Woodchester / Udecestre / Widecestre

Image copyright © John Salmon, 2013

CC-BY-SA-2.0

Results: 4 records

view of church exterior - detail

Scene Description: Source caption: "Old St Mary's Church Site, Woodchester. The ancient parish church of ST. MARY stood at the northern extremity of the parish and comprised chancel, nave with south aisle and porch, and west tower. On the north side of the church was a raised, covered passage from the church to the edge of the churchyard for occupants of the Priory. The survival of a 12th-century doorway and chancel arch suggests a rebuilding at that date, although most of the external features of the nave and chancel appear to have been late medieval and the tower was probably built in the 15th century. The church contained a monument with effigies to Sir George Huntley and his wife and some wall monuments by Franklin of Stroud and John Ricketts the elder of Gloucester. In 1851 the church was said to have been much modernized, probably in 1815, and 'encumbered with the most hideous pews and galleries'. In 1858 a new Rector George Henry Evans was appointed after eighteen years of service in several parishes in India and a record of getting new churches built. In 1861 it was decided to replace the church and graveyard, which contained a number of carved stone tomb-chests and headstones and remained in use for some further years, with a new building on a site further south. The land was donated by Mrs. Edward Wise and stone from the old church was used in the new building, which comprised chancel, nave with north aisle, south tower with broach spire, and south porch. The new church was consecrated in September 1863"

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Caroline Evans, 2011

Image Source: digital photograph taken 18 April 2011 by Caroline Evans [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3609776] [accessed 21 February 2019]

Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church exterior in context

Scene Description: Source caption: "Ruins of Old Woodchester Church. New Church built nearby in the 1800's".

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Michael Oram, 2008

Image Source: digital photograph taken 8 August 2008 by Michael Oram [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1046904] [accessed 21 February 2019]

Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church exterior in context

Scene Description: the modern church

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Keith Daulby, 2012

Image Source: digital photograph taken 16 April 2012 by Keith Daulby [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Mary's._Woodchester._-_panoramio.jpg] [accessed 21 February 2019]

Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-3.0

view of font and cover

Scene Description: the modern font in the modern church

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © John Salmon, 2013

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken in 1988 by John Salmon [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3306514] [accessed 21 February 2019]

Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

INFORMATION

FontID: 14081WOO
Church/Chapel: Old Church of St. Mary [in ruins]
Church Patron Saints: St. Mary the Virgin
Church Location: [address for new St Mary's] Church Rd, North Woodchester, Gloucester GL5 5PF, UK -- [NB: church coordinates given are for the ruins of the old church]
Country Name: England
Location: Gloucestershire, South West
Directions to Site: Woodchester is located 3 km S of Stroud. The ruins of old St. Mary's are off Church Ln, about a km away from the new church
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Gloucester
Historical Region: Hundred of Longtree
Font Location in Church: [disappeared?]
Century and Period: 12th century, Late Norman? / Transitional?
Church Notes: According to Verey & Brooks (1999-2002), the old church was abandoned in 1863 and all that remained extant were the Norman chancel arch and a fragment of the north wall of the nave
There are two entries for Woodchester [variant spellings] in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/SO8402/woodchester/] [accessed 21 February 2019] neither of which mentions cleric or priest in it. The entry for this parish in the Victoria County History (Gloucester, vol. 11, 1976) notes: "A priest was recorded at Woodchester in 896 […] and architectural evidence shows that there was a church there in the 12th century", but there is no font mentioned. Verey & Brooks (1999-2002) report "the quatrefoil stone font (now in the porch)" in the new church as being by Teulon and ca. 1862. [NB: we have no information on the original font of this church]. The entry for the new church in Historic England [Listing NGR: SO8397902670] notes: "Parish church. 1863-4 by S.S. Teulon [...] replaced earlier church of which the chancel arch and part of north wall remain"; no font mentioned.

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 51.72652, -2.2338
Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 51° 43′ 35.47″ N, 2° 14′ 1.68″ W
UTM: 30U 552920 5730899

REFERENCES

Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. Accessed: 2008-12-10 00:00:00. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.
Verey, David, Gloucestershire, London: Penguin Books, 1999-2002