of a girl who was married at 14 and died at 15, as
well as an interesting tomb of Charles, the black servant of George Wyrall,
which is close to the east window.
Originally
the tower was in the centre of the church, but it was made from soft local
sandstone which fell down. Rather than rebuilding it the Normans built a new
western tower. Look out for the Norman arches supporting the walls and the
fine carvings on the eastern arch of chevrons and beak heads, possibly
sculptured by a traveling stonemason (known as a journeyman) on his way to
Kikpeck where there are similar carvings.
The church has some fascinating stone figures, the shapes of three people
who died over 700 years ago: Cecilia de Muchegros, the second wife of Robert
de Muchegros who died in 1301; and Hawisia, dressed in a long flowing robe,
who died in 1353. It is not known who the third figure with a young body and
an old head was - possibly a priest. There is also a screen dating from
1500, the Machen family chapel and some fine stained glass windows by Percy
Bacon dating from 1908. The long chancel was also rebuilt in the 13th
century and note the wagon-roofed nave.
In April 2007, the Bells were
returned from the repairers and
manhandled into the Church. The bell hanger started work on the 9th
May to re-hang the four original 1709 bells and the new one made by Rudhalls
of Gloucester. St Mary’s is one of the few churches in the country to have
an anti-clockwise ring.
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Services
The parish shares a priest-in-charge, the Revd Valerie Turner, with
the adjacent parish of Christchurch. Theree
is a shared parish magazine . A local Ministry Team plays a valued
part in assisting with services and general pastoral work.
Prayer book services are held each Sunday at
9.30 am, alternating
between Matins and Holy Communion, with occasional afternoon family
services at 3.0 pm. Refreshments follow each of the services, and
visitors are always most welcome to join in. After the morning
service coffee is served in the home of a member of the
congregation. |
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Activities
The church sponsors a Summer Fete which brings together organizations in
each of the parishes.
Also there are Pop-in
lunches and a Christmas Coffee Morning in the village hall.
