Sunday 30 March 2008

St Swithun's Church

St Swithun was a bishop of Winchester from 852 to 862. There are many churches dedicated to him, and one of these is the little church in Headbourne Worthy which I often pass when going to visit my mother in the nursing home near by.

lych gate

It is close to a very busy road but largely sheltered by trees. This is the lychgate at the entrance. It also acts as a bridge over the Hyde Bourne, a stream which surrounds the church on three sides.

church and streamIn spite of being at the side of the road, once inside the grounds, you could be deep in the countryside. Although it was a lovely day, there has been a lot of rain recently, the stream was high and the ground soft and wet underfoot.

side of church and stream

The building probably dates from the 10th - 11th century, with the tower added in the 13th century.

rear of churchThis gravestone, like several of the older ones near the church, is tilting, no doubt because of the wet ground. I love the colours of the lichens on it.

Celandine. Learn to love your celandine because you'll never get rid of it! I heard that advice many years ago, but I haven't quite achieved it.

Primroses in the grounds, possibly my favourite spring flowers with their delicate shade of yellow.

Buds starting to burst, and the thorns I didn't notice until a little to late.

I would have liked to have gone into the church but my feet were extremely soggy by this time. I'll save it for some future day.

7 comments:

  1. Love that old Church - I totally dig old buildings and old graveyards :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Book calendar, yes, very peaceful indeed.
    @Jennifer, thanks!
    @Nicole, I love old buildings too. I fully intend to go back to see the inside, with dry feet :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have the enviable knack of capturing the essence of a place in a few photographs. every one tells a tale and strikes a chord. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful! So full of history. :) Makes me wonder about the people who used to go there before, what they're like and what life is like for them. Great shots!

    ReplyDelete
  5. cheers for that. I hope to visit St Swithun next week when I'm in the area

    ReplyDelete

Forethoughts, afterthoughts, any thoughts. Tell me.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin