Herefordshire Through Time
Herefordshire Through Time
The majority of medieval churches in Herefordshire date from the Norman and Early English periods. However, a few examples are available for all four periods. John Leonard, in Churches of Herefordshire and their Treasures (Logaston Press, 2000) provides a detailed explanation of these styles and lists a number of Herefordshire churches which represent each of these periods.
The earliest Norman churches were constructed with a nave and a separate chancel, for example Aston, Munsley and Yatton. Some churches, however, were built as single-cell structures, adopting the Saxon form. Some archaeologists would argue that these single-cell churches are among the earliest in the county.
The patterns and designs on stonework are another potential source of dating. Tedstone Delamere and Acton Beauchamp, for example, feature very early stonework. The lintel of the door into the tower at Acton Beauchamp has a design which includes vine scroll. This has been dated to the 9th century. David Parsons maintains that "unless this piece has been brought in with a load of demolition material, it is evidence for an ecclesiastical centre of some status in the pre-Conquest period" ("Early Churches in Herefordshire: Documentary and Structural Evidence", in David Whitehead (ed.), Medieval Art, Architecture and Archaeology at Hereford, British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions XV, 1995, p. 65).
Several other churches, such as Kilpeck, Eaton Bishop and Bredwardine have stonework which may date from the Saxon period. It is not only very difficult to date stonework, sometimes we do not know if the stone was salvaged from another building and re-used.
Calcareous tufa is a very interesting and rare rock formation. Nikolaus Pevsner, the well-known architectural historian, comments on this geological curiosity:
"This is perhaps one of the very youngest true rocks in Britain - the post-glacial calcareous tufa, or travertine, of Southstone Rock, just beyond the Herefordshire boundary, in the Teme valley, near Shelsley Walsh. Tufa of this kind is formed round the outlet of a spring whose waters are charged with lime in solution. This particular one derives its calcareous matter from one to the limestones in the Old Red Sandstone. It is a spongy, cavernous deposit, but relatively hard and resistant. The Normans used large blocks of it in their building work in Herefordshire." (Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Herefordshire, Penguin Books, 1963, pp. 16-17)
Some scholars believe that the use of tufa rock is a sign of early Norman work (11th or 12th century). Bredwardine and Letton churches include tufa in the fabric of the building (John Leonard,Churches of Herefordshire and their Treasures, Logaston Press, 2000, p. 8). The use of tufa declined toward the end of the 12th century, probably because supplies of it ran out. Hereford does not have much tufa in its geological formation.
David Parsons (see above) lists 25 churches containing tufa in Herefordshire. What is not clear is whether newly quarried material was used in these churches or whether the tufa was recycled from Roman remains.
This type of counter-pitched masonry work has been used in Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Norman times, and cannot be used to date building work. However, it is an interesting architectural feature. Parsons lists seven churches which show some evidence of "herringbone" masonry; among these are Brockhampton, Edvin Loach and Munsley. Most of these churches are in the north-eastern part of the county. Can it be assumed that they were built by a group of masons working mainly in this area at a particular time?
[Original author: Toria Forsyth-Moser, 2002]