If one's passion is
tramping to and around old churches then there are the occasional moments
when one is taken aback by the first sight of the building. It's
that exact moment when the corner is turned by car or on foot and the
church is glimpsed over a hedge or a gate. Sometimes it's a “Hmm”
moment; at others (such as my first sighting of Burgh St Peter in
Norfolk*) the mind does a double take and tries to make sense of what
the eyes are relaying to it. And then there are those “Oh my!”
experiences. And on a rather dark and showery day in May 2014,
Longdon St Mary the Virgin was just one of those.
The village of Longdon is
about four miles south of Upton upon Severn on the B4211. The old
“Gloucester High Road.”A quiet road even in the 21st
century. Mee says of the village: Here among the willows and
ditches we are in the heart of England, yet we are in a place where
the sea once came. Once Longdon Marsh was part of the tidal estuary
of the Severn, and maritime plants are still found growing here. [1]
Noakes,
in his 1868 Guide to Worcestershire,
says nothing about the church (undergoing building work that very year) and village but writes at length (for
him that's about eight lines) about the controversies surrounding the
draining of the marshes, a contemporary issue: The proposed
drainage of which has long threatened to drain the pockets of
everybody in the neighbourhood. [2] And
I bet they still talk about it in the Hunter's Inn.
The
church stands on a tall bank to the left of a bend in the road in the
centre of the village. There are a few parking spots and two points
of access to the churchyard. Both involve steep climbs. Before
today's culture when we fuss and fret about disabled access I wonder
how they coped back in the day when there were far more immobile
people. I suggest they coped very well as neighbour looked after
neighbour to the point of carrying them to church!
If
you've reached this far into the text I recommend scrolling back to
the top and looking at the church again. Done? I will continue.
The
“Oh my!” for me was the immediate realisation that St Mary's has
three distinct architectural sections that stand in stark contrast to
each other. Mediaeval, Georgian and neo-Norman (Victorian age.) The
tower, with its octagonal stone spire, is 14th century.
It was attached to a similar age church, but that either fell down or
was demolished. The whole of the church was redesigned and rebuilt
in Georgian brick with stucco on the south wall in the 1780s. This
included a small chancel for the altar – but that's pretty much in
keeping with the churchmanship of the day.
The 1868 chancel is in 12th century style with six round headed windows and a blue ceiling. And it's absolutely gorgeous inside and out! It's not often that I get enthusiastic over Victorian church architecture but this example of replica building is truly outstanding.
Three gems at Longdon St Mary? Well, the building itself - a wonderful, historical hybrid that makes no effort to harmonise. Then there's a 12th century font base with four stone shafts with scalloped capitals. (The top is modern, cubist, and actually quite attractive.) And finally the monuments - notably a huge 16th century brass to William Brugge in full armour, erstwhile Lord of the Manor by marriage (he was a bit of a Johnny foriegner back then) and his wife Alice. At her feet is a small dog with bells on its collar!
And a raspberry? Just the 1970s (and I'm guessing the date here) nave lights. They are better suited to a B movie science fiction set.
[1] Worcestershire. Arthur Mee. 1938. The King's England p125. 1968 Revised Edition.
[2] Guide to Worcs. p 255
Ordnance Survey reference: SO837362
* More on that in a later post!
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