November 14, 2015

Mickley, Northumberland – St George

I had been to St George’s church back in the summer for a DAC visit. I had failed to charge my camera, so Lucy (the DAC secretary) took some for me (thank you!). I paid another visit on 9 November 2015, so here is a blog. It is in a benefice with Bywell and Stocksfield, and they have a website. The church itself is south of the centre of Mickley Square, at NZ075617. Pevsner gives it two lines: “Originally of 1825, but almost entirely remodelled in 1886 by W.S. Hicks in the Dec style. Small but satisfying.” The original...
Categories Northumberland/World War 1 Comments: 2
November 13, 2015

Shernborne, Norfolk – St Peter

Friday 9 October 2015, and a couple of Norfolk churches. We are on the Sandringham estate, in west Norfolk, near the Wash. Shernborne has a lovely village sign. St Peter’s church Shernborne is in the middle of the hamlet, at TF714624. There is a page about the village here – surprisingly, it isn’t on the Norfolk Church site – and the Diocesan website doesn’t have a tourism page (surely that’s missing a huge opportunity). The main church of the Benefice at Dersingham has a website, but there has been no attempt to make it a Benefice website. There have been various...
Categories Norfolk/Outside Northumberland Comments: 0
November 12, 2015

Beccles, Suffolk – St Michael the Archangel

Although I spent a long time in Suffolk, I don’t ever recall having a walk around Beccles and the church of St Michael the Archangel. It is in the middle of the town, looking out over the Waveney and north to the Broads, next to the Market Place. Grid reference – TM421905. They have a reasonable website – and the church is featured on the Diocesan Tourism website. The town is also worth a good explore. It was a Saxon town of quite considerable importance – though no remains of a major Saxon church have ever been found. Domesday...
Categories Suffolk Comments: 6
November 11, 2015

Penn, Buckinghamshire – Holy Trinity

We navigated our way to Holy Trinity church in Penn. Their grid reference is  SU916933, and they have a website. John Betjeman apparently observed that “within and without, the church has the charm of an old water-colour”. The Nave is C12, the south aisle and tower early C14, and the Lady Chapel was built in brick in the 1730s. The Clerestory and roof date circa 1400. The rough-cast was removed in 1952 to show the flint and the stone. The clock has one hand, like Whalton in Northumberland, and the church door is lovely. Inside are some nice modern...
Categories Buckinghamshire Comments: 0
November 10, 2015

Amersham, Buckinghamshire – St Michael & All Angels

Amersham on the Hill was built when the Metropolitan Line came to town. The best known film of this is John Betjeman’s Metroland – which you can watch here. There is also a 1910 film of the line here. Here is the Underground station, with a Chiltern Line train en route for Marylebone. Land was obtained for an Anglican church in 1919, but they soon decided the plans they had were too expensive – nothing changes! The church of St Michael and All Angels was founded a while ago, but this building celebrates its 50th anniversary next year. Four years...
Categories Buckinghamshire/Outside Northumberland/Railway History Comments: 0
November 9, 2015

Ramsbury, Wiltshire – Holy Cross

We continued to the village of Ramsbury, still in Wiltshire (and in the Diocese of Salisbury). It looks a village worth exploring, but it was a bit late and a bit damp – so I left Julie in the car and walked down to Holy Cross church, SU274716. I walked past a beautiful old Rectory – I bet there is some money being spent here – and went in through the north side of the churchyard, round past the impressive tower, and in through the 1891 porch.  A grade 1 listed church, but nothing about the building on the...
Categories Outside Northumberland Comment: 1
November 8, 2015

Mildenhall (Minal), Wiltshire – St John the Baptist

  We then drove a few miles to see the church of St John the Baptist, Mildenhall – SU210696 – the name is pronounced and often written as Minal. It is listed as one of Simon Jenkins England’s Thousand Best Churches – wouldn’t it be lovely if someone made an app out of that book. It is part of the Marlborough Team Ministry and has it own website – you can download the church leaflet too. It is beautiful from the outside – lovely surrounding, despire a very grey day (and it chucked it down while I was in...
Categories Outside Northumberland Comments: 3
November 7, 2015

Marlborough, Wiltshire – St Peter

We drove along the A4 for a few miles and crossed the county boundary into Wiltshire, entering the town of Marlborough. We found somewhere to park and had a walk along the High Street. A very nice Oxfam bookshop and, at the end of the main drag, what the leaflet describes as “the not-so-redundant church at the west end of the High Street”. The church of St Peter – SU186688. They have a website and you can even see a panorama from the tower. A church was built on this site by 1100, as within a few years of...
Categories Churches Conservation Trust/Outside Northumberland/Wiltshire/World War 1 Comments: 0
November 6, 2015

Hungerford, Berkshire – St Lawrence

We have headed south for a few days – the inside of the first week of October 2015 – and went to Hungerford. Many years ago, when Hannah was little, we used to drive from Cambridge to Bristol via the A4 and we would visit the Tutti Pole café. Today we parked on the main drag, just to the south of the railway bridge, and went into the Tutti Pole café. I remembered poached egg on toast – and they still do an excellent poached egg. They also do meringues, but I carry more weight than I did 25 years...
Categories Outside Northumberland/Personal/World War 1 Comment: 1
October 30, 2015

Borrowdale, Cumbria – St Andrew

We went for a drive up the Borrowdale Valley. We should have stopped by the Lake, explored all the churches, I should have gone for a walk, a quick burst of Sound of Music and a mountain to climb. We stopped at St Andrew’s church, Borrowdale – NY258140 – and discovered The Borrowdale Story. The benefice has a website and the project an excellent one – there are memories to listen to, photos to look at, hours of innocent fun! The leaflet “Faith in the Valley”, which I picked up in the church, was paid for by the story project. It...
Categories Cumbria/World War 1 Comments: 0