Invinghoe – Drenched but undaunted

Wonderful carvings at St Mary's

A rain washed exterior! However quite pleasing!

St Mary Invinghoe

Having ‘done’ all those lovely Hertfordshire churches called out by Simon Jenkins in his magnum opus 1000 Best Churches

Rosie the Puppy and I retreated into Buckinghamshire.

Invinghoe is almost in Bedfordshire but not quite.

St Mary’s Church is part of this lovely village nudging its way towards the centre and the green. 

Inside, many marvels a beautiful 12C arcade with gorgeous carvings in the stone, the leaf work appears to be blown around the piers. Add in some wondrous woodwork, roof bosses and pew poppyheads*, one of which features a mermaid.

And Perpendicular niceness outside as we stood to make this drawing the heavens opened and drenched it! We scurried back to the motor and filled in the detail of this proud exterior on the way home!

Poppyheads

*From 1400 to 1547 congregational seating was gradually introduced perhaps as a result of the new habit of preaching by the clergy. Much craftsmanship was bestowed on this seating, particularly bench ends. The crowning feature of the pew was the ‘poppy’ or ‘poupée’ head carved to each end either in the form of a trefoil with close-knit foliage or with animals and figures of allegorical significance.

Information © Finch and Co Old Brompton Road London SW7 3DQ http://www.finch-and-co.co.uk