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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.
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