St Mary's Church - Haversham, UK - Country Churches on Waymarking.com

Towards the end of the reign of Henry II c.1160, 116 Churches were built or re-built in Buckinghamshire, among them was Saint Mary's, Haversham. It is likely there was an earlier church because there is evidence of the Saxon custom of planting a Yew tree when a centre for worship was opened. This tree is still growing in the old Rectory garden, and is believed to be well over a thousand years old.
Because a Church was the community’s only public building, and the ante-room to Paradise, nothing was too good for it. Though it was built very slowly with rubble and stone, so that it would not buckle, it was adorned with whatever would make it most beautiful.

The Norman window on the west wall dates from c.1160, with Norman chevron moulding; a feature of this window is that the reverse side of it, which is now inside the Tower, was originally an outside window, pointing to the fact that the Tower was added a little later, about the year 1190. Of the former building only the west wall and the tower remain.

In 1221 Hugh de Haversham and his son Nicholas rebuilt the Church to almost its present size. This type of architecture, called 'Early English', is marked by its narrow lancet-shaped windows, three of which remain. Other early 13th Century evidences are the two dwarf buttresses with edge-roll mouldings at the east end of the Chancel; one buttress on the south side has a weatherworn ‘Mass’ dial inscribed on it.

On the north side of the Church is an old door c.1220, long since disused and blocked up which might have been used by the Rector, or by the resident brotherhood coming from the Grange, which probably belonged to the Abbey of Lavendon, or by superstition used by the 'Devil' to try and exert his influence from this direction. As early as 1278 the Church was endowed with 72 acres of land.

In 1309 William de Ledcomb, the Rector for 18 years, was imprisoned in the Church by the Lord of the Manor, John de Olneye. Church records give no reason; his cattle were starved and villagers were forbidden to save his corn or to cut his hay. On his release he soon after resigned.

The embattlements on the Church Tower date from about 1305, the strength of the tower and the thickness of its walls suggest its use as a watch tower and emergency fortress for the Lords of the Manor.

Major reconstruction of the Church took place around the years 1290, 1325, and 1360. The Chantry Chapel was added about 1290, the chapel arch being about that period, and reconstructed then again c.1325 when the wall of the South Aisle was rebuilt to be in line with the Chapel. The Chancel arch and south arcade were also rebuilt at that time (c.1325) and the north arcade was rebuilt c.1360. The South Porch, the canopy over the tomb in the sanctuary and the Font all date from about 1380.

The Clerestory was added in the 15th century, its windows being of the perpendicular period. On the outside of the south window of the Chapel on the buttress wing there is a moulded external label having ‘Beast Stops’ though now very weatherworn. These chimerical ‘Beasts’ are a Cat with a Mouse in its mouth and a Cockatrice, which is a fabled monster used in heraldry, with the head and body of a cock with two legs and wings and the tail of a dragon.

This historical information is taken from David Brightman’s leaflet ‘A Short Guide to the Parish Church of St Mary’s Haversham’, which can be purchased at the church, and gives further information on the features of the church and its more modern history.

Church Name: St Marys Church In Use (even only just occassionally): yes Date Church Built: 1160c. Rate this church.:

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/30/2008 Dragontree visited it

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