<< Our Photo Pages >> Bredwardine Church - Carving in England in Herefordshire
Submitted by AngieLake on Wednesday, 28 November 2018 Page Views: 2286
Multi-periodSite Name: Bredwardine Church Alternative Name: St Andrews Church Bredwardine, Sheela Na Gig BredwardineCountry: England County: Herefordshire Type: Carving
Nearest Town: Hay on Wye Nearest Village: Bredwardine
Map Ref: SO33484450
Latitude: 52.094826N Longitude: 2.972415W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Anne T visited on 13th Jul 2021 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Brewardine Church (St Andrew's): A very pretty church, in a lovely setting, and we were very surprised to not only find it open, but a number of other visitors came and went whilst we were there.
There is parking for a number of car in the small lane that runs up to the church, although most of the other visitors came on bicycles.
In addition to seeing parts of the 12th century structure, a number of carvings and a Norman font on weird tripod-like legs, there is also a churchyard cross. We spent some time just enjoying being able to look round a church and its churchyard again after a good 15 months of not being able to do this. And in glorious sunshine, too!
"Bredwardine sits just a few miles to the east of the Welsh border and twelve miles west of Hereford. This is a deeply rural area of quiet villages and ancient churches. For many people, Bredwardine will be known only as the resting place of Francis Kilvert. A rural curate at a number of churches in this area, he was rector in Bredwardine from 1877 until his death in 1879. He was an indefatigable diarist although sadly most of his diaries were inexplicably destroyed by his family."
"..........."
"Of much more interest is the blocked north door which has a heavily decorated lintel. The belief is that this is c12 and hence later than the nave itself. The south door also has a decorated lintel, also thought to be a later insertion."
One writer's opinion:
"The lintel of the blocked north doorway. The detail of the central motifs. It’s not possible to say what the left hand figure is but the right hand one certainly looks like a monkey. Some say it is a sheelagh-na-gig (a female exhibitionist figure) but this is a monkey not a person, so I don’t think it qualifies! In any event, sheelaghs usually have the hands holding open the pudendum and we can’t even be sure of the figure’s gender. Some church enthusiasts see sexual connotations everywhere...!"
See:
http://greatenglishchurches.co.uk/html/bredwardine.html
https://www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/252
"St Andrew's Bredwardine is a fascinating church of considerable antiquity, in a beautiful and peaceful setting above the banks of the River Wye. The south doorway and much of the nave date from the time of the Conquest, and the chancel was rebuilt after being partially destroyed by Owain Glyndwr's soldiers in 1406. Inside, notable features include a massive font, and the tombs of a gigantic knight, Walter Baskerville and a smaller effigy of Sir Roger Vaughan who died defending Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Another striking feature is the "bend" in the nave towards the altar, which means that the altar is not visible from all seats.
In the churchyard are the tombs of two notable residents (see "Famous Residents" link on left for more information) who lived in Bredwardine, albeit for a short time only, namely George Jarvis and the Reverend Francis Kilvert. The former's will set up the Jarvis Charity in the late 1700s, which still continues to generate intense debate in this area, while Francis Kilvert is known much more widely for his fascinating Diary, which shed light, humour and pathos on the hard life of the poor in Victorian Times. Kilvert ministered in St Andrew's from November 1877 until his untimely death in September 1879. Leaflets and booklets on the church and the area can be found in St. Andrew's."
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