St Nicholas Church, Chearsley

Another quick trip out this time to Chearsley which is about 8 miles from Aylesbury. 

Chearsley is one of those places that you pass but rarely stop unless its to go to the pub which is on the main road at the top of the hill. The village is set on the side of a hill overlooking the River Thame. The roads around the village proper are mainly what I would describe as holloways in other words over the centuries the roads have worn down deeper & deeper and left steep banks either side where the houses are. Sunken roads (holloways) are generally found in villages with Saxon origins as is the case here.

The church is mainly 13th Century with a 15th Century tower, though inside there is the suggestion that its beginnings were much earlier. Unusually you step down as you approach the altar and it is that worn step that suggests constant use over many many centuries. 

There are some nice stained glass windows though nothing especially ancient. There are a couple of old wall paintings revealed which show some age also a large Henry II coat of arms on the wall which was only revealed in the 1930s.

Nearer to the river there are the lumps & bumps of an earlier settlement which went out of use following the Black Death in the 1400s. 

Further up the hill of Church Lane is a Holy Spring known as Stock Well or Cherdeley Well. 

A lovely sunny morning - home by 1330.