The parish church of St. Andrew stands next to the Bede House which in 1602 housed 12 bedesmen (those employed to pray for the soul of their benefactor) and two women, all free of lunacy, leprosy or the French pox. The house itself is C15 and a former Palace of the Bishops of Lincoln.

St. Andrew is C14 and was rebuilt in C15 . Stylisticly it is Perpendicular with a Decorated tower.

Inside the west door there are two medieval stone coffin covers. The curch also has some rare acoustic jar made of clay that are inserted high up in the wall of the chancel.

The floor of the chancel has two brass monuments. The earliest is a 2ft 7in memorial to Helyn Hardy (d1486). She wears a veiled head-dress, mitten sleeves, belt and cordon, which was the habit of a widow who has taken vows of chastity.

Next to it is a memorial with two 3ft figures dedicated to Edward Watson (d1520) and his wife. Edward Watson was Surveyor-General to the Bishops of Lincoln, and his descendants became owners of Rockingham Castle.

Following the Reformations churches were permitted to place the altar at the east end of the church or, as the puritans preferred, in the centre of the chancel or nave.

In 1633 Archbishop Laud decreed that the altar should be at the east end and railed off from the chancel.

The altar rails at St Andrew are dated 1635 and surround the altar on all four sides – a compromise between the two factions.

The south wall of the chancel has a three seat sedilia and piscina. The C15 wooden chancel screen has painted flowers and traces of painted saints on lower panels.

The east window is dated 1870 and is a memorial to John and Elizabeth Clarke. The central four panels have representations of the Nativity, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension. The lower panels are from the old testament.

The square font is made from the local ironstone and sits on a modern base. The font covering is Jacobean and early C17.

Tags: brass, rood screen, stained glass, tower

The Domesday book records that there was a small Saxon church occupying this site where the current nave is. At that time the land was owned by the saxon Lord Harold of Sudeley who mainly owned land in Gloucestershire.

The present church is built of Hornton stone and dates from the early C12 through to C13, the oldest parts being the Norman doorways in the South and North. In the C12 the Sudeley family founded the Augustinian monastery at Arbury donating some of the land at Burton Dassett to it.

Cut into the hillside the chancel slopes upwards ten feet above the nave. The altar which is almost level with the capitals of the arcade arches.

For many years the plain cylindrical bowl of the font was abandoned in the churchyard. Now replaced inside the church it is thought to be C15 but its date is uncertain. The base and stem are modern.

The carved capitals of the north arcade pillars are no later than the late C13 and include hounds, rabbits, dragons, and other mythical creatures.

Much of the original medieval plaster of ‘daub’ mixed with lime, and chopped straw and cowhair survives. It was painted with bright murals which after 100s of years of being whitewashed over, and covered with ornamented texts they are starting to reappear. The medieval wall painting above the chancel arch depicts two censing angels the Virgin and St. John which are C14. These are painted over an earlier C13 "Doom" (Last Judgment).

The window in the north transept has images of the Three Magi.

Tags: carving, font, fresco, norman, tower

The west tower is around 150ft high. The south doorway is original of c1300, and most of the windows are of the Geometrical Gothic style of the same period, but they were renewed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1865.

The painted roof has Perpendicular style head corbels.

The Perpendicular style is also relected in the font and pulpit. However, the body of the church is in the Decorative Gothic style dating from 1325-1335.

However, what makes Middleton Cheney is the stained glass work by Morris & co. The west window has a piece entitled “Three young men in the fiery furnace” by Burne-Jones.

The East window memorial to William Croome (d1865). Designed by William Morris Co 1864.The figures below the tracery lights represents the twelve tribes of the Apolcalypse. Below are representations off Adam, Noah, David, Isiah, St Peter, St. Paul, St Augustine, St Catherine, Abraham, Moses, Eve, the Virgin, Magdalene, and St. Agnes.

The Censing Angels, Seraph, St. Peter, St. Augustine, St. Catherine, Eve, the Virgin, Magdalene, and St. Agnes are by William Morris. The four beasts, and the banners are by Philip Webb. The Adoration of the Lamb and St Alban are by Burne-Jones. St. John and St. Paul by Ford Madox Brown. The twelve tribes, David, Isiah, Abraham, and Moses by Simeon Solomon.

The south window of the chancel contains panels by Ford Madox Brown depicting scenes from the old testament. The tracery light is by Philip Webb.

The two north chancel windows were designed by Burne-Jones as a memorial to his friend W.C. Buckley who was the vicar.

In addition to the stained glass the church also contains mosaics by the company of James Powell & sons.

Tags: burne-jones, corbel, decorative, font, ford maddox brown, g.g. scott, perpendicular, philip webb, pulpit, roof, stained glass, tomb, tower, william morris

St. Mary the Virgin was probably first built in the 12th century. The chancel was rebuilt in the early 13th century, and the east window is of that date. The nave is early 14th century, the north and south aisle, and clerestory were added in 15th century. The tower was added in the 17th century as a replacement for a spire that was in need of repair.

The whole church was restored by G. F. Bodley in 1894.

The stained glass in the east window is set into an early C13 triple lancet window. The North west aisle window was designed by Kempe.

Tags: bodley, kempe, nicholas, stained glass, tower