of Moses, Hannah bringing Samuel to Eli, Christ in the Manger and Christ blessing children. 

In 1911, the west front was graced with a large twin-faced clock with filigree decoration. Almost municipal in style, it was also designed by Mountford, and dedicated to Edward VII. The stained glass is largely unremarkable, although the chapel's east window is unusually in the shape of a saltire cross, with the St Andrew's head in the centre. Four small roundels have glass depicting three different types of fish, and a boat.

The church has both traditional and modern styles of worship, but emphasises an inclusive welcome to all. During the week, the west end of the nave hosts the Home community cafe, which seems to be a very popular venue: I can vouch for the quality of the homemade lemonade, and cakes.

St Andrew, Garrett Lane, London SW18 3QG

St Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church, Brookwood Cemetery

Brookwood Cemetery is the largest in the UK, covering some 500 acres. It is a Grade 1 listed park in its own right, and is magnificently landscaped. It is also home to a church with origins that are, to say the least, extraordinary.

Tucked away next to what was until the 1940s the Necropolis railway station, is the shrine church to Saint Edward (962-978), the Anglo-Saxon king and martyr. Just 12 or 13 when he became King, his legitimacy was contested and he was murdered a few years later at or near Corfe Castle. The subsequent history is fascinating, but too long to recount in detail here: suffice to say that Edward's remains received a hurried burial at Wareham, and a rather more magnificent reburial in Shaftesbury Abbey 20 years later.  Hidden during the dissolution, what are reputed to be Edward's bones were rediscovered in 1931 by John Wilson-Claridge. A dispute over where they should be reinterred meant that, for many years, they rested, rather ignominiously,  in a bank vault in Woking.

Negotiations finally concluded that they should be interred by the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia, and what was then a mortuary chapel was purchased with the aim of housing the bones, and establishing a small monastic community to care for them.  The enshrinement took place in 1984. This is now under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church.  The building itself was built in 1909 and is in a charming chalet style, with the interior comprising exposed brick and wood - albeit now hidden behind a multitude of beautiful icons.

As well as the shrine and monastic community, which holds its daily services here, the church is home to a multinational orthodox worshipping community. Visitors are welcome but asked to respect the sanctity of the church. On our visit, we were very warmly welcomed by one of the brothers. 

St Edward, St Cyprian's Avenue, Brookwood, GU24 0BL

Holy Trinity, Balsham

Balsham's church is notable on the outside for the large and heavily buttressed tower: the interior for a remarkable chancel, with a mediaeval rood screen, extraordinary choir stalls and impressive memorial brasses.

The church has Saxon foundations, but is solidly Gothic, with an Early Gothic tower, Perpendicular nave and aisles, and Decorated chancel (the East window is particularly fine example of reticulated tracery). The additional buttressing to the tower was added in the 16th century - the original flat angle buttresses being supplemented by a diagonal buttress and two flat buttresses on the west and north walls (obliterating the west door and window in the process). More reinforcement - this time in the form of concrete and steel - had to be added in 1986.

Inside, it has the feel of a spacious town church, but the main event is clearly the chancel. This is entered through a beautifully preserved late mediaeval rood screen, complete with loft, coloured in turquoise and gold. The only thing that detracts is a floor to ceiling plastic screen, which one hopes it temporary. Within the chancel are the celebrated choir stalls - ten on each wall, and three either side of the aisle facing east. They are extraordinary: each stall has carved arm rests, with shoulder height projections, which are also carved. Beneath the seats are misericords. The carvings depict animal and human heads, including lions, fish, birds and dolphins, green men, and some fantastical combinations.

 

On the floor are two impressive ecclesiastical brasses. The older is to John de Sleford, Rector of Balsham (d. 1401). He stands beneath an impressive triple canopy, surmounted by the Trinity and angels. His cope is decorated with saints. The reason for this grandeur (and it was he who probably paid for the choir stalls) is his impressively ecclesiastical curriculum vitae: Canon of Ripon, Archdeacon of Wells, Prebendary of St Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster, Chaplain to the Queen, and Keeper of the Wardrobe to Edward III. On the other side of the chancel, and equally impressive, is the memorial to John Blodwell (d. 1426). His canopy is simpler, but the columns have saints in niches, and his cope is also heavily decorated. Balsham was clearly a prized living in the 15th century.

Other items of interest include the impressive font cover, carved in the 1920s by the then Rector; and a Saxon coffin lid, with a cross and interlacing decoration. In the north aisle is a small wooden chapel to St Nicholas - also the work of the early 20th Century, but assembled largely from 17th Century panels.

The church is the centre of a busy parish life, and part of the Granta Vale benefice of six churches. On our visit, a sizeable team of enthusiastic and friendly volunteers was preparing the church to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, with an impressive array of themed flower arrangements.

Holy Trinity, Church Ln, Balsham CB21 4DS

Holy Trinity, Hildersham

Hildersham is a pretty little village on the River Granta - which can be crossed here either by bridge or via a deceptively deep ford. Its church has a restrained exterior of flint and pebble, which betrays nothing of its startling interior.

The church itself dates from around 1200, with the nave and aisles showing rebuilding later in the 13th and 14th Centuries. The windows are mostly Decorated, and have lovely tracery, though the heavy Victorian glass and the scraped walls render the interior dark and gloomy. But perhaps this enhances the drama of the rebuilt Victorian chancel and south aisle. This is longer than the nave, and the rebuilding, carried under the supervision of the Goodwin family (who supplied the church with its rectors for almost the whole of the 19th Century), included a stunning, high Victorian decorative scheme. 

This was designed by the firm of Clayton & Bell, and apparently carried out by Italian craftsmen. The effect is reminiscent of  Burgess at Cardiff Castle: every square inch is frescoed, with biblical scenes, saints, and angels, and patterned with floral motifs. The chancel also holds some impressive brasses, including that of Robert Paris (d.1408) and his wife in an unusual pose, kneeling at the foot of the cross; a skeleton in a shroud dating from 1530; and another of Henry Paris, in impressive armour (c. 1488). 

The church was celebrated for its rare wooden effigies from the early 14th Century, of a knight and his lady: sadly these were stolen in 1977. As a result, the chancel is now fitted with alarms.

Holy Trinity is part of the Granta Vale benefice, with services every Sunday around its 7 churches.

Holy Trinity, High Street, Hildersham CB21 6BU

St John, Duxford Green

Declared redundant as early as 1874, St John's is now under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. Its interior is wonderfully unrestored, and illustrates what many churches would have looked like before the wave of Victorian rebuilding.

The church has rustic charm before you even enter, with a nave, tower, chancel, north aisle and north chapel, all constructed in a mellow mixture of local stone, tiles, bricks and rubble. The body of the church is essentially Norman of c.1100, clearly visible in the simple east and west arches of the tower and south door. This is surmounted by a tympanum containing a rosette in the middle of a cross - some experts believe this typically Anglo-Saxon motif may predate the rest of the building. 

The chancel was lengthened early in the 13th Century and the tower was heightened in 1280. Around 1330 the north chapel was added, and has marvellous Decorated tracery, including a splendid east window flanked by two wonderfully elaborate niches. The north aisle and its arcade are mid-15th Century, as are the porch and nave windows; the east chancel window dates from a rebuilding during the late 17th or early 18th Century.

So much for the architecture: the real treasure here is the atmosphere, derived in part from the floor - a hodge-podge of tile, brick and stone; partly from the flaking creamy whitewash, which abounds in traces of wall painting; and partly the exposed mediaeval woodwork in the roofs. The paintings are slowly being uncovered and conserved, and date from 12th Century onwards. The earliest are those on the Norman tower arches, and include the Lamb of God flanked by Angels. The chancel wall has fragmentary paintings on the life of Christ, including the appearance of the Angel to the Shepherds. 

There are several tiers of 13th-century paintings on the west wall of the chancel. These include two devils with a wheel - possibly part of a Doom cycle. Beneath are scenes of the Crucifixion: a soldier piercing the breast of Christ; Joseph of Arimathea asking Pilate for the Body of Christ; the removal of Christ’s body from the Cross; and the Tomb with sleeping soldiers. More gruesomely, to the right of the arch is the story of St Barbara, strung up by her hair, with soldiers piercing her breasts. There are 15th century paintings in the north aisle, including robed Bishops, two figures which may show Christ with the Coronation of the Virgin; and the remains of a "Christ of the Trades" (showing how the tools of different trades inflicted further wounds on Christ, if used on the Sabbath).

The furnishings are entirely in harmony with the rest of the church. There is a 13th Century font; 14th and 15th Century mediaeval benches; a 17th century pulpit and communion rail, and a row of 18th Century hat pegs. (The north chapel was used as a school room from the mid 17th century until 1847.) Finally the east nave wall has a set of 18th boards with the Creed, Commandments, and Lord's Prayer.

A visit will easily the repay the effort of searching it out.

St John, Green St, Duxford CB22 4RG