St Nicholas Church, Norton Canon

 

A beautiful Medieval church with a late 13th C tower.  A rebuild in 1716 was sympathetically done and all the 13th C windows of the Medieval church reused, even the grisaille glass for the N Transept window and SW windows of the nave.  Muggins here overlooked the grisaille glass - only got the heads up this morning, reading my Pevsner for Herefordshire.  But in my defence, I just came across this little church when looking for another!

The 13th C tower with a splayed plinth and pyramidal roof.  You can see the mark of the earlier roofline across one of the lancet windows.

Pevsner mentions a Norman capital in the porch . . .  I was too far away to do it justice.

A very unusual base to the font, which is also 13th C so from the original church.

The Reredos and Pulpit are both Jacobean.

Quite the oddest looking church organ, which was originally powered by young boys pumping a lever (!) but was later electrified, although not until 1998 when it was restored!!

I know this is difficult to read, but I took a photo because the name Carless is a reasonably unusual one and I only recognize it from our old headmaster at Junior School, whose name was Carless.  Of course it leant itself to being changed to Careless. . .

How's that for an unusual name - Gadurgis?  Never come across that before, and his brother is Asa, also unusual.  Sadly, he drowned in NZ.

Beautifully carved capitals.

A subtly worked and coloured banner worked by the ladies of the parish.

Mrs Christiana Carless was careful to look after the poor of the parish in her Will, leaving the not inconsiderable sum of £250 to clothe the "most deserving aged Poor."

It would seem that this was an entrenched habit although John Greene clearly thought that preaching Sermons was more important than feeding the desperate!

These really pleased me, being 13th C stone coffin lids with a floriated cross design.  These were discovered during the rebuilding of the church.  

So, although I didn't go looking for it, I was delighted to have found this little church and can recommend a visit if you are in the area.  

This morning we have a visit to the Parkinsons nurse and then I must get back to the nearly all yellow bedroom and try and finish off the wall (though having moved furniture, I can't quite reach the top now as can't get the ladder close enough.)  I also desperately need to keep going in the garden especially as we have sunshine.

Kittens are wanting my time too - Pippi keeps yelling that she's on the ironing again, LOOK! and Lulu just wants me to throw one of her balls for her.  I have started letting them outside now.  You can see the difference in their characters out there.  Quiet Lulu (a worrier), stays very close to the house wall, climbing in and out of the planters and going behind them.  Her sister, on the other hand, took a look up the side of the house and then decided she would march straight out of the gate and keep going!  Twice she's been out and twice I've had to grab her before she disappears boldly down the track!

At least they're good when they're asleep . . .