It's not known when the church was originally founded, but it's first recorded in 804 AD and was at one time the principle monastery of Hwicce, the Saxon kingdom of the lower Severn. The churches of Hwicce originally adopted Celtic Christianity rather than the missionary Roman version. It predates its close neighbour monastery, Tewkesbury Abbey, by some centuries. One of its luminaries was St Alphege, or Ælfheah to give him his Saxon name, who began his monastic life at Deerhurst before going on to become Archbishop of Canterbury and later a martyr to marauding Danes at Greenwich in 1012 AD.
The earliest church was a simple rectangular job and may have been built in the seventh or eighth century, or possibly even earlier. During the next few centuries a west porch and two side chapels were added, and then in around 1000 AD the church was extended at both ends with a tower in the west, and a semi-circular chancel added at the east end (now ruined, but you can still walk round to its former site and see an Anglo-Saxon carved angel high on the wall).
Some of the Saxon features were lost during further building work in the 12th and 13th centuries, but plenty still survives. Look out for the "herringbone" pattern of stonework on the outside of the church, which is a feature of Anglo-Saxon building. There are also some very weathered beast-head carvings on the outside of the tower. The domestic priory building which adjoins the church was built around the late 14th or early 15th century. It's now a private farmhouse but the quadrangle it forms alongside the church was once the monastic cloister.
On entering the church you will immediately see a Saxon carved relief of the Virgin and Child above the main door. Just inside the door are two spiral-carved beast-heads, which are thought to date from the early 9th century. Other Saxon features abound, including arches and doorways, and a pair of triangular-headed windows in the nave, exquisitely carved. There is also a fantastic Saxon font, covered with intricate spiral carvings, which was rescued from a farmyard in 1844 where it was being used as a washtub!
For more on the history of this church, see the Deerhurst history blog post.
Congratulations Slyatslys, FTF!
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