August 2013:
COATES BY STOW, St Edith's.
Twenty members of the group visited St Edith’s church in Coates, two miles west of Stow for the August meeting. To describe it as “off the beaten tract” scarcely does it justice.
The church stands next to a farm, the nearby village long deserted and the road stops here. Pauline, the church warden greeted us warmly and provided refreshments. Her enthusiasm and devotion to the little church was remarkable and contagious. She told us of its history – a wooden church standing here in Saxon times, the present building being largely Norman with some restoration in the nineteenth century. The pulpit and many pews dated from around 1450.
The church stands next to a farm, the nearby village long deserted and the road stops here. Pauline, the church warden greeted us warmly and provided refreshments. Her enthusiasm and devotion to the little church was remarkable and contagious. She told us of its history – a wooden church standing here in Saxon times, the present building being largely Norman with some restoration in the nineteenth century. The pulpit and many pews dated from around 1450.
St Edith's church, Coates by Stow
Above, exterior of the church.
Above, interior of the church showing altar, rood screen, font,
and some pews dating from the sixteenth century.
Fifteenth century rood screen.
Rare and remarkably well preserved is the rood screen with its gallery, reached by the young and agile by a stone staircase set into the wall but off limits to the casual visitor. The tympanum behind the gallery is still in tact and some painted imagery still remains to be seen on its surface. Outside there is some evidence that a tower may have existed. The church is kept open during daylight hours and is well worth a visit.
Eric Wilson
Eric Wilson
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