On Friday I finished off Herts and did some revisits.
First up was St Leonard, Flamstead which I'm pleased to say is now kept open daily and this despite recently having had their lead stolen from the roof; anticipated scrap value £600, replacement cost £6000.
Then on to St John at Boxmoor [not sure of open status as a concert was happening later in the morning but I didn't bother with internals] which is a dull Victorian build.
Pevsner says: ST JOHN, 1874, by Norman Shaw. Surprisingly uninteresting compared with Shaw’s later churches. Nave, aisles, chancel and chancel aisles, turret on the nave away from the W end. Simple, small, mostly two-light windows in the style of c. 1300. Inside, quatrefoil piers.
Mee, typically, finds some positives: Boxmoor. Its houses are linked, none too attractively, with those of its growing neighbour Hemel Hempstead, but there is charm in its stretches of green, its long lines of chestnut trees, and the occasional glimpses through the willows of gaily painted barges gliding along the Grand Union Canal. Here, too, the tiny River Bulbourne is made to spread out and cover one of the biggest watercress beds we have seen. Two deep yew paths show where the porches of the old church used to be, but a church twice as big has taken its place, designed last century by Norman Shaw.
The foundations of a Roman villa were dug up in the station-master’s garden some years ago, and here, too, was found a beautiful Saxon brooch made of bronze.
From Boxmoor I revisited Ayot St Peter to visit the "lost" graveyard. When the church was rebuilt, and relocated, the old churchyard was, obviously, left behind and is now a woodland wilderness. It's delightful. As I was passing I stopped at St Peter and found it still LNK.
Next up was St Mary the Virgin, Kinsbourne Green [LNK] which I have to say I have no idea why it made it's way on to my list to visit; neither Pevsner nor Mee mention it and it's an utterly offensive new build. I can only imagine I'd been drinking, heavily, when I added it to the list.
Onward to St Martin, Knebworth to see the interior which I missed on my first visit. To be honest I wasn't as impressed as I thought I was going to be [I think Pevsner rather over prepped my expectations] but having said that it was definitely worth a revisit.
I knew exactly what I was going to get at St Hugh, Cockernhoe and fully expected it to be LNK, which it was, but since it is a tin tabernacle church I'll forgive it anything. Again neither Pevsner nor Mee mention it.
Another revisit next to see St Faith, Hexton; last time I visited it was clad in scaffolding, undergoing restoration and was invisible; unclad it's an interesting exterior and I have to say that Mee is spot on when he says "We may wonder if any village in the county has a more delightful setting than this". I'd forgotten that although services are still regularly held here its main function nowadays is as a community centre and, as such, is kept locked with no keyholders listed - technically that's not right since there is a contact number for bookings but you get the point.
I then moved on to St Mary, Hitchin thinking, as my notes said, that I wanted to redo "Thompson's mouse in St Andrew chapel and interior corbels & roof angels with tripod & telephoto lens, chancel screens & chancel poppyheads. When I got there I found all but the mouse to be run of the mill.
And so ends Hertfordshire, except for some possible revisits, on a dubiously respectable 58% accessible churches, the end of term report would read 'could do better'
