100 ABSTRACTS - NUMBER 15

We had a great service at Zoom Church this morning, and had a quick chat afterwards with various friends, but we didn’t stay long because we were on a mission.

One of my Blip friends from America, dfb24, had visited All Saints Church at Alton Priors in Wiltshire some years ago so I told her, way back in 2019, that we would go there and take some photographs - but somehow, with my Mum being ill and then the lockdowns, we haven’t been out that much.

However, today was the day we had decided to go and find the church.  We travelled through the Vale of Pewsey, past the Alton Barnes White Horse, over the Kennet and Avon Canal - more than once - over a railway line and after a couple of accidental diversions, managed to find it.  We parked in Alton Priors, right beside a thatched barn and inside were some wonderful examples of dereliction, so although I took several shots of various machines that had seen better days, I told myself that they weren’t the object of the visit today - but we will definitely be going back there.

We eventually found the church, after asking directions, which as dfb24 had said, could only be reached on foot.  We had to go through a very old wooden turnstile to get into the field next to the church  - and it was a good job we weren’t too fat otherwise we wouldn't have got through and there was a padlock on the gate! Arriving at the church door, we were glad that even though we are still in lockdown, it was open and we were able to go inside.  

We saw from a sign on the outside that it was no longer used for worship, but it was open to all to look around.  Because I wanted to use my Blip today for another of my abstracts, I have made a collage of the various shots I took in and around the church and you can see this as an extra.  When we had asked for directions, from someone who lived on the "No Through road" leading to the church, the lady told us to be careful in case there were cows in the field next to the church, but we didn’t find any - however, I did stand on what I thought was a stone, only to find it was a squidgy cowpat - trust me! 

The church dates back to the 12th century and is now a Grade II Listed Building in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.  It has a perpendicular tower that looks out over the surrounding fields and up towards the Alton Barnes White Horse, and just over the stream is St. Mary’s Church at Alton Barnes.  All the pews have been removed and here are just a few physically distanced chairs within the body of the church.  The grounds were beautifully kept and apparently, the church costs £3689 a year to maintain.  If you want to read more about the church, have a look here.

Now for my abstract for today, which is part of my 100 Abstracts that I am doing to raise awareness about the Mamie Martin Fund.  Whilst Mr. HCB walked around the adjoining field, I wandered around the outside of the church, looking at the architecture and the various gravestones, and was astonished to find a wonderful and obviously extremely ancient yew tree to the right of the church entrance.  Not only was it old, but it was hollowed out and had the most intricate patterns on the inside of the trunks - on both sides - because it looked as if the trunk had split at some point.  Looking for information about the tree, one of the websites says it is thought to be over 1,700 years old.  I have put a shot of the actual yew tree in the collage.  I'm sure this will bring back memories for dfb24 and whilst in the church, we said a prayer for her husband, who is unwell.

“Old churches must not simply stand 
     as monuments to the past but as 
          spiritual grandparents that have invested 
in the future by passing on their life 
     to others and releasing their offspring 
          to form new congregations.”
Eddie Gibbs