Friday, February 10, 2017

Five on Friday

Fridays come round so quickly don't they? In what seems just like the blink of an eye it's here once more and so it is time to join in with Five on Friday, kindly organised for us by Amy at Love Made my Home.



 On Tuesday we were invited to join very special friends at Langar Hall in Nottinghamshire to celebrate their fortieth wedding anniversary.  I remember being at their wedding in 1977 and they were at ours a couple of years later.  We had joined them at Langar Hall once before for a special birthday celebration and I loved the place then and it was just as wonderful on this occasion, cosy, comfortable, unhurried and the food was wonderful.


After lunch we had a wander around to the church which stands next to the hall.

The church is dedicated to St Andrew and is a 13th century building restored and added to in both the 15th and 19th centuries.


It is part of the Wiverton Group of Parishes all in the Vale of Belvoir which also included the churches of Cropwell Bishop, Granby, Tythby, Colston Basset, Barnstone and Elton on the Hill.

In the churchyard there are several preserved 18th century memorials, usually made of Swithland slate, bearing the carved image of the Belvoir Angel.  These carvings are found in churchyards across the Vale of Belvoir but very little is known about who carved them.  Here is a - link - to more information about them.

Shall we go inside?  I'm sure there will be five further things I can tell you about this lovely church.

 
1.  The nave - the wooden pews were removed in the 1970s and the present curved seating arrangement opposite an alter in the north isle came later.  St Andrews is a large church for such a small village and is sometimes known as the 'Cathedral of the Vale'.

2.  In the North Transept are monuments and  memorials to the Chaworth family of nearby Wiverton Hall.  The figures on the monument in the foreground are of Sir John Chaworth and his wife Mary daughter of Sir William Paston.   Mary was his second wife.  The figure on the monument at the rear is, according to several sources, Sir George Chaworth but the printed label laid on the tomb says Henry Chaworth and according to Thoroton Henry son of George is mentioned in Latin script on the same monument. Perhaps both are there? A bit of a puzzle!


3.  In the South Transept is the monument to Thomas, Lord Scrope of Bolton and his wife Philadelphia.  The kneeling figure is of their son Emanuel.

 At the top of the steps, behind the bier is a small exhibition about one of Langar's famous sons.

4.  Samuel Butler the writer was born at nearby Langar Rectory, the son of the Rev Thomas Butler who was responsible for many of the alterations in the church during the 1860s.  Samuel Butler's grandfather, also Samuel Butler, was Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry and Headmaster of Shrewsbury School where Charles Darwin was one of his pupilsThe later Samuel Butler who's most famous novel is probably The Way of All Flesh also made popular translations of Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey. Here is a - link - to more about Samuel Butler.



5. In the church, behind the Scrope memorial are many memorials to the Howe family, who lived at Langar Hall, including the following

To the Memory of
RICHARD HOWE, EARL and VISCOUNT HOWE,
VISCOUNT HOWE and BARON CLENAWLEY, in Ireland;
Admiral of the Fleet, General of His Majesty’s Marine Forces
And Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter:
He died the 5th Day of August 1799; Aged 73 Years.
Also of MARY JULIANA HOWE,
Second Daughter of RICHARD EARL HOWE;
She died the 9th day of April 1800; in the 35th Year of her age.
And of MARY COUNTESS HOWE,
Who died the 9th Day of August 1800;
In the 67th Year of her Age. 


Here is more about Richard Howe, who was Admiral of the Fleet during many naval campaigns including the Glorious First of June.

Click on the link below to find others who are joining in with Five on Friday this week


http://lovemademyhome.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/five-on-friday-linkup-post-10.html

38 comments:

  1. What a wonderful place. I love going into old churches and reading all the inscriptions. Fascinating! Have a warm weekend :) B x

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    1. Thanks, hope you too have a good weekend. You can learn a lot of social, local and family history from churches:)

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  2. How did they get the bier up those stairs? It looks like an interesting place. I think I might have spotted the angel in a couple of other churchyards in the area but I knew very little about them.

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    1. I wondered that too! Ropes to the top or people man handling it up the steps? The people we met in the churchyard pointed out the angels. I had seen them before but didn't realise they had a name and origin in that area:)

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  3. I am fascinated with the the Belvoir Angel carving. I just looked at them on google images. They look very primitive and I love them! Have a great weekend Rosie.x

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    1. They are wonderful aren't they? I have family history in the Vale of Belvoir so must see if I can spot anymore on my travels:)

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  4. What an interesting church, what a shame they removed the pews though.

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    1. I wonder what the pews were like? I must see if I can find an old photo somewhere. It is such a huge church and perhaps with a dwindling congregation they have tried to develop a smaller space for worship? I don't know:)

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  5. I always find old churches and their memorials fascinating, we've spent many an hour exploring them.

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    1. Country churches are fascinating aren't they as they can tell us such a lot about the history of a place:)

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  6. What a great place to visit and such lovely memories of previous visits. Have a great weekend.

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    1. It is a place just made for creating memories of special occasions. Have a great weekend:)

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  7. A fascinating post Rosie and what a lovely church. Thanks so much for the link to more information on the Belvoir Angels - what an interesting subject. You are making me want to visit the Vale of Belvoir now :) Have a lovely weekend.

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    1. The Vale of Belvoir is beautiful. I have ancestors from some of the places within it, more in the Leicestershire part around Wymeswold, Hose and Long Clawson than in the Nottinghamshire part but a few from there too:)

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  8. The memorials are very well preserved with excellent detail. A great place for them to rest. The headstones are very interesting too. Have a good weekend. 😊

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    1. They are all well looked after aren't they? Have a great weekend:)

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  9. Hi Rosie, Such an interesting Five. I love exploring churches in England. So much older than our churches in the U.S.A. How nice to celebrate the anniversary of your friends. Hope you have a lovely weekend.

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    1. Thanks, Ellen. I always love exploring old churches. It was lovely to be with friends on their special day. Have a lovely weekend:)

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  10. What a wonderful place to explore, with all the history and stories there. Glad you enjoyed your friends' anniversary celebration!

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    1. Thanks, Lorrie, yes so much history to learn about with fascinating people. We all had a great time:)

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  11. I am amazed at how much you took in during our visit. It's a favourite place, especially Langar Hall itself. I rather liked the few graves surrounded by snowdrops, there is something about snowdrops, crocuses and bluebells in churchyards. They seem to capture the essence of our existence in such a meaningful way. A truly truly lovely day and there was The Dig too...

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    1. For some reason the photos I took of the snowdrops weren't so good. I love to see spring flowers in churchyards too, they give hope in some way. I read a bit about the hall and church on the blog I sent you a link to and found some more information on line from a Notts Uni project on the church. Love The Dig can't wait to read it again:)

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  12. Lovely old church with so much fascinating history. Popped over to see you from Crimson Kettle :o)

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    1. Thanks for popping by. Glad you enjoyed the post:)

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  13. Nice to see you again,Rosie,
    It is a wonderful idea to explore such a historical church. Amazing that the church and the figures on the monuments are preserved well.The second photo is so lovely. Have a warm weekend.
    Sorry, delete my mistaken comments.

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    1. Thanks for visiting Tomoko, I'm glad you enjoyed my post on the old church, it was so well looked after. Have deleted the other two comments:)

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  14. lovely tour for me from my chair in northern Wisconsin. Thanks.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed your armchair visit, thanks for visiting me here:)

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  15. English churches are amazing... you never know what gems you're going to find when you open the door. Thank you for this lovely virtual tour. Jx

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    1. So glad you enjoyed the post, Jan. We can learn so much from churches and you are right we never know what we will find behind the door:)

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  16. This is a wonderful place, you can actually feel the history.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. You can feel the history can't you? So many people over centuries passing through the building:)

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  17. Hi Rosie, you always write such interesting posts about the places you visit. Thank you for sharing your five on Friday. Enjoy your weekend. Marie x

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the visit Marie, hope you too have a lovely weekend:)

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  18. Stilton country! Wonderful church - excellent photos!

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    1. Yes indeed. Some of my ancestors came from Long Clawson where there is a cheese factory and of course at Melton Mowbray too:)

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  19. What a fantastically atmospheric place!!! Thank you so much for sharing it!!x

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it Kezzie, thanks for visiting:)

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