| The
nave
The font is from the 1828 rebuilding; it is a mystery what happened to the original one. The deal pews almost certainly date from the 1828 rebuilding. The plain pulpit is also of deal. |
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| The
nave
The font is from the 1828 rebuilding; it is a mystery what happened to the original one. The deal pews almost certainly date from the 1828 rebuilding. The plain pulpit is also of deal. |
|
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On the north
wall is an interesting monument to Mary Frankyshe (1629), then Lady of
Water Stratford Manor - the poignant inscription is worth reading.
Her husband, John Frankyshe, like the national hero, John Hampden (also
a Buckinghamshire man), in the time of Charles I refused to pay Ship Money.
(The men of this county refused to pay the tax on the grounds that Buckinghamshire
is surrounded by land.)
Below this monument is the village war memorial. Further details are on a separate page. |
| The
chancel
The chancel arch is a fine Early English pointed arch, built in the thirteenth century, of two moulded orders. On the north side is an unusual deep-set window consisting of an Early English light over a rather elaborate timber shutter. When the shutter was opened it would just be possible for someone outside to see the elevation of the Host at Mass. This is probably a “Leper’s Squint”. Also on the north side, now covered by a curtain, is the priest’s door. The small alcove near the altar on the north wall was probably an attempt to reproduce an original mediaeval feature – an aumbry, a deep cupboard in which the Communion vessels were kept. The stone tracery in the east window is the most recent in the church, dating from about 1890 (late Victorian Gothic). It is the setting for the late Victorian window of three lights, a memorial to Mrs. Higgins who died in 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Higgins were from Boycott Manor in the neighbouring parish of Stowe. The stencilled decoration around this window is typically Victorian; there was once more decoration of this kind in the chancel but it has now been painted over. The altar is a simple table. It is recorded that in 1522 there were two altars: a high altar and one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Presumably the latter was lost at the Reformation. The stalls are of deal and presumably date from the 1828 rebuilding. The
bells
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