St Winefride's Well and Chapel, Holywell

St Winefride’s Well – often referred to as the ‘Welsh Lourdes’ - is reputed to be Britain’s oldest continuously visited pilgrimage site. The unique well-head and St Winefride’s Chapel above constitute some of Wales’s best 15th century architecture.

History

Shrouded in legend, the site is said to date from the 7thcentury, when Winefride, daughter of a local nobleman and a devout Christian, was decapitated by the local Chieftain Caradog for resisting his advances. Through the prayers of her Uncle, Saint Beuno, her head was restored with only a faint scar, and a spring flowed from the spot where her head had fallen. Whatever the legend, the historic Winefride became a nun and ultimately abbess of the foundation at Gwytherin, and died there in 660AD.

The well has since been a popular pilgrimage site, especially through the middle ages. Royal visitors have included Richard I, Henry V, Edward IV, and Richard III. James II and his second wife, Mary of Modena, visited in 1686 and it is said their prayers for a child were answered by the birth of their son, James Stuart.

The present well-head and chapel were built in the early 1500s, although the shrine of St Winefride was destroyed in the reformation. Despite the best efforts of the authorities, the well continued to be a popular place of pilgrimage and was associated with the Catholic recusancy. The well was rented by the Jesuits in 1873 and is now in the care of the Catholic Diocese of Wrexham. St Winefride’s Chapel is in the care of Cadw.

The well and chapel

The well complex includes a modern entrance building, museum and shop, with attractive lawns fronting the well-head. There is a large modern pool beside the well, where bathing is still permittedat certain times.

The well-head itself (effectively forming the crypt of the chapel above) is an intricate structure, the stone-lined pool covered with an elaborate octagonal late Perpendicular vault. A profusion of elaborately carved bosses include depictions of St Winefride’s legend, the likely patron of the building, Lady Margaret Beaufort, and scenes of healing. Nearby is a modern statue of St Winefride, complete with neck scar.

The Chapel above is a delightful example of Perpendicular architecture, with a fine wooden roof and wide windows filled with clear glass. Corbels and bosses abound with yet more carving, depicting saints and angels, heraldic devices, beasts, dragons, hunting scenes and grotesque faces. The Chapel hosts occasional festival services.

 

Plessington House, Greenfield Street, Holywell, Wales CH8 7PN

St Mary, Cilcain

Cilcain has one of Clwyd’s most interesting double-naved churches, best known for the astonishing hammer beam roof decorated with large carvings.

History

First mentioned in 1291, the church is probably of late 12th or 13th century origin. The oldest part is the north nave, now used as a meeting area. The tower and south nave were added in the 15th century, at which point the windows of the north nave were also renewed in Perpendicular style. The south nave probably replaced an earlier aisle.

The origin of the south nave’s roof is uncertain: the bays do not match those of the arcade, and the scale of the angels implies it was almost certainly intended for a loftier building, but there is little evidence for a local tradition that the roof came from Basingwerk abbey. The north nave was burned down in 1532, possibly during a service of plygain, a Welsh night-long carol service, traditionally lit with large numbers of candles brought by the congregation. It remained roofless until 1746 when it was rebuilt at the expense of the incumbent.

Restoration was carried out in 1786-7, 1845-5 and again in 1889, when the walls were scraped, the south porch rebuilt and the north nave screened off from the south nave. Brickwork at the top of the tower was also replaced with stone.

The church

The main part of the church is now the south nave: the north nave or aisle is not generally open to the public. Immediately the visitor is struck by the stark nature of the scraped walls, which render the interior dark: as one’s eyes grow accustomed to the gloom, the amazing ceiling reveals itself. It is carried alternately on hammer beams and braced arch trusses and moulded throughout.

The beams are decorated by angels each carrying shields depicting the instruments of the passion: roof bosses and the trusses have more carvings, including grotesque faces, animal heads, a pair of monkeys and a delightful pair of men in 15th century secular dress, possible the craftsmen who built it. They stare coyly from with side of a corbelled buttress, like a comedy duo.

To the north, the former Decorated arcade has been filled with wooden glazed panels. The East Window has 16th century glass panels depicting the Crucifixion. Other fittings of interest include a fragmentary Norman font, and a collection 14th century sepulchral panels at the West end, one of which depicts, rather crudely, a lady with an elaborate medieval headdress.

Cilcain, Mold, Wales CH7 5NH

St Lawrence, North Hinksey

St Lawrence lies at the end of the village, next to the modern offices of the Diocese of Oxford. The largely 12th century church has a pretty wooded churchyard with a much-weathered 14th century cross.

History

The church guide claims that the oldest part of the church is chancel and suggests a possible pre-Conquest date: however, the earliest surviving details point to a foundation around 1100, with the tower added in in the 13th century and the porch in the 17th century.

A restoration by John Macduff Derick in the 19th century replaced a much earlier and very narrow chancel arch with the present arch with flanking squints in the Norman style, which complement the south door.

The Church

The church consists of nave, chancel, porch and tower, with exterior walls are of rubble with ashlar dressings. The tower has a simple pyramidal cap, and all is roofed with stone slates. The best architectural feature is the very fine 12th century south doorway, now inside the porch: this features elaborate zig-zag carving, scalloped capitals, red stone flanking columns and animal-head stops.

Inside, the interior has a peculiar pale coloured limewash, which emphasises the white-washed chancel arch. The nave and chancel have an interesting collection of windows, covering the 12th to 16th centuries, including simple round-headed arches, Early English lancets, a 15th century east window with cinquefoil tracery and an unusual late 13th century window with lozenge tracery. There is a staircase in the north wall of the nave to a long-vanished rood screen.

The furnishings include a lovely 15th century octagonal font, with different tracery designs on each face, and some nice monuments. The north-west nave window contains stained glass fragments brought from Ypres after the First World War.

The church is open during the day in summer and there is a regular Sunday morning service.

St Lawrence, North Hinksey Lane, North Hinksey, Oxford OX2 0LZ

St Laurence, Telscombe

Telscombe is a hidden treasure. Although close to the dull suburban sprawl between Brighton and Newhaven, the little village and its ancient church nestle in a steep-sided valley, accessible only from the Ouse valley to the north.

 

History

 

Despite not being mentioned in Domesday, the church is recorded as being given to the monastery of Winchester  in the 10th century, a gift confirmed by King Edgar in 996 AD.

 

The basic form of the church is, however, 12th century: the nave and chancel date from the late 11th or early 12th century, and later in the 12th century the tower, north aisle and Lady Chapel were added. The 14th century provided the east window, and the 15th one of the south nave windows.

 

After that, the 19th century provided a modest restoration, which saw the north wall rebuilt, the chancel arch replaced, a porch added to the south and a matching vestry  to the north. The wall paintings were undertaken in 1905.

 

The Church

 

From the outside this is perfect, small village church. Sitting on a steep slope next to an old row of cottages (now the youth hostel), in summer, it is almost completely hidden by trees. The walls are flint, with simple stone dressings.

 

Inside, there are two sets of arcades, both with simple rounded arches. The nave arcade has simple round piers and plain capitals. The chancel arcade has been rebuilt, but again has round arches but this time the capitals have scallops and crocket leaf decoration. The east respond is clearly original.

 

The east chancel window is an early example of 14th century Decorated Gothic, as are the two lancets. The easternmost nave window dates from the 15th century, with a matching Victorian one further west. Possibly the only 12th century windows are in the west walls of the aisle and tower – two simple round-headed lancets.

 

Furnishings and fittings include a fine late 13th or 14th century font, decorated with pointed arches. The chancel has a kneeling desk incorporating 16th century bench ends, and above the south door is a fine 17th century Royal coat of arms. The chapel window contains coloured fragments of 14th century mediaeval glass.

 

The wall paintings on the chancel arch and east wall were undertaken in 1905; the church guide attributes their design to Clayton and Bell.

 

Although the parish has a population of just a couple of dozen, there is a regular Sunday service, attended mostly by people from Peacehaven.

 

Telscombe Village, East Sussex, BN7 3HY

St Peter & St Mary, New Fishbourne

Fishbourne is best known for the remains of the impressive Roman palace which once stood in the village. But it is has a pretty little church with mediaeval origins, if rather heavily rebuilt in the 19^th century.

History

The church was built between 1243 and 1254, but may initially have consisted only of the present chancel. The nave and bell-cote were added in the 14^th century. Little changed until 1821 when a north transept was erected, with a stuccoed porch. In 1847 a south aisle was added, and the transept and nave were enlarged westwards to form the church we see today.

The church

The setting is a little surprising: although uncomfortably close to the A27, it is well screened by trees and can be approached from the village by a short, public footpath through woods and fields, which provides an altogether more sylvan setting.

The exterior walls are a mixture of ragstone and flint, all very neat and testifying to the Victorian rebuild. Inside, apart from a small section of the arcade wall at the west end, the nave and aisles are now basically of 19^th century date. The aisles of three bays on either side are each as wide as the nave, and give it a bright and spacious feel.

The fabric of the chancel is 13^th century, with one original lancet to the south east. (All the rest were renewed.) This space is altogether more intimate, and contains some ancient looking pews – possibly Jacobean? - used as choir stalls. In one of the lancets is a fragment of old glass – possibly 16^th or early 17^th century.

Other items of interest include two memorials at the west end, one in Latin to Anthony Wells (d. 1594) and  one to an unknown member of the Lane family, dated 1612 and carrying the crest of the family. Outside on the north east corner of the chancel are pilgrim crosses, possibly made by Continental visitors going to the shrine of St Richard of Chichester, from 1262 onwards.

The church has a lively and active congregation, currently raising funds to build a new parish hall.

 Fishbourne Road West, Fishbourne, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 3JW

St Leonard, Aldrington, Hove

St Leonard's is an ancient foundation, now much rebuilt and in a firmly suburban setting, and effectively in Portslade. The main offices of the Diocese of Chichester sit alongside.

History

Originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement, Aldrington is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Eldretune but there is no mention of a church. The predecessor of the present building was erected in the 13th century, but a gradual decline of the settlement - hastened by severe storms in 1703 and 1705 - meant that by 1800 there were just two people in the parish and the church was largely ruinous (the roof having collapsed in 1738). 18th century drawings show it as a single celled building with lancets and a tower.

The arrival of the railway in nearby Portslade in 1840 stimulated a slow process of suburban development, and the church was rebuilt in 1876-8 by Richard Herbert Carpenter (1841-93). He largely followed the pattern of the original building, although the roundel above the two east lancets was replaced by a sexfoil.

Further suburban development necessitated another expansion, consisting of a nave and baptistery to the north (1931) with a new chancel (1936), both by Milburn Pett. This effectively relegated the original church to a south aisle, with an arcade of square piers inserted between. A planned north aisle was never built, and the 'temporary' brick facings on the exterior of the north wall contrast with the neat knapped flints elsewhere. The arcade has, in recent times, been partitioned so the nave and south aisle now form two separate spaces.

The church

The church sits in a pretty and overgrown churchyard (the noticeboard explains that this is intended to foster a wildlife reserve). The carefully knapped flint walls betray its relatively modern origins, but the shingled broach spire, lancets and pretty carved porch give it a pretty, rural feel.

The interior is something of a surprise after this introduction, as the nave and chancel are wide and bright and contrast sharply with the original church, although they are still nominally in the Gothic style. Pevsner didn't like Pett's work at all, describing it in the Sussex volume of the 'Buildings of England' as "very horrible".  The chancel has an elaborate sedilia and piscina in a Decorated style, with three lancets in the east. On the outside of the east wall of the chancel is a stone commemorating the extension in 1936 - surprisingly to modern sensibilities - laid with full masonic honours.

Furnishings are all modern, with some Clayton and Bell glass in the south aisle (the original church).

St Leonard's, New Church Road, Hove BN3 4ED

St Mary, Wimbledon, Greater London

Situated on the edge of Wimbledon village, St Mary’s is the original parish church and has a history dating back to Domesday.

History

Mentioned in the Domesday book, the original (and probably wooden) church was rebuilt in stone in the 13th century. An 18th century print shows it as a pleasingly rustic building, with a wooden bell turret and spire, but this little church was only 44ft long and 36ft wide.

In the 16th century, Wimbledon became the home of Sir William Cecil, later Lord Burghley, statesman and chief advisor to Elizabeth I. His son Thomas built a manor house adjacent, and in 1626-36 Thomas's third son, Sir Edward Cecil, built the Cecil Chapel as a mortuary chapel.

The church was enlarged in 1786, effectively being rebuilt west of the chancel arch, in a plain but handsome Georgian style. With the arrival of the railway in the 19th century, Wimbledon began to expand rapidly as a suburb and further enlargement of the church was required. Sir George Gilbert Scott was commissioned to undertake the work, which was completed in 1843. He extended the nave, erected the tower and spire, inserted new galleries and completed a new roof, all in the neo-Gothic style. He also encased the earlier Georgian brickwork in knapped flint with stone dressings.

The Church

Surrounded by trees, the church's picturesque setting evokes the country rather than the city, and the slender spire which surmounts the west tower is a landmark over Wimbledon Common.

Inside, the aisled nave of 5 bays leads to a two bay chancel. Now whitewashed throughout, it is hard to distinguish the various stages of the building. The oldest parts are the south and east walls of the chancel, which date from the 15th century; the Cecil Chapel survives intact beyond the Warrior Chapel, added in 1920 as a memorial to those who died in the First World War.

Most of the fittings date from the 19th and 20th centuries, but the Cecil Chapel has an intact 15th century stained glass window depicting St George as well as Sir Edward's tomb. A number of other memorials are of interest, one of which survives from 1537; another commemorates Sir Richard Wynn MP (d. 1649), treasurer to Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. A modern brass in the chancel commemorates Sir William Wilberforce, the slave trade abolitionist. More interesting memorials crowd the surrounding graveyard.

The church has a busy parish life, with children’s and youth groups and services every day except Monday and Saturday.
 
30 St Mary's Road, London SW19 7BP