All Saints at Wing
(Reported and photographed by David Rowe)
Friday April 24th dawned with the promise of a sunny day ahead; we were not to be disappointed. Barry had arranged for us to visit the Saxon church of All Saints in Wing before lunch.
All Saints Wing is perhaps the most impressive Saxon Parish Church in England, notable for the height of the nave and the complete Saxon crypt under the polygonal apse. Parts of the nave & crypt are 9th C.
Inside the chancel arch is 20′ wide. The roof timbers are full of medieval figures, angels and musicians.The Dormer family 16th.C have 3 impressive monuments one with mythical figures and the others with family figures.
We went into Leighton Buzzard for lunch. This too has a grand church of All Saints. It is a mid 13th.C church which suffered a fire in 1985. The medieval nave roof has been repaired and refurbished at a cost of £1.5m. with gold leaf to its original multicoloured splendour. There are some intriguing touches such as the medieval graffito on the pillars, one showing a cook berating her husband and another sketch of one of the windows.
cook berating
a man
one of the windows
The afternoon was spent at Ascott House the ‘country cottage’ of the Rothschild family NT, but, the family still spends some months each year living there. The house is full of paintings including a Rubens of note, Chippendale furniture and Chinese ceramics. The well manicured gardens include a sunken garden with a Venus & Cupid fountain by Thomas Waldo . Adjacent is a modern sculpture of welsh slate.
It was a rewarding day not to be missed. Our thanks to Barry and to the bus driver who negotiated the motorway system to avoid the Friday rush hour to get us back by 7pm.
(Reported and photographed by David Rowe)