Church Heritage Record 627104

Archaeology

Human activity in Chalgrove dates back at least to the Neolithic period. There are signs of activity during the Roman period; cropmarks and pottery evidence indicate a Romano-British settlement to the west of the modern village. The important royal Mercian seat of Bensington (Benson), of which Chalgrove is part, is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. There may have been a Saxon church in Chalgrove: if so it could underlie the medieval church.

An Anglo-Saxon settlement had its origins close to the church on the south side of the modern village with at least three mill sites between those at Stratford and Ascott. Boundary ditches and a possible pond were located by survey to the south of the church and the west of the churchyard. The survey showed traces of linear boundaries of uncertain age but probably the remains of the medieval village. This may be part of the original village site near the church.

History

In the Domesday Book of 1086 Chalgrove came under the land of Miles Crispin, the keeper of Wallingford Castle and a member of the King’s Council. Chalgrove as Crispin’s principal seat, was part of the Honor of Wallingford and in the half hundred of Benson.

In medieval times Chalgrove was a rectory, with glebe land to support the rector, a royal clerk appointed by the crown. The vicar or chaplain was appointed by the rector to undertake the parochial duties. This included mass and prayers in the church, and other duties in the parish. Both of these posts could be combined in one person. It also could mean that the rectory and its lands could be leased out in later periods: the vicar would have his own dwelling, originally near the church, with land and tithes to support him and the church. St Mary’s and Chalgrove Manor are the only surviving medieval buildings in Chalgrove.

Architectural evidence from the church suggests that the present building was first established during the 12th century. The earliest part is the nave. Lord Peter Boterel, then Keeper of Wallingford Castle and holder of the manor of Chalgrove, may have been responsible for its re-construction. It would have been a Romanesque church, perhaps with an apsidal end.

In the 1190s the nave was widened to create a chapel. The South Arcade (with the square capitals) was constructed to achieve this. The door at the bottom of the church tower is of c.1190. The north aisle of the church with its rounded capitals may have been added, by royal craftsmen based at Wallingford Castle, in c.1240, probably through the auspices of these wealthy local families and the patrons Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and his brother the King. Seven generations of the Barentin family were buried in the chancel.

In c 1310-1313 the chancel of the church was rebuilt with the sedilia, lavabo, painting of the chancel and stained glass windows as part of a decorative scheme behind a new rood screen. There would also have been a rood screen, with stair to the rood loft and a tympanum above. The rood screen may have been painted, red and white ochre are now visible on the south column of the chancel arch.

Documentary evidence for the church dwindles somewhat in the early decades of the 15th century. From 1402, however, two churchwardens were mentioned as being at Chalgrove for the administration of St Mary’s and Rofford church. In c 1450 the north aisle was widened, and extended eastwards to form a chantry chapel.

At the visitation in 1517-20 the chancel roof was in ruins and the churchyard was overfull. The visitation of 1530 found the Church of St Mary needing repair to the chancel walls and floors; the churchyard was not properly fenced. The church was refurbished in c 1540 when the low window in the south side of the chancel was inserted.

In 1643 the Battle of Chalgrove Field took place to the north of Chalgrove and it is probable that the church was damaged as a result of this. Churches were used for horses and troop emplacements and the tower would have been a good vantage point/look-out. The Royalist troops based at Wheatley in 1643 needed grain and other supplies and raided the surrounding area which would have included Chalgrove.

From 1660-70 the font, pulpit and chancel rails were installed and the chancel screen seen in late 19th century photographs belongs to the same period or earlier.

The church tower partially collapsed in 1726 after a storm. The upper part had to be rebuilt. The funding for the rebuild came from Rodolphus Hobbes (a major leaseholder of Christ Church land), Christ Church itself, and public subscription promoted by Hobbes. His initials RH and the date 1727 are set on the front of the steeple. Two of the bells had to be recast as a result of the collapse; this was done in 1729.

The church is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar (dressed stone) facings. It has a gabled tiled roof dated to the late 19th and 20th century, which probably follows the line of the original roof.

Outside the chancel has offset buttresses and a three-light decorated east window, with two-light windows in the side walls. The chancel is a two-bay 14th-century replacement of an earlier version.

The porch is mid-15th-century with a gabled roof, top leaded window and a four-centred arched doorway with square head and indented moulded triangular spandrels. There is a drip mould below the window on the exterior. On the interior there are large wooden support beams across the door opening and further wooden roof supports. There are new wrought steel gates with full glazing and part glazed inner wooden doors.

The tower is at the west end of the Nave. The base of the tower now has the 2006-7 servery and toilet facilities with a mezzanine bellringing level reached by a metal spiral staircase. The west face of the tower has a series of windows.

The chancel is a two-bay 14th-century replacement of an earlier version, with contemporary wall paintings internally. They made extensive use of lead white pigment and, unusually, a glue binder

The windows have painted detail to either side. The western (Annunciation) window in the north wall has paintings of the Archangel Gabriel to the left and the Virgin Mary to the right. It is probable that the original stained glass window here related to the story of the Annunciation.

The south wall of the chancel has a 14th-century pointed moulded priest’s door with studding and wrought iron hinges, and also a 15th-century chamfered window. The wall also contains the finely decorated piscina, sedilia and lavabo with cusped ogee heads and fluted sides.

The communion rail at the chancel entry has barley-sugar (twisted) balusters and is of 17th-century date. The chancel arch is early 14th-century with cutouts to either side in the pillars where the rood screen was positioned; this was removed in the early 20th century. The chancel arch was cleaned of 20th-century white paint and several holes were revealed which were part of the structure of the tympanum of the medieval rood screen. There are traces of medieval paint lower down on the column on the south side. Traces of wood from the rood screen are also in place on the north side of the arch.

The Nave is of four bays with a late 12th-century south arcade. This has small pointed and roll moulded arches on circular piers with square bases and water-leaf capitals. The early 13th-century north arcade has chamfered arches on circular piers with moulded and foliate capitals.

The north aisle in its original narrow form dates from c 1240. It is of three bays with three 15th-century three-light windows and an altar at the east end. The window towards the east has two 15th-century angel faces in two panes of glass. The east window has some blue glass also 15th-century. The east end of the North Aisle is now the Chapel of St James, perhaps because the church at Warpsgrove in the parish of Chalgrove had a church of St James that was not in use after 1450. The chapel was probably originally the chantry chapel of Drew Barantyn III (Barentin). There is a 15th-century wall painting on the east wall of the north aisle just to the north side of the window.

The south aisle was added in Transitional style c 1190. The half bay at the east end of the aisle was probably shortened when the chancel was built.

The south doorway that leads into the porch is c 1320 in date and has recently discovered painted detail above it. This comprises a ball trefoil pattern over a triangular detail with ball detail inside and between each raised triangle and trefoil. The pattern is also noted on the north door and north aisle windows and it is probable the motif decorated all the doors and windows in the nave.