Hinton Ampner – All Saints Church

The church of ALL SAINTS has suffered from ‘restoration’ more severely than many of its neighbours, (fn. 14) but is still of great interest as preserving its pre-Conquest plan and a few details of that date. It has a chancel 15 ft. 8 in. wide by 21 ft. long, and a nave 21 ft. 10 in. wide by 47 ft. with walls 2 ft. 6 in. thick of flint rubble with ashlar dressings.

There are three bells, the treble inscribed: ‘Serv God I W 1603.,’ the second ‘Fere God I W, 1603.,’ and tenor ‘In God is my hope, 1610.’ The latter is by the unidentified founder I.H. (possibly John Higden), the other two by John Wallis of Salisbury.

Hinton Ampner

When we visited Hinton Ampner the first floor of the property was closed due to storm damage to the roof on February 2014. This was more than made up for by the gardens, the orchard and the parish church of All Saints.

A restored eighteenth century house with a twentieth century garden. The garden was made by Ralph Dutton (Lord Sherbourne), who wrote a book on Hinton Ampner: A Hampshire Manor (Batsford, 1968). He also wrote a history of the English Garden (1937). Mea Allen described its ‘one of Britain’s great gardens to be seen if you can. A classical beauty of layout and ornament’. Ownership then passed to the National Trust. The garden has walks and terraces with hedges, topiary, ornaments and excellent planting. Dutton explained that ‘my interest lies more in shrubs than in flowers’ what above all I want from a garden is tranquility’.

Behind the Chapel…

…lies an older place of worship.

The Church of St Lawrence

From the Three Saints website:

The medieval church of St Lawrence in the Square is of great interest, not only for its unusual square design but also for its fine 17th-century ‘king-post’ roof and its ancient site.  There was a church on the site before the Norman conquest, and it was incorporated into William the Conqueror’s palace as the royal chapel.

After the palace and chapel were destroyed by fire, St Lawrence Church was rebuilt in about 1150.  The church was badly damaged by fire in 1978 and after restoration re-opened in 1980, with seating for about 120 people.  St Lawrence is still referred to as the Mother Church of Winchester, for it is the only surviving parish church of Norman foundation within the city walls.  When a new Bishop of Winchester is on his way to his enthronement in the Cathedral, it is at St Lawrence Church that he is presented to the Mayor, clergy and citizens.

In 2012 a project to enhance the porch of the church saw the installation of a beautiful glass screen.

Words from The Elixir by George Herbert

Teach me, my God and King,
in all things thee to see,
and what I do in anything
to do it as for thee.

A man that looks on glass,
on it may stay his eye;
or if he pleaseth, through it pass,
and then the heaven espy.

The Church of St Swithun upon Kingsgate

The Church of St Swithun upon Kingsgate has been a place of worship for more than 750 years. The church, built in the middle ages is located above the medieval Kingsgate, one of the principle entrances to the city. The church is unusual in that it forms part of the city wall.

From Wikipedia:

The first mention of the church is recorded in 1264, when it was apparently burned by the citizens of Winchester during a dispute with the Priory.^[2] Most likely the church served as a chapel for lay people who worked for the Abbey.^[1] In 1337 some woodwork was done on the church, costing a total of fifteen shillings, and in 1484 the windows underwent repair.^[2]

St Swithun was an Anglo Saxon saint, born in Winchester and in 852 becoming the 19th bishop of the city. He died in 862 when King Alfred the Great was still a young man.^[2] It is possible that St Swithun was tutor to the young king, and accompanied him on a pilgrimage to Rome.^[2]

By the 17th century the church had fallen into disrepair, and had become home to one Robert Allen, the porter of Kings Gate, and his wife, “who did and doth keep swine at ye ende of the Chapell”.^[1][2] The situation was improved around 1660 when the church was restored, its bells re-hung in 1677.^[1] It has remained a place of worship since that time.^[2]

St James' Church Avebury

St James’ church was founded in around AD 1000 and appears to be a ‘minster’ church, that is, a church held by the crown and serving a large area. A little of the history of the church can be found here.

The tub font is possibly of Saxon origin but has detailed carving of the first quarter of the 12th century. It was apparently done by a local stonemason and probably shows Christ trampling on two dragons, representing evil and sin. However the figure holds a crosier and so has also been held to represent a bishop, although Professor George Zarnecki believes that the rustic sculptor misunderstood the picture that he was copying and added the crosier.

One of the glories of this church is the 15th century rood loft, originally used to house the Great Rood, or large crucifix, the most revered object in the early church. In the top rail to the loft parapet are the original 17 sockets that held candles that were kept burning to light the Rood. The Rood would have been destroyed after the Reformation and the loft and screen were removed, probably following an order of 1561 from Elizabeth I. Normally the timber would have been reused but almost uniquely the Avebury church managed to hide and preserve their rood loft. The timbers were stacked against the east wall of the nave, above the chancel arch, and covered with a lath and plaster wall. This was a very risky business for all concerned but the secret was well kept and the timbers were not discovered until 1810. The rood loft was restored in the 1878 – 1884 renovations, and the loft parapet repainted with matching colours to those noted on the woodwork by the architect, Charles E. Ponting. A new panelled screen was provided below with paintings of the apostles, set against gilded fields, in the lower panels.

St Nicolas Church Newbury

St Nicolas church as it stands today was completed around 1500 to 1530. There is some evidence that to suggest that the church was used as both a prison and a hospital after the Second Battle of Newbury in 1664.

Church of Our Lady of Hanswijk

The inside of this church is spectacular  and we felt blessed that we were able to visit.  The church closed for restoration at the beginning of April, just two weeks after our visit.  It will be closed for four years!

This baroque pilgrimage church designed by Lucas Faydherbe was one of the first domed churches in the Low Countries. The dome was to have been even higher, but the substructure proved not to be sufficiently robust. Architect and church engaged in a bitter battle about additional reinforcements.

Inside under the dome are two huge reliefs, also by Faydherbe, believed by everyone to be sandstone until the bombing raids in the Second World War. But sandstone would have been too heavy, so the resourceful Faydherbe had used gypsum. Only when the damaged reliefs were repaired did the deception come to light.

At the front of the church is a miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary which is carried in the annual Hanswijk procession. In 1985 the late Pope John Paul II prayed in this church, whose status was elevated to that of a basilica two years later.

Cherie's Place – Thought for the Week

People are like stained glass windows.  They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

St Aidan's Church from Within

St Aidan’s memorial:

According to the Venerable Bede, St Aidan Bishop of Lindesfarne died near this place in AD. 651.

This memorial was dedicated in 2013 by John Sentamu Archbishop of York.

One of the churches stained glassed windows.