Deerhurst - Anglo-Saxons and puritans
Deerhurst in Gloucestershire is a magical place. It is probably the most famous Anglo-Saxon church in England, probably because of the survival of this angel, which is not easy to spot, being high up, outside, behind the chancel, and hidden at the side of an alcove, perhaps the reason it has survived so long. The church is full of tell-tale Anglo-saxon features, such as the use of triangles:
Its font is glorious, dating from 800 AD:
Thrown out by the puritans in 1653, it has one of the many font survival stories attached to it. It was recovered in two pieces from a farmyard and a local pub in the mid-19th century. How could anyone have objected to such a beautiful object?
My ire against these philistines abated just a little when I saw there was a rare survival of an Elizabethan-style arrangement of pews so as to receive communion puritan-style on all sides around a table placed in the centre of the chancel, not at the East end.
15th century stained glass window to the martyr St Alphege, who began his career at Deerhurst in 953AD:
And its all in a beautiful setting by the river Severn:
