The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
St Mary and St Michael (now)
Parish church
Stoke Charity is in rolling woodland and sheep pasture in central Hampshire, 6 miles N of Winchester, and is one of a chain of villages than runs along the valley of the river Dever, many of which form the present benefice. The tiny village is on the S side of the river, with the church now standing alone in fields to the N of the centre, close to the riverbank. The manor, originally SW of the church, was demolished c1730, and the widening of the river to the NW of the church is probably connected with the provision of manor fishponds. The Iron Age hillfort of Norsebury Ring is half a mile to the N of the church, across the river.
The nave has a W bell turret carrying a short broach spire; both tower and spire clad in wooden shingles. It also has a N aisle and a 19thc timber S porch. The chancel has a N chapel linked to the nave aisle by an arch. The nave must be 12thc, although its S wall was rebuilt and it was lengthened westward in the early 14thc, and its doorway and W and S windows are of this period. The 2-bay N arcade is 12thc, however, as is the arch to the N chapel from the aisle and a small doorway, curiously set at the E end of the aisle. The aisle N windows are 19thc replacements and its W window is of c1300. The chancel arch is 12thc, but the chancel is otherwise late 13thc, with S windows and a piscina of that date. The E wall has been rebuilt in brick and a 3-light Perpendicular window of 1907, said to reproduce the design of a 15thc window and incorporating some 15thc glass, is set in it. The present N chapel is 15thc., built by Thomas Hampton (d.1483) and his wife Isabella (d.1475), whose tombs it houses. The 15thc chapel clearly replaced an earlier one on the site, as is demonstrated by the 12thc arch from the N aisle and traces of c1200 wallpainting on the S wall. It was restored in 1946. The exterior is of flint except the E chancel wall, rebuilt in brick, and the timber porch, bell-turret and spire. Romanesque features are the N arcade, the chancel arch, the arch from the aisle to the N chapel, the N aisle doorway and a pillar piscina head mortared to the N chapel window sill (described as a loose stone below).
Parish church, formerly Augustinian house
Cartmel Priory was founded in 1189. Most of the surviving architecture is from the Gothic period, including its most unusual feature, the top stage of the tower rotated 45 degrees to make the corners face the cardinal points of the compass. A piece of ex-situ sculpture identified as originating from Bradenstoke Priory, Wiltshire, is preserved inside.