Churches which still retain west gallery
features or connections |
Berrick Salome, St
Helen |
SU623943
Originally Norman, or late Saxon,
the church was rebuilt and added to in the 13th C, and the roof timbers date
from 1615. The fittings were all of the 17th C., although the box-pews have
been cut down, and the three-decker pulpit removed. Apart from that, the west
gallery remains, together with a multitude of exposed beams. The inscription,
picked out in gold leaf, on the front of the gallery states: |
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1676 |
IOHN BARRETT |
CHURCH |
WILLIAM MOOAR |
WARDENS |
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A little known gem which has escaped
many of the guide books. # |
Bessels Leigh, St Lawrence |
See
Berkshire |
Brightwell Baldwin,
St Bartholomew |
SU653950.
The
church is set above the road on a bank, and contains a brief history of the
development of the music which was used in this church. There is a box-pew for
the quire, complete with central music stand, barrel organ,
American organ in the chancel,
and modern organ at the west end. The pulpit with its tester is Jacobean.
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Buckland,
St Mary the
Virgin |
SU343983
Jacobean
gallery above the old rood screen, accessed by separate
stair from outside south side of church |
Burford Chapel, Dedication not known |
The west gallery is dated 1662.
Restored 1937 by W H Godfrey. The gallery supported on two twisted columns,
their capitals carved with eagles. |
Chiselhampton, St
Katherine
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On the
edge of a small park, and almost within a farmyard, stands this little white
painted church, of classic design, bell-cote with weather-vane, and clear glass
to the round-headed windows. Inside are box-pews, a two-decker pulpit with
adjoining clerk's desk, wooden altar, candles and tablets - all making a
classic Georgian interior. Harmonium now in box-pew by pulpit.
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*Cumnor, St Michael
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12th C. church, and later, with
two-decker pulpit and clerk's desk, early Bible.
photos from:
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/external/cumnor/photos-places.ht |
Easington, St
Peter |
A small
church in an isolated farmyard, unspoiled and with a Jacobean pulpit,
harmonium and candles. |
Hampton
Gay, St Giles
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Recorded
in Norman times, the church was rebuilt during the period 1767 -72. The pulpit
and box-pews were removed by the local curate in 1859, and the remaining
Georgian features are the west gallery, the coved and panelled ceiling, the
stone ball finial on the roof, and the weather vane. There is a working
barrel organ on the
gallery. |
Little Coxwell,
St Mary |
The church is believed to contain a
west gallery, details unknown, but
believed to be used for the organ.
The carved wooden rail of the gallery used to be part of the
pre-Reformation rood screen. Iron
Hour-Glass stand.
picture from:
http://www.achurchnearyou.com/image.php?id=10390 |
Northmoor, St Denys
|
The west gallery is dated 1693. |
Marsh
Baldon, St Peter
also
Toot
Baldon, St Lawrence |
The church is included
because of its known association with west gallery music and the Marsh Baldon
MS. |
Oxford, St Mary the Virgin |
SP516062
The Parish and University Church, and the only
church in Oxford itself to have a west gallery. |
Rycote Chapel, St Michael and All
Angels |
Set in a park and near a lake, this is a remote
15th C. domestic chapel , with nave and chancel. Its fittings are no later than
Laudian times, with 15th C. benches, and base of screen, early 17th C.
two-storeyed Royal pew, with a blue ceiling and golden stars, a domed family
pew, late 17th C. altar-piece and Communion rails, and clear old glass in the
windows. Queen Elizabeth I and Charles I both worshipped here when on visits.
Now owned by the National Trust.
picture from:
http://www.architecture.com/HowWeBuiltBritain/HistoricalPeriods/
TudorsAndStuarts/TheReformation/Rycote.aspx |
Shorthampton, All
Saints
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Situated in a tiny and remote hamlet between
Burford and Charlbury, this is a small rectangular building, aisle-less and
with a bell-cote on its western end. It dates from Norman to 18th C.
times; then in 1820 it was furnished in a carpenter's style with box-pews and high
pulpit (just a two-decker!). At the same time the chancel was rebuilt, looking
out over unspoilt farmland, and with clear glass in its eastern window. |
South Leigh, St James |
SP394090 Wall paintings.
Here John Wesley preached his first sermon. |
*Steeple Aston, dedication
not known |
The church contains a west
gallery surmounted by a modern organ. |
*Waterperry, St Mary the Virgin |
Waterperry is a remote village, and the small
church stands close by the old Manor House, and now within a stone's throw of a
Garden centre, the old park now being open to the public. Originally mediaeval,
the interior was classicised in 1750, and contains hatchments, tombs of the
local family, two-decker pulpit, old pews, clear glass in the windows, and a
classic altar with Communion-rails.
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Wheatfield, St
Andrew |
In the middle of parkland,
this is a small rectangular church et on the slope of a
hillside and some yards away from the old private drive to
Wheatfield House, itself demolished in 1814. Box-pews,
round-headed windows with clear glass, and a two (or three?)
decker pulpit. Currently used as a store house. |
Yarnton, St
Bartholomew |
Originally a 13th C. church, to which was added
in 1611 an ashlar tower, porch an a chapel by Sir Thomas Spencer, all late
Perpendicular style. Fittings include old pews, some of the old box-pews having
been preserved, early Bibles and Prayer Books.
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Churches which are known to have had west
gallery features or connections |
Alvescot, St
Peter |
SP273046
Family pews were noted also in
the south transept, and a west
gallery mentioned in 1866 was
perhaps of 17th-century origin. No longer
there. |
Bicester, St John the Baptist |
Various galleries added between mid 17th C.
and 19th C., "appropriated to the use of private owners". Removed 1862. |
Black
Bourton, St Mary the Virgin |
SP286043
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Bletchingdon, St Giles |
SP506180 |
Burford, St John the Baptist |
Set at the bottom of the High Street adjoining
the River Windrush, the church now appears largely 15th C.
inside, although altered and added to at various times. There is a model in the church showing
the original box-pews, side galleries and pulpit before the usual drastic
Victorian "restoration". |
Chesterton,
St Mary |
SP317455 |
Clanfield,
St Stephen the Martyr |
SP283022 |
Cumnor,
St Michael |
See above. |
Launton, St Mary the Virgin |
SP604228 |
Mapledurham,
St Margaret |
SU670766.
picture from:
http://www.mapledurham.co.uk/history/church/ |
Steeple Aston, Dedication not known |
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Stratton Audley, Dedication not known |
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Sotwell, St James |
Used to contain a two-decker pulpit and a west
gallery, removed in 1884 when the church was rebuilt to prevent collapse. A
fiddle, a flute and an accordian were remembered by an old parishioner as having
accompanied the quire. |
Thame, St Mary the Virgin |
Galleries, including singing gallery, removed in
19th C. In 1908 choir stalls were constructed which incorporated the front of
the Jacobean gallery which was removed from south aisle. |
Warborough, St Lawrence |
"In 1638 a west gallery was erected and the
dormers inserted to light it." (Churches of the Thames
Valley). Implies gallery no longer there. (no
ref. in Pevsner.) |
Wendlebury,
Dedication not known |
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Chapels which have or had west
gallery features or connections |
Alvescot,
Strict Baptist |
SP 271046. Built
early 19th Century for church formed in 1833. Rear gallery
with original open-backed pews, other seating replaced. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Cote
Chapel, nr. Aston Bampton and Shifford, Baptist |
SP 351031. Built
1703-04, capacity increased in 1756 by the addition of a
gallery. Drastic alterations in 1859, in which the pulpit
was removed to the west wall from the South, the galleries
were altered or rebuilt against the other three walls and
the seating renewed. The galleries are around three sides,
with staircases in the NE and SE corners. The seating is
entirely of 1859 vintage with box-pews and a central table-pew
above the baptistry. Round-headed clear glass windows. (C&MH-N&O
1986)
See the Historic Chapels Trust web site at http://www.hct.org.uk/chapel1cote.html,
to whom we are indebted for part of this information.
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Bampton,
Baptist |
SP 316032.
Certificate dating from 1778 probably refers to the building
of this chapel. East gallery with panelled front and
original seating. Lower pews reported to have been
renewed/replaced in 1981, and the late 18th cent. pulpit at
the west end has been lowered. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Banbury,
Friends, Horsefair |
SP 454406 Site
was acquired in 1664 and the chapel built the following
year. Largely rebuilt in 1748-51 although some parts of
walls remain. (C&MH-N&O 1986) |
Bicester,
Congregational, Chapel Street |
SP 585223 The
congregation, originally Presbyterian, was gathered after
1662 by John Troughton, fellow of St John's College, Oxfprd.
The present building probably dates from 11111728, when it
was then described as being in Water Lane, adjoining the
Swan. The west front was much altered to it present form in
1873. The interior, also reconstructed, now has a rostrum
pulpit at te South end, and a single gallery opposite,
supported on two turned wood columns of the 18th century.
Compare also Buckingham,
Old Meeting-house.(C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Burford
with Upton and Signet,
Baptist, Witney Street, Burford |
SP 254121. The
congregation, founded ca. 1700, built this chapel in 1804 on
the site of its predecessor. The interior, much altered in
1886 and later, has a rear gallery with front incorporating
re-used fielded panels. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Burford
with Upton and Signet,
Friends, Pytts Lane, Burford |
SP 252121. Built
in 1709 to replace the one at Barrington, it was closed in
1854, reopened for twenty years at the beginning of the
twentieth century, and again reopened in 1955. The interior
has a gallery along the south and west sides, with signs of
enlargement (C&MH-N&O 1986)(C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Chinnor,
Congregational |
SP
756013. Built
1805, considerably enlarged in 1811, altered again in the
late 19th century, which included re-roofing and the
removal of the old pews. The interior, which is nearly
square, has a gallery of ca. 1811 around three sides with a
blind balustraded front ornamented at the corners by flat
obelisks. Some early 19th century benches with shaped ends
remain at the back of the NW and SW galleries. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Cote,
Baptist Chapel |
The site of Cote Chapel was acquired in 1703-4 by a group of worshippers which previously met at Longworth on the other side of the Thames. In 1739-40 the Chapel was enlarged or more probably rebuilt to its present size, the capacity being increased in 1756 by the addition of a
gallery, which seems to have been built by
Stennett. In the late 1859 all but the outer shell was
rebuilt: the earlier double gable was replaced by a single
flat-topped gable concealing the roof valley, the chapel was
re-floored and the vestries enlarged, new pews, (including a table
pew over the central baptistry) were installed and new galleries
added. (VCH and Historic Chapels Trust web
site.) |
Deddington,
Wesleyan Reform, Chapel Square |
SP 468316. Brick and
slate with square ended front, central round-arched doorway
between pair of two-light windows and wider window of three
lights above. Tablet over entrance dated 1851 and a gallery
inside of this period, but otherwise largely refitted in the
late 19th century. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Goring,
Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion |
SU 599807. An
Independent church was formed in 1786, the members
subscribing to a Confession of Faith 64 pages in length and
divided into 33 chapters. the first meeting house on the
present site was built in 1793 and opened by Lady Anne
Erskine. It was superseded in 1893 but survives in altered
form as a Sunday School. This has walls of brick with some
flint at the sides and a hipped and tiled roof with a
central flat or valley. The north front is of three bays
with two tiers of windows and a central arched entrance with
late 19th century dressings. The south wall has two original
round-arched windows flanking the site of the pulpit. The
interior has a gallery around three sides divided by fluted
pillars and supported by square wooden posts; some original
seating remains in the gallery. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Hook
Norton,
Baptist, High Street |
SP 354331. The chapel,
built in 1787, replaces an earlier chapel on 1718. It has
walls of ironstone and a hipped roof now recovered with
tiles. Two round-arched windows in the north wall with later
cast-iron intersecting glazing bars are repeated on the
south and east sides. The entrance is at the west end in a
two-stories porch which incorporates the gallery staircase;
there are four small windows at two levels in the west
wall.
The interior has an original west gallery with fielded
panelled front, and later galleries added along the north
and south walls. The box-pews and pulpit, which date from
the refitting of 1856, have stop-chamfered panelled sides. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Hook
Norton,
Friends, Southrop |
SP 357328.
Demolished in 1950, the meeting-house built in 1704 stood
south-east of Southrop Hall. As a small chapel (28ft x 16ft)
it had a stand at the south-west end and a small gallery
opposite. A rubble boundary wall remains around the site. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Milton-under-Wychwood,
Baptist |
SP 263180. A
chapel opened in 1808 was reported in 1839 to be in a
dangerous state. It was replaced in the same year by the
present building at a reported cost of £372. 9s. 6½d. It
has a rear gallery, but the pews were renewed in the late
19th century. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Mollington,
Former Primitive Methodist |
SP 440474. Built 1845
and refronted ca. 1860, it was closed in 1947 and
subsequently used by Brethren and is now in secular
occupation. Part of the structure of a south gallery
remains. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Oxford,
Baptist, New Road |
SP 512062. A Baptist
church was in existence by 1656 in which year it sent
messengers to the Abingdon Association. The cause fell into
decay in the early 18th century and when, in 1715, the
Baptist and Presbyterian meeting-houses were severely
damaged by rioters, the two societies united and built a new
meeting-house in new Road, ca. 1731. The present chapel
dates from 1798, of which only parts of the side walls
remain. In 1819 the chapel was enlarged to the south and the
present front built. There are galleries on three sides, but
these may only date from the refitting of 1896, or the
complete refurbishment in 1980. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Rotherfield
Peppard,
Congregational |
SU 708809. The chapel,
now concealed by the manse and later buildings to the east
and west, was opened in 1796, and paid for by Peter French,
one of the trustees of the Castle Street Chapel, Reading.
The interior has a gallery at the south end. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Shutford,
Former Friends |
SP 386404. Built as a
meeting-house in the late 17th century and converted into a
cottage ca. 1840. Of three bays, the eastermost still has an
original staircase with flat balusters and newel with ball
finial which gave access to a gallery of which the plain
slatted balustraded front remains in an upper partition. A
similar gallery appears to have existed at the west end, and
the area between was floored over in the 19th century. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
South
Newington,
Former Friends |
SP 407331. The
meeting-house was built in 1692, and is now used as the
Village Hall. A small dormer window near the west end lights
one end of the galley, this probably being inserted in the
later 18th century. There is a fireplace below in the
north-west corner. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
South
Stoke,
Independent |
SU 599834. The chapel,
built in 1820 in association with the Countess fo
Huntingdon's congregation at Goring, has brick walls and a
hipped tiled rof. Entrance at east end with gallery window
over, and two windows on south side. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Watlington,
Wesleyan |
SU 691945. Dated 1812.
West front in Flemish Bond brickwork, with glazed headers
and cast-iron gable ornaments. Original gallery around three
sides, seating later. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
West
Adderbury,
Former Friends |
SP 465354. The
meeting-house, now a store for the adjacent public cemetery,
was built in 1675. Walls of coursed rubble and the roof, now
tiled, was formerly slated in stone. The interior has deep
galleries with plain balustraded fronts around east, south
and west sides, possibly the extension of a gallery or upper
room at the west end only . . . The stand against the north
wall dates from the 18th century. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Wheatley,
Brethren |
SP 594058. An early
19th century granary with rubble walls lined in brickwork
and gabled ends with shaped kneelers. Converted by partial
removal of upper floor, leaving a gallery at one end. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Witney,
Former Congregational, High Street |
SP 355098. Built in
1828 at the expense of William Townsend of Holborn. Walls of
squared stone, the east being of ashlar blocks; the
principal windows, of two lights with uncusped tracery, are
set in projecting panels surmounted by false parapets. Above
the entrance is a circular window with quatrefoil tracery.
The interior has a flat plastered ceiling with moulded
cornice, central plaster ceiling-rose and four ventilating
grilles with Gothic tracery. A gallery at the east end has a
panelled front supported by cast-iron columns. Organ
mid-19th century. Demolished 1970-72 to make way for
Waitrose supermarket. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Witney,
Former Friends |
SP 360104. A
meeting-house of 1676 was replaced in 1712 by the present
building, which was in use as a hall in 1969 and appears to
have been converted to residential use by about 1980. There
was a gallery at the north end, which seems to have been
accessed through two openings in the wall at first floor
level from the adjacent building where there was also a
stair. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
Wroxton,
Former Wesleyan |
SP 413418. Behind
'Sundial Farmhouse', Wroxton. Built ca. 1820, with walls of
squared stone and a slate roof. Two windows in west front
with entrance near south end replaced by garage doors. Site
of pulpit at north end with painted inscription on wall and
traces of gallery opposite. Present chapel is 250 yards
west, dated 1935. (C&MH-N&O
1986) |
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Asterisks denote
churches in preparation
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