St. Mary's Church, Ashley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Mary's Church, Ashley |
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St Mary's Church, Ashley, from the southeast
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| OS grid reference | SU 385 309 |
| Location | Ashley, Hampshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 29 May 1957 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Flint rubble partly rendered Brick porch Tiled roofs |
St. Mary's Church is an old and important Anglican church. It is located in a small village called Ashley in Hampshire, England. This church is a special "Grade II*" listed building. This means it is a very important historic place. The Churches Conservation Trust helps take care of it. You can find the church next to where Gains Castle used to be. It is about 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) southeast of Stockbridge.
Contents
The Church's Story: A Look Back in Time
This church was first built a very long time ago. It dates back to the early 1100s. The chancel, which is the part of the church near the altar, was made longer later in the same century.
Over the years, parts of the church were updated. The windows you see today were added in the 1400s and 1500s. A covered entrance, called a porch, was built in 1701. The church also had some repairs and updates in 1858 and 1895. St. Mary's Church stopped holding regular services in 1976.
Exploring the Church's Design
St. Mary's Church is a small building with a simple shape. It has a main area called a nave and a chancel at the east end. There is also a porch on the south side.
Outside the Church: What to See
The church is built from flint stones mixed with other pieces, like small rocks. It also has special stone blocks called quoins at the corners. Most of the walls are covered with a smooth plaster called stucco. The porch is made of brick, and the roofs are covered with tiles.
The window at the east end has three parts and was put in during the 1300s. It has been repaired since then. At the corners of the east end, there are strong supports called buttresses from the 1500s. A stone cross sits on the roof's peak.
You can see some very old, round-headed windows from the 1100s. There are two on the south side of the chancel and one on the north side. These are called lancet windows. Further west, on both the north and south walls, are two-part windows from the 1400s. The north wall of the nave also has another 1100s round-headed window.
Later, in the 1800s, two-part windows in the Perpendicular style were added to both the north and south walls. The porch has a rounded doorway and a pointed roof. Each wall of the porch has a unique five-sided window. The window at the west end of the church is from the 1400s. Above it, in the west gable, are two openings for bells. Another cross from the 1100s is on this gable.
Inside the Church: Discovering History
When you step inside, you'll notice that many of the windows have wide, sloped openings. In one of these openings, on the south side of the chancel, there's a painting from the 1200s. It shows a human figure.
You can also find two special stone memorials from the 1700s. On each side of the arch leading to the chancel, there's a round-headed opening called a squint. These allowed people to see the altar from different parts of the church.
Near the door, there's a slightly damaged piscina. This was a basin used for washing sacred vessels. To the west of the door, you'll see a wooden box from the 1500s. It was carved from a tree trunk and used as an alms box to collect donations.
The font, where baptisms take place, is very old. It dates back to the Norman period. It is made of Purbeck marble and has a square bowl on top of a shaped base. Other items inside the church, like the benches, were added in the 1800s.
Old Tombstones in the Churchyard
Outside the church, in the churchyard, there are two old stone chests. These are called tombchests and are also listed as a Grade II historic building. They are made from Portland stone and are from the 1800s. Unfortunately, the words carved on them are now too faded to read.
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