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Chedworth, St. Andrew A fine church of Norman origin. The Nave arcade, tub-shaped Font and the lower three stages 0 f the Tower date from about 1100. The arch from the Tower to the nave is also of this date. In 1200 the Tower was raised and the Chancel enlarged. The South Porch dates from about 1300. The South wall has a fine range of Perpendicular windows. The Rood Stair entrance is partially blocked by a magnificent 15th century Pulpit. There are interesting carved heads in three comers of the Nave. One is thought to be St. Andrew and the opposite one is Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII. She visited the newly enlarged church and gave her name to Queen Street. The church also contains an interesting Madonna and Child by Helen Frazer Rock, sister to the late Mrs. Henry Green of the Manor. There is also an old copy of the 'Breeches Bible'. |
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| Stowell, St.
Leonard Access is down a road marked 'Private'. Stowell church was disused for 100 years before 1810. The Norman building retains its original cruciform shape, but all that now remains of the central tower are the four arches inside. This makes the roof a curious shape from the outside, which is enhanced by the wooden bell turret. The interior is exquisite in its simplicity. Three points are worthy of special note - Two piscinas, (stone sinks), one Norman with a stone shelf and one medieval, and the 15th century Font. The wall Paintings are exceptional in age and quality. This illustration shows a small section of the dome painted on the North wall of the Nave. Even after 800 years parts of these paintings are very clear. The oak pews were made recently of wood from the estate. They are in memory of the father of the present Lord Vestey. |
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Yanworth St. Michael There is much Norman work visible on the outside of this church - the North doorway and blocked South door, several windows and much of the fabric of the walls (noted for their fine-jointed ashiar finish). The miniature Tower and Nave parapet are 15th century. The Norman tub Font is raised on a modem pedestal. Originally it would have stood directly on the floor, a relic from the earliest fonts in which adults could stand and have water poured over them. The West wall has traces of wall paintings - Father Time with his scythe and a consecration cross in a circle. The recent members of the Vesty household are buried in the churchyard. Also the enclosed area by the North wall contains six Roundheads hurriedly buried in an unmarked common grave. They were probably on the run from Tewkesbury in the final stages of the Civil War. |
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| Coln St. Denys, St. James the Great
Built by the Norman's some seventy years after the defeat of the Saxon King Harold at the battle of Hastings in 1066, this Norman church has to a remarkable degree retained its original characteristics. The Norman ground plan of Chancel, central Tower and Nave remains unaltered. In the late 15th century a castellated belfrey was added to the squat tower causing, in later years, the partial collapse of the Chancel. Very few Cotswold churches were built to this plan, and most of the central towers have long since disappeared. A central Norman tower some 850 years old is therefore of great note.Little is know of the origins of the lectern. On the front is an interesting carving of Jesus and two disciples in a fishing boat. To be seen at its best, one needs to join a festive evensong when the candles in the candelabra are fully lit, then this small village church presents a warmth that its regular worshippers come to recognise. |
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Coln Rogers, St. Andrew The church is tucked away in a comer of this tiny Gloucestershire village. The Saxon Nave and Chancel have survived almost intact. Saxon features include -the Chancel Arch, several minute windows (one cut from a single stone), and the long-and-short quoining at the comers of the Nave. The North doorway is an interesting admixture of three architectural styles -Saxon, late Norman and Early English. The South doorway is early Norman and has a plan Tympamum (the stone over the door). The small Tower and Porch are late 15th century, as is the pulpit. Other features include a Norman tub-shaped Font and a Saxon sundial with 5 radii on the South wall. To the Northwest outside are the remains of a possible 14th century priest's dwelling, which contains a Gothic doorway. In the past this has been used as a cowshed. |
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