The Church

Other Pages ----------------- Church Events Locality Rota Links Home |  | Return to Home Page. The Church of St. Mary the Virgin. Pillerton Hersey with Pillerton Priors. Pevsner in his Warwickshire volume of "the Buildings of England" declares that St.Mary's is one of only four "Early English" Churches in the county, and describes it as follows:- "The Church has an uncommonly fine mid 13th century chancel. The chancel arch is something of a puzzle. The shafts connected in one curve by deep hollows are typical of circa 1300 and after and do not go with the chancel, nor with anything of the nave." (The north column of the chancel arch leans outwards, and the nave & chancel are out of line with each other. It could be that the chancel was originally the entirety of the Church, or more probably Chapel, and when enlarged facilities were required the nave was built on to the west end of the Chapel necessitating the chancel arch, which subsequently subsided.) There is a pamphlet (priced at only £1) available in the Church that mentions ; the fine 15th century low pitched Nave roof with carved bosses; the stone font of uncertain date with a wooden cover of long thin shafts made in 1927; the Royal Coat of Arms of George 3rd; the 15th century "perpendicular" tower; the priest's doorway of a probably unique design; the four types of resident Bats (check the pews before sitting); and the one-handed clock etc. Pevsner fails to mention the relatively rare medieval glass, shading from clear though green to rose, the method of fixing the glass in the frames is even rarer. The windows were restored in the mid 1990's. Altogether a fine English Church in an attractive setting, marred only by the bucolic untidiness of Bungalow Farm, which will, hopefully, eventually be masked by trees and shrubs. Sadly due to security considerations, the Church is kept locked, but a key can be obtained from the Rev. Elfrida Savigear (Ettington Vicarage 01789 740225) or consult the notice board outside the Church. Friends of St. Mary's. The Friends are a non-denominational society that was formed in 1980 and has raised over £18,000 in the first 17 years. Its objective is to enable all in the locality to share in the maintenance of the fabric, and upkeep, of the Church. Return to Home Page.