Old Church
A 1,000-year-old haven of tranquility
Some churches have an atmosphere disproportionate to their size, and so it is with St Mary's, a tiny church in a churchyard encircled by trees, frothy with white blossom in spring. A grand Norman chancel arch links the eleventh-century nave to the thirteenth-century chancel.
This is a rare and precious survival with wonderful craftsmanship in wood and ironwork. Amongst the wealth of interest here are an exquisitely carved fourteenth-century font and an unusual set of Charles II Royal Arms dating from 1660.
There are also two Norman doorways - the original door of one of these, made with wood and ironwork over 1,000 years old, stands preserved inside the church. Ancient timbers survive in the roofs and support a later bellturret, containing two bells that may well have rung out over this beautiful area of agricultural north-east Hertfordshire for at least 600 years.
Old Church
A 1,000-year-old haven of tranquility
Some churches have an atmosphere disproportionate to their size, and so it is with St Mary's, a tiny church in a churchyard encircled by trees, frothy with white blossom in spring. A grand Norman chancel arch links the eleventh-century nave to the thirteenth-century chancel.
This is a rare and precious survival with wonderful craftsmanship in wood and ironwork. Amongst the wealth of interest here are an exquisitely carved fourteenth-century font and an unusual set of Charles II Royal Arms dating from 1660.
There are also two Norman doorways - the original door of one of these, made with wood and ironwork over 1,000 years old, stands preserved inside the church. Ancient timbers survive in the roofs and support a later bellturret, containing two bells that may well have rung out over this beautiful area of agricultural north-east Hertfordshire for at least 600 years.