St Mary's Church, Hartley Wintney
Encyclopedia
St Mary's Church, Hartley Wintney, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Hartley Wintney
, Hampshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church stands on a hillside to the south of the village, some 8 miles (13 km) east of Basingstoke.
s of Wintney Priory
. At this time it consisted of a nave
and a chancel
. The transept
s and the tower were added in the middle of the 19th century. St Mary's was replaced as the parish church
when a new church dedicated
to Saint John was built in the village, and St Mary's became a mortuary
chapel. The church was declared redundant on 13 March 1974 and was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 22 October 1975.
with some puddingstone
and brick. The transepts are in red brick, and the tower is in flint. The church is roofed with red tiles. Its plan consists of a nave and chancel, with north and south transepts, and a west tower. The chancel measures 17 in 9 in (5.41 m) by 15 feet (4.6 m), the nave 50 in 10 in (15.49 m) by 20 feet (6.1 m), the transepts 17 in 5 in (5.31 m) by 12 feet (3.7 m), and the tower is 12 feet (3.7 m) square. The windows in the sides of the chancel and nave date from the 14th and 15th centuries, and have one, two or three lights. The windows in the transepts, and the three-light east window, date from the 19th century. The tower is in three stages with diagonal corner buttress
es. In the bottom stage is a west door, and a single-light window on the north and south sides. The middle stage contains two-light windows on the north, west and south sides, and in the top stage are three-light bell openings an all sides. At the top of the tower is an embattled
parapet
with a pinnacle
at each corner.
, and a hagioscope
(squint). Also in the church are box pew
s, a communion rail dating from the early 18th century, hatchment
s, and a royal arms
dated 1705. There are the remains of 13th-century wall paintings, including one depicting Saint Christopher
, and another showing Saint George
killing the dragon.
(nicknamed "Hangman", who defeated Charles Edward Stuart
("Bonny Prince Charlie") at the Battle of Culloden
, and Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke
, adviser to Winston Churchill
during the Second World War.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in the village of Hartley Wintney
Hartley Wintney
Hartley Wintney is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire.-Location and character:Hartley Wintney is in the Hart district of North-East Hampshire...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. The church stands on a hillside to the south of the village, some 8 miles (13 km) east of Basingstoke.
History
The church was built in the 13th century by the nunNun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s of Wintney Priory
Wintney Priory
Wintney Priory was a priory of Cistercian nuns in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, England.-Foundation:The priory was founded in the twelfth century, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and St. Mary Magdalene...
. At this time it consisted of a nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
. The transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s and the tower were added in the middle of the 19th century. St Mary's was replaced as the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
when a new church dedicated
Dedication
Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church or other sacred building. It also refers to the inscription of books or other artifacts when these are specifically addressed or presented to a particular person. This practice, which once was used to gain the patronage and support of...
to Saint John was built in the village, and St Mary's became a mortuary
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
chapel. The church was declared redundant on 13 March 1974 and was vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 22 October 1975.
Exterior
The nave and chancel are constructed in flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
with some puddingstone
Puddingstone (rock)
Puddingstone, also known as either Pudding stone or Plum-pudding stone, is a popular name applied to a conglomerate that consists of distinctly rounded pebbles whose colors contrast sharply with the color of the finer-grained, often sandy, matrix or cement surrounding them...
and brick. The transepts are in red brick, and the tower is in flint. The church is roofed with red tiles. Its plan consists of a nave and chancel, with north and south transepts, and a west tower. The chancel measures 17 in 9 in (5.41 m) by 15 feet (4.6 m), the nave 50 in 10 in (15.49 m) by 20 feet (6.1 m), the transepts 17 in 5 in (5.31 m) by 12 feet (3.7 m), and the tower is 12 feet (3.7 m) square. The windows in the sides of the chancel and nave date from the 14th and 15th centuries, and have one, two or three lights. The windows in the transepts, and the three-light east window, date from the 19th century. The tower is in three stages with diagonal corner buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. In the bottom stage is a west door, and a single-light window on the north and south sides. The middle stage contains two-light windows on the north, west and south sides, and in the top stage are three-light bell openings an all sides. At the top of the tower is an embattled
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
with a pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
at each corner.
Interior
In the chancel is a 12th-century piscinaPiscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
, and a hagioscope
Hagioscope
A hagioscope or squint, in architecture, is an opening through the wall of a church in an oblique direction, to enable the worshippers in the transepts or other parts of the church, from which the altar was not visible, to see the elevation of the host.Hagioscopes were also sometimes known as...
(squint). Also in the church are box pew
Box pew
Box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th century.-History in England:...
s, a communion rail dating from the early 18th century, hatchment
Hatchment
A hatchment is a funeral demonstration of the lifetime "achievement" of the arms and any other honours displayed on a black lozenge-shaped frame which used to be suspended against the wall of a deceased person's house...
s, and a royal arms
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion...
dated 1705. There are the remains of 13th-century wall paintings, including one depicting Saint Christopher
Saint Christopher
.Saint Christopher is a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, listed as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian...
, and another showing Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
killing the dragon.
External features
The churchyard contains the graves of two notable military figures, Henry HawleyHenry Hawley
Lieutenant General Henry Hawley was a British Army officer who entered the army in 1694.-Early life:He saw service in the War of Spanish Succession as a captain of Erie's Foot. After Almanza he returned to England, and a few years later had become lieutenant-colonel of the 19th...
(nicknamed "Hangman", who defeated Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
("Bonny Prince Charlie") at the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
, and Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke
Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke
Field Marshal The Rt. Hon. Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO & Bar , was a senior commander in the British Army. He was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War, and was promoted to Field Marshal in 1944...
, adviser to Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
during the Second World War.
See also
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in South East England
External links
- Hampshire Churches Photographs of the interior