Uploads from Whipper_snapper, tagged stjohnthebaptist

St John The Baptist Church, Stokesay

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:55:16 -0800

The church of St John the Baptist at Stokesay, Craven Arms, Shropshire, sits right under the walls of the castle/manor house and is a classic example of a parish church which was built for the convenience of the local landowner or squire of the big house. The churchyard tumbles away at one side into the castle moat. The lord had a very short walk on Sunday morning.

www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/sets/72157628959010677/ to see the whole set.

The original church was built around 1150 and was probably expanded once the castle site developed in the 13th century. This first church was extensively damaged during the English Civil War when a Royalist cavalry party, with their horses, took refuge inside it in 1646. One church guidebook suggests cannon fire caused this damage but this seems improbable. Another guidebook quotes a Hereford Cathedral record which says: "Fire and smoke says the bells of Stoke" which suggests to me that the church was simply burned down. Being so close to the Parliamentarian-held castle it would have had to be torched to prevent it being used as cover by possible Royalist besiegers.

As a result of the Civil War destruction Stokesay church is a rare example of a church extensively rebuilt during the Puritan period (1654) although some Norman features survive at lower levels, especially on the north side of the building.

One feature the Puritans may have disapproved of was the division between nave and chancel and their rebuild lacks a chancel arch but it is just possible to see where it might have been. The small font may also pre-date the rebuild as it has traces of the medieval practice of locking the font to prevent the water being removed for black magic. The 1654 rebuild saw strict segregation with all the men on the south side and all the women on the north side but this had disappeared within a few years.

The 17th or early 18th century century timber west gallery may have been for musicians or a choir but is now occupied by the church organ. The unusual canopied pew on the north side of the chancel is believed to be 1664 in date and indicates the counter-Puritan Restoration of King Charles II. The pulpit and other decorations also date from that period and are illustrative of the reaction against austere Puritanism.

The First World War village memorial was moved to here in 1956 when the crossroads in nearby Craven Arms were widened. The figure is of a soldier and is similar to 'Old Bill' the World War One cartoon character. It records not only the names of the village war dead but also those who returned safely.

St John The Baptist Church, Stokesay

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:51:54 -0800

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

St John The Baptist Church, Stokesay

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:51:54 -0800

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

St John The Baptist Church, Stokesay

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:51:54 -0800

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

The church of St John the Baptist at Stokesay, Craven Arms, Shropshire, sits right under the walls of the castle/manor house and is a classic example of a parish church which was built for the convenience of the local landowner or squire of the big house. The churchyard tumbles away at one side into the castle moat. The lord had a very short walk on Sunday morning.

www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/sets/72157628959010677/ to see the whole set.

The original church was built around 1150 and was probably expanded once the castle site developed in the 13th century. This first church was extensively damaged during the English Civil War when a Royalist cavalry party, with their horses, took refuge inside it in 1646. One church guidebook suggests cannon fire caused this damage but this seems improbable. Another guidebook quotes a Hereford Cathedral record which says: "Fire and smoke says the bells of Stoke" which suggests to me that the church was simply burned down. Being so close to the Parliamentarian-held castle it would have had to be torched to prevent it being used as cover by possible Royalist besiegers.

As a result of the Civil War destruction Stokesay church is a rare example of a church extensively rebuilt during the Puritan period (1654) although some Norman features survive at lower levels, especially on the north side of the building.

One feature the Puritans may have disapproved of was the division between nave and chancel and their rebuild lacks a chancel arch but it is just possible to see where it might have been. The small font may also pre-date the rebuild as it has traces of the medieval practice of locking the font to prevent the water being removed for black magic. The 1654 rebuild saw strict segregation with all the men on the south side and all the women on the north side but this had disappeared within a few years.

The 17th or early 18th century century timber west gallery may have been for musicians or a choir but is now occupied by the church organ. The unusual canopied pew on the north side of the chancel (see above) is believed to be 1664 in date and indicates the counter-Puritan Restoration of King Charles II. The pulpit and other decorations also date from that period and are illustrative of the reaction against austere Puritanism.

The First World War village memorial was moved to here in 1956 when the crossroads in nearby Craven Arms were widened. The figure is of a soldier and is similar to 'Old Bill' the World War One cartoon character. It records not only the names of the village war dead but also those who returned safely.

Castle viewed from St John The Baptist churchyard, Stokesay

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:51:54 -0800

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

The church of St John the Baptist at Stokesay, Craven Arms, Shropshire, sits right under the walls of the castle/manor house and is a classic example of a parish church which was built for the convenience of the local landowner or squire of the big house. The churchyard tumbles away at one side into the castle moat. The lord had a very short walk on Sunday morning.

The original church was built around 1150 and was probably expanded once the castle site developed in the 13th century. This first church was extensively damaged during the English Civil War when a Royalist cavalry party, with their horses, took refuge inside it in 1646. One church guidebook suggests cannon fire caused this damage but this seems improbable. Another guidebook quotes a Hereford Cathedral record which says: "Fire and smoke says the bells of Stoke" which suggests to me that the church was simply burned down. Being so close to the Parliamentarian-held castle it would have had to be torched to prevent it being used as cover by possible Royalist besiegers.

As a result of the Civil War destruction Stokesay church is a rare example of a church extensively rebuilt during the Puritan period (1654) although some Norman features survive at lower levels, especially on the north side of the building.

One feature the Puritans may have disapproved of was the division between nave and chancel and their rebuild lacks a chancel arch but it is just possible to see where it might have been. The small font may also pre-date the rebuild as it has traces of the medieval practice of locking the font to prevent the water being removed for black magic. The 1654 rebuild saw strict segregation with all the men on the south side and all the women on the north side but this had disappeared within a few years.

The 17th or early 18th century century timber west gallery may have been for musicians or a choir but is now occupied by the church organ. The unusual canopied pew on the north side of the chancel is believed to be 1664 in date and indicates the counter-Puritan Restoration of King Charles II. The pulpit and other decorations also date from that period and are illustrative of the reaction against austere Puritanism.

The First World War village memorial was moved to here in 1956 when the crossroads in nearby Craven Arms were widened. The figure is of a soldier and is similar to 'Old Bill' the World War One cartoon character. It records not only the names of the village war dead but also those who returned safely.

St John The Baptist Church, Stokesay

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:55:16 -0800

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

St John The Baptist Church, Stokesay

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:55:16 -0800

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

St John The Baptist Church, Stokesay

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:51:54 -0800

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

St John The Baptist Church, Stokesay

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:51:54 -0800

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:06:05 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

Burford in Oxfordshire was an evening stop during a day tour of the Cotswolds last weekend. As it was closed by then I was unable to access the interior of the magnificent St.John The Baptist parish church or pick up a guidebook.

www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/sets/72157600262870602/ to see the full set.

The church dates to around 1175 but most of what is visible today is a 15th century rebuild during a period of local affluence due to the wool industry. The church has a soaring slender spire and delicate stonework.

A set of almshouses at the entrance to the churchyard were first built by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick [Warwick the Kingmaker] in 1457 and these were rebuilt in 1828.

More than 300 mutineers called Levellers from the 1649 Parliamentarian Army were kept in the church as prisoners and three of them were shot against the south wall of the church [see plaque] on the orders of Cromwell and Fairfax.

Burford has some national fame is it is here that William Morris discovered the then vicar scraping medieval wall paintings off of the church wall. When Morris challenged him over this the vicar replied: "This church, sir, is mine, and if I choose to, I shall stand on my head in it." Morris was so outraged that he founded the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings.

Despite the vicar's paint stripping I am told that some medieval wall paintings still survive inside. I was also unable to see the Tanfield family monument or any of the graffiti left by the Parliamentarian prisoners inside the church.

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:21:13 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:06:05 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

Burford in Oxfordshire was an evening stop during a day tour of the Cotswolds last weekend. As it was closed by then I was unable to access the interior of the magnificent St.John The Baptist parish church or pick up a guidebook.

The church dates to around 1175 but most of what is visible today is a 15th century rebuild during a period of local affluence due to the wool industry. The church has a soaring slender spire and delicate stonework.

A set of almshouses at the entrance to the churchyard were first built by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick [Warwick the Kingmaker] in 1457 and these were rebuilt in 1828.

More than 300 mutineers called Levellers from the 1649 Parliamentarian Army were kept in the church as prisoners and three of them were shot against the south wall of the church [see plaque] on the orders of Cromwell and Fairfax.

Burford has some national fame is it is here that William Morris discovered the then vicar scraping medieval wall paintings off of the church wall. When Morris challenged him over this the vicar replied: "This church, sir, is mine, and if I choose to, I shall stand on my head in it." Morris was so outraged that he founded the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings.

Despite the vicar's paint stripping I am told that some medieval wall paintings still survive inside. I was also unable to see the Tanfield family monument or any of the graffiti left by the Parliamentarian prisoners inside the church.

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:06:05 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:21:12 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:21:14 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

Burford in Oxfordshire was an evening stop during a day tour of the Cotswolds last weekend. As it was closed by then I was unable to access the interior of the magnificent St.John The Baptist parish church or pick up a guidebook.

The church dates to around 1175 but most of what is visible today is a 15th century rebuild during a period of local affluence due to the wool industry. The church has a soaring slender spire and delicate stonework.

A set of almshouses at the entrance to the churchyard were first built by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick [Warwick the Kingmaker] in 1457 and these were rebuilt in 1828.

More than 300 mutineers called Levellers from the 1649 Parliamentarian Army were kept in the church as prisoners and three of them were shot against the south wall of the church [see plaque] on the orders of Cromwell and Fairfax.

Burford has some national fame is it is here that William Morris discovered the then vicar scraping medieval wall paintings off of the church wall. When Morris challenged him over this the vicar replied: "This church, sir, is mine, and if I choose to, I shall stand on my head in it." Morris was so outraged that he founded the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings.

Despite the vicar's paint stripping I am told that some medieval wall paintings still survive inside. I was also unable to see the Tanfield family monument or any of the graffiti left by the Parliamentarian prisoners inside the church.

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:21:13 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:21:14 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

Burford in Oxfordshire was an evening stop during a day tour of the Cotswolds last weekend. As it was closed by then I was unable to access the interior of the magnificent St.John The Baptist parish church or pick up a guidebook.

The church dates to around 1175 but most of what is visible today is a 15th century rebuild during a period of local affluence due to the wool industry. The church has a soaring slender spire and delicate stonework.

A set of almshouses at the entrance to the churchyard were first built by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick [Warwick the Kingmaker] in 1457 and these were rebuilt in 1828.

More than 300 mutineers called Levellers from the 1649 Parliamentarian Army were kept in the church as prisoners and three of them were shot against the south wall of the church [see plaque] on the orders of Cromwell and Fairfax.

Burford has some national fame is it is here that William Morris discovered the then vicar scraping medieval wall paintings off of the church wall. When Morris challenged him over this the vicar replied: "This church, sir, is mine, and if I choose to, I shall stand on my head in it." Morris was so outraged that he founded the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings.

Despite the vicar's paint stripping I am told that some medieval wall paintings still survive inside. I was also unable to see the Tanfield family monument or any of the graffiti left by the Parliamentarian prisoners inside the church.

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:21:12 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

Burford in Oxfordshire was an evening stop during a day tour of the Cotswolds last weekend. As it was closed by then I was unable to access the interior of the magnificent St.John The Baptist parish church or pick up a guidebook.

The church dates to around 1175 but most of what is visible today is a 15th century rebuild during a period of local affluence due to the wool industry. The church has a soaring slender spire and delicate stonework.

A set of almshouses at the entrance to the churchyard were first built by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick [Warwick the Kingmaker] in 1457 and these were rebuilt in 1828.

More than 300 mutineers called Levellers from the 1649 Parliamentarian Army were kept in the church as prisoners and three of them were shot against the south wall of the church [see plaque] on the orders of Cromwell and Fairfax.

Burford has some national fame is it is here that William Morris discovered the then vicar scraping medieval wall paintings off of the church wall. When Morris challenged him over this the vicar replied: "This church, sir, is mine, and if I choose to, I shall stand on my head in it." Morris was so outraged that he founded the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings.

Despite the vicar's paint stripping I am told that some medieval wall paintings still survive inside. I was also unable to see the Tanfield family monument or any of the graffiti left by the Parliamentarian prisoners inside the church.

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:13:48 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

Burford in Oxfordshire was an evening stop during a day tour of the Cotswolds last weekend. As it was closed by then I was unable to access the interior of the magnificent St.John The Baptist parish church or pick up a guidebook.

www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/sets/72157600262870602/ to see the full set.

The church dates to around 1175 but most of what is visible today is a 15th century rebuild during a period of local affluence due to the wool industry. The church has a soaring slender spire and delicate stonework.

A set of almshouses at the entrance to the churchyard were first built by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick [Warwick the Kingmaker] in 1457 and these were rebuilt in 1828.

More than 300 mutineers called Levellers from the 1649 Parliamentarian Army were kept in the church as prisoners and three of them were shot against the south wall of the church [see plaque] on the orders of Cromwell and Fairfax.

Burford has some national fame is it is here that William Morris found the then vicar scraping medieval wall paintings off of the church wall. When Morris challenged him over this the vicar replied: "This church, sir, is mine, and if I choose to, I shall stand on my head in it." Morris was so outraged that he founded the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings.

Despite the vicar's paint stripping I am told that some medieval wall paintings survive inside. I was also unable to see the Tanfield family monument or the graffiti left by the Parliamentarian prisoners inside the church.

St John The Baptist Church, Burford, Oxfordshire

nobody@flickr.com (Whipper_snapper) — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:13:52 -0700

Whipper_snapper posted a photo:

Burford in Oxfordshire was an evening stop during a day tour of the Cotswolds last weekend. As it was closed by then I was unable to access the interior of the magnificent St.John The Baptist parish church or pick up a guidebook.

The church dates to around 1175 but most of what is visible today is a 15th century rebuild during a period of local affluence due to the wool industry. The church has a soaring slender spire and delicate stonework.

A set of almshouses at the entrance to the churchyard were first built by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick [Warwick the Kingmaker] in 1457 and these were rebuilt in 1828.

More than 300 mutineers called Levellers from the 1649 Parliamentarian Army were kept in the church as prisoners and three of them were shot against the south wall of the church [see plaque] on the orders of Cromwell and Fairfax.

Burford has some national fame is it is here that William Morris found the then vicar scraping medieval wall paintings off of the church wall. When Morris challenged him over this the vicar replied: "This church, sir, is mine, and if I choose to, I shall stand on my head in it." Morris was so outraged that he founded the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings.

Despite the vicar's paint stripping I am told that some medieval wall paintings survive inside. I was also unable to see the Tanfield family monument or the graffiti left by the Parliamentarian prisoners inside the church.