St Mary The Virgin's Church, Strethall

Church Details


Visited
15/09/2006
Locking Status
Open during daytime hours - this can vary though - so avoid very early or very late attempts to visit.
Built
Nave saxon, C11 chancel arch.

External Images

St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church - Strethall church is one of those churches which you arrive at, and instantly feel as though you are intruding on a farmer's property. You park near some barns, and walk alongside a few tractors and the like, glimpsing the church through the trees. It is not obvious, from the North, quite how one enters the churchyard. The lowest stage of this tower is Norman, whilst the upper is C14.

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St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church - Circling the church's grounds, anti-clockwise, I suddenly came across a van with two workmen in it. I has also, at the same time, stumbled upon the entrance to the churchyard, and also noticed that the tower appeared to be undergoing restoration.

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Internal Images

St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church - The length and width of this saxon nave are, according to the church guide, in "golden ratio" (1.618:1) to each other.

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St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church - This chancel arch seems to be the cause of confusion amongst several experts. Pevsner stated that the chancel arch, appearing to be Anglo-Saxon, was actually post-Conquest, due to the decoration on the capitals. The church guide, however, refers to H.M. Taylor's Anglo-Saxon Architecture, which describes the chancel are as "one of the finest examples of Anglo-Saxon workmanship in smaller parish churches."

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St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church - The chancel was rebuilt in C15, and heavily restored in both 1861 and 1876.

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St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church - The plain 'chancel side' of the arch.

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St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church - Looking W to the tower arch.

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St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church - Present nave roof is most likely early C15, and is trussed with cambered tie-beams and arch-braces.

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Glass Images

St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church

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St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church

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St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church

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Monument Images

St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church - This monument, in the N wall of the chancel is for John Gardyner. The inscription reads [taken from the church's guide]: "Pray for the soules of John gardyner gentilman here buryed sometyme lord of this manour + patron/ of this Churche + of Johane sometyme his wife doughter of henry Wodecok of London gentilman/ + of henry gardyner their son whiche Johane lyethe buryed in the Church of seint mary Wolnoth/ i lumbard street of London + the seid henry their son lyethe buryed in the Churche of sevenok in kent/ + seid John died at this manour at midnight between the xxx day + the xxxi day of august/ the yere of our lord god mvc and viii to all Soules Jhu be marcyfull amen"

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Miscellaneous Images

St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church

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St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church - The capital decoration on the chancel arch, leading Pevsner to date it as post-Conquest.

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St Mary the Virgin, Strethall Church

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Location Map

 


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