Stone, St John
St John's lies on a man-made mound which some say was a pre-Roman burial ground. The church however, was not built until the Normans came. The church apparently has a very attractive Norman doorway, but it was locked on this visit, as it was on previous visits here. Maybe I'll have to time it to attend a service??
The tower is highly decorated with small stone heads, but I was unable to see any Green Man motif amongst them.
Dinton, SS Peter and Paul
Another Norman church which has been locked every time I've visited, this one at least allows the casual visitor to admire the wonderful carved Tympanum over the South Door. There is a grand manor house adjoining the church, in a similar architectural style, but I've no idea if the house is contemporary with the church.
Cuddington, St Nicholas
Another church on this run which I've visited previously, but that was back in the day before I was looking for the Green Man. On this occasion the church was open, but again I drew a blank. There is one 15C corbel head remaining, but no flora to be seen on it.
Nether Winchendon, St Nicholas
A very pleasant setting, with thatched cottages in evidence and an old Victorian brick pillar box on a patch of green by the junction.
This church is listed in Simon Jenkins' book England's Thousand Best Churches
, and with good reason. There are fragments of Dutch glass in the windows, box pews, a musician's gallery and a most wonderful pulpit. Fragments of rough-hewn stone at the base of the tower suggest the church's Saxon origins.
, and with good reason. There are fragments of Dutch glass in the windows, box pews, a musician's gallery and a most wonderful pulpit. Fragments of rough-hewn stone at the base of the tower suggest the church's Saxon origins.
Chearsley, St Nicholas
A simple A4 information sheet available in the church says all you need to know about this church:
"The building reflects the history of the village which, until recently, has always been small, and never wealthy."The dedication to St Nicholas, patron saint of children, was borne out by the presence of a church banner, and by fragments of a 14C wall painting of the saint on the North wall.
Haddenham, St Mary
Haddenham is famous for several things: St Tiggywinkles animal hospital, Wychert (a form of wall building), it's ponds where Aylesbury Ducks were bred, and as the set for several episodes of the Midsomer Murders TV series. None of which has anything to do with the church, which was built in the 13C, and is situated by a pond, with a bit of green surrounded by cottages, all very 'typical English village'.
Internally, the font is of some interest, depicting two dragons. There are several poppy heads with faces on them on the pews too, but none which could be described as Green Man images.
Externally, I was unable to make out the corbel decorations on the tower, some of which looked as if they may have had faces on them.
Aston Sandford, St Michael
With a chancel of 18'6" by 12', and a nave of 38' by 14', this is supposedly one of the smallest churches in the country. It underwent extensive renovation and rebuilding in the 1878 and was locked on my visit, so I have very few details to hand.
Kingsey, St Nicholas
Another St Nicholas, and another locked church with no external features to assist in determining the likelihood of internal decoration.
Note: In preparing this entry, it occurred to me that many churches in an area tend to have the same dedication, e.g. today there were 4 St Nicholas churches out of 8 visited. In yesterday's trip, 6 out of 11 were St Mary's. I'll keep an eye open for this pattern in future trips.
