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A Short Guide to
Byford Church
Since very early times there has been a settlement at Byford
with its crossings by ford and ferry across the Wye. The Romans
had a marching camp here, and the Roman road and Offa's Dyke
help to form the northern and eastern boundaries of the parish.
In 1066 the manor of Byford was held by Ailward the Saxon;
the Conquest brought a series of Norman lords including the
illustrious names of de Laci, Devereux and Baskerville, and
the manor passed to the Cotterell family of Garnons in 1832.
The present church is built of local sandstone and began
in the 12th century as a small rectangular building to which
a south aisle was soon added. During the next century the
nave and aisle were extended westwards by about 20 feet (shown
by the difference in the pillar capitals), the south transept
was added, and the chancel was rebuilt with a small steeple
abutting it. The chancel was extended again in 1300 and a
south porch was added about 70 years later.
In 1701 the steeple began to collapse and in 1715 it was
pulled down and a new tower was built at the west end of the
church. Finally the Victorians made their mark with restorations
in 1851 and 1882-3.
A walk around the church
Little remains of the original 12th century church except
for part of the north wall of the nave with a small round-headed
window, and the remains of the corbels to the right of the
chancel arch which may mark the position of an earlier arch.
The other narrow window in the north wall dates from the 13th
century as do the three tall narrow lancet windows at the
west end of the church. Two of these lancets were blocked
by the building of the tower but the third remains open to
help to light the organ. Also on the west wall, the thirteenth
century strap-hinges re-used on a more modern door are a nice
example of Victorian recycling.
In the south aisle the window to the left of the door contains
fragments of mediaeval glass and both windows in this aisle
have lintels made from mediaeval coffin lids decorated with
ornamental crossheads. The pent-roof with its cusped braces
is a fine example of the carpenter's art, reflecting the skill
of the craftsmen who made it 600 years ago.
The chancel windows were put in during the rebuilding in
1300 but their glass dates from a Victorian restoration. Under
the window to the right of the altar is a piscina, a shallow
dished recess originally used for washing the priest's hands
and the paten and chalice during the communion service. Behind
the priest's stall at the entrance to the chancel is a piece
of decorative panelling bearing the date 1635 with the Gomond
arms flanked on the left by the arms of the see of Hereford
and on the right by those of the deanery. This panelling is
thought to have come from a pulpit removed during the Victorian
restoration, as a book published in 1848 describes the Gomond
arms as being carved over the doorway of Byford Court and
on the pulpit of Byford church.
From the chancel a pillared arcade decorated with finely
carved foliage leads to the south transept. Here the most
striking feature is the wall paintings, completed in the early
1400s, around the time that local Herefordshire archers were
in France, winning victory for their king at Agincourt.
The painting on the south wall was uncovered in 1951 and
shows St Margaret holding a book and carrying a cross over
her shoulder. Further surveys during the 1970s led to the
discovery of more figures on the east wall. To the right of
the window is the Virgin Mary, shown as the Mater Misericordiae,
sheltering human souls under her cloak, while on her left
stands St Michael weighing souls as a devil tries to tip the
balance. To the left of the window is a painted canopy, which
would have framed a coloured statue of the Virgin and Child.
The transept was used as a chapel for low mass and the squint
in its west wall would have allowed watchers outside to see
the altar while mass was being celebrated. A major conservation
programme was carried out on the paintings in 2003 with the
aid of a grant from the Council for the Care of Churches.
The stained glass window next to St Margaret is dedicated
to the memory of Lady Evelyn Cotterell who died in 1922. Under
the arms of Cotterell and Richmond and Gordon it shows the
Virgin and Child surrounded by other mothers and children:
St Elizabeth with John the Baptist, St Eunice and Timothy,
Hannah and Samuel, and the Virgin as a child with her mother,
St Anne.
The church contains a large number of monuments and floor
slabs including several to former rectors of the parish and
their families. Some of the Cotterell monuments, including
the two in the south aisle, were moved here in 1974 from Mansell
Gamage when the church there was closed and converted to a
private house.
As you leave the church look back to see the sundial over
the porch door. Its sandstone face is badly weathered but
the lead pointer and some of the hour lines can still be seen.
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