Church Micro 4756...Fretherne
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(small)
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On visiting this beautiful church you will be looking for information at the two waypoints to enable you to find a small sized container, I'm afraid that due to it's rather unique nature there isn't really much room for anything other than the log !
Fretherne is in the centre of the Severnside Group of parishes. A small parish of 150 people with 27 on the electoral roll. 50% of the population is made up of young families, many of whom are part of the farming community. Festivals such as Harvest, Easter and Christmas see the church full. The services tend to have a modern focus and aim to attract all generations.
Fretherne Church is known as Gloucestershire's Mini Cathedral. It is a tiny church of great beauty, with a depth of history researched and documented. It was restored in Victorian times and is of interest to the Bristol Victorian Society.
The church of Fretherne existed by 1281, when John of Dursley was instituted to the rectory on the presentation of Hugh son of Otto. The next known rector, William of Fretherne, may have belonged to the same family as the lords of Fretherne manor, and the next known patron after 1281 was Geoffrey of Fretherne, lord of the manor, in 1307. The association of the church with the manor and its nearness to the manor-house suggest that it was founded by the lord of Fretherne for his tenants.
The church of ST. MARY, Fretherne, was entirely rebuilt in the mid 19th century and retains of its ancient fabric only three 13th-century coffin lids, which appear to be earlier than the first known documentary reference to the church in 1281, noted above. An enlargement or rebuilding of the church may be indicated by the fact that it was one of those dedicated by the Bishop of Worcester in 1315. In the early 18th century it was said to be a small church of one entire aisle with a wooden tower at the west end. A view of the church in 1841 shows it to have been a simple building with no break visible on the outside between chancel and nave. The tower, with a pitched roof, was little more than a bellcot, and there was a porch near the west end of the north wall. The east window was a square opening with mullions and transoms; the north windows were two tall lancets, perhaps of the 13th century, and between them, placed high up, was a small window which may have been of the 12th century. In 1835 a faculty for a gallery under the belfry was granted, but the accommodation remained inadequate.
The rebuilding of the church in 1846 and 1847 to the designs of Francis Niblett, was largely the result of the efforts of the rector, W. L. Darell. The new church, in brown sandstone with Bath stone dressings, comprised chancel with south vestry, nave, north aisle, and north-west tower with pinnacles and a crocketed spire. The lowest stage of the tower forms an entrance porch. In 1857 Darell enlarged and embellished the church, adding a south aisle with a transeptal chapel and a mortuary chapel to Sir Edward Tierney on its south side and an organ chamber at its east end. The whole building is enriched with much carved stonework; all the glass is coloured, the internal fittings are elaborate, including the Victorian royal arms on carved wood, and the woodwork of the roofs is richly painted. There was one bell c. 1703, which was replaced by a new one in 1847. There is a chalice of 1766 and a communion service of 1847. Monuments include several to members of the Darell family; older monuments were removed or covered up in 1847. The registers begin in 1631, and are virtually complete.
“If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first at churchmicro@gmail.com so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.
There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page found via the Bookmark list”
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(Decrypt)
Ba Green Svezn.