St Peter, St Mary Bourne

Postcode: SP11 6BL Grid Ref: SU422503 CHR No: 641158

 

Photo 1: Exterior of St Peter's, St Mary Bourne

St Peter’s church is a Grade 1 listed building. It consists of a chancel with a wide Norman chancel arch, nave with later aisles, western tower and south porch. There are some unusual features which are discussed in Pevsner and summarised in the church guide. These include the possibility of an earlier Norman south tower, which would explain the thickness of the arch into the south aisle. Within the north arcade, the most easterly arch is believed to have been the original north entrance doorway, and its preservation explains why the north and south bays do not match. The south aisle, or Lady Chapel was widened in the 14th C, and has an ogee-arched recess containing a very worn and damaged 'crusader' effigy. The tower is thought to date from the early 15th C. Various repairs and alterations, including the raising of the chancel roof, took place in the 19th C.

The church contains wall paintings of texts, a silk altar frontal dated 1687 with the churchwardens’ initials RB and WB, and a splendid Tournai black marble font (1150-1200) (Photo 2). This font is believed to have been a gift from the Bishop Henry of Blois.

Photo 2: Font of black Tournai marble

Graffiti Summary

Unusually for Hampshire churches, the historical graffiti found here warrants specific reference within the church guide. It mentions the scratched crosses which occur around the original north-east entrance arch, thought to have been made by pilgrims visiting in the 14th and 15th centuries. The evidence for the presence of pilgrims is backed up by the lead ampullae, originally containing holy water, and pilgrim badge fragments, found near the Roman road, Portway, which runs south of the church. These archaeological finds are now displayed inside the church. It is also likely there was a shrine to the Virgin Mary within the Lady Chapel. The plan and photos below are linked to a larger version; to see the larger version it may be necessary to allow 'pop-ups'.

The church interior

Church plan showing location of numbered pillars referred to within text. (See enlarged version to read the numbers.)

There is a considerable amount of graffiti around the south doorway arch, where, from graffiti studies across the country, we know it was common practice for visitors to the church to leave a record of themselves and symbols of their devotion. At St Peter’s, the graffiti consists of a mixture of pairs and single initials, some dated, and devotional symbols.

Photo 3: The Nave

There is an impressive amount of graffiti in the nave (Photo 3 above), mainly around the pillars. The quantity of crosses found around what is thought to have been the original north entrance is noted in the church guide and attributed to visiting pilgrims. However, there are incised crosses and other devotional marks in both north and south aisles, as well as around the south doorway, perhaps left by those visiting a shrine to the Virgin Mary in the Lady Chapel. Some crosses are elaborate, eg on pillar S6 (Photo 4 below) while others are simple.

Photo 4: An elaborate cross on the south side of the aisle

Another symbol occurring frequently within the church is the devotional symbol to the Virgin Mary in the form of the letter M made of 2 intersecting inverted V shapes. As well as the previously mentioned marks around the south doorway, there are more examples of these Marian marks in the north aisle, and on the west windowsill in the Lady Chapel (Photo 5).

 

Photo 5: Inverted V shapes in the Lady Chapel.

There are circles on pillars on the north side, and there are groups of intersecting circles on S4 and on the west arch of the Lady Chapel. These circles, like those around the south doorway, are believed to have had an apotropaic function, as are the six-petalled rosettes or “daisy wheels” occurring on pillar N2 (Photo 6).

 

Photo 6: Daisy Wheel on pillar N2.

There are some distinctive masons’ marks on pillars N3 (Photo 7 below) and N5 in the north aisle. These identify a particular mason and are in the shape of the letter D. The frequency of their occurrence, and their different orientations, show that they were carved into the stone blocks before construction.

  

Photo 7: Mason's mark in form of a letter D on pillar N3

The Tower

Within the tower, one block of stone, the impost on the north side of the arch, has many names and dates from the 18th century incised into it (Photo 8 below). Some of these are quite elaborate, eg W.Cox 1788 is within an elaborate frame. The initials B and W occur on each side of the year 1784. Also prominent are LH and the name Eyres. R LON 1737 could perhaps represent the unfinished name of Robert Longman who is recorded as church warden on one of the bells founded by Robert Corr in 1698.

Photo 8: Impost with names and initials.

The Church Exterior

Most of the graffiti found on the church exterior consists of very weathered pairs of initials, some associated with dates from the 17th and 18th centuries. These represent the urge felt by individuals to make their mark, to record their presence. Sometimes the occurrence of such graffiti can be linked to specific local events, but we have no evidence for this here. There are many examples around the north doorway,

Furniture: The graffiti’d table

Currently located in the chancel, obscured but protected by a cloth, is a wooden table whose top surface is covered in graffiti (see Photo 9 below), consisting of initials and 18th century dates. The table has been the subject of detailed study and research by HMGP members Sarah Gould and Karen Parker and is believed to have been used as a school table in the local school. Sarah’s report on the table is attached to this report as Appendix 2; this can be studied in the full report, which appears as a link below.

Photo 9: Enhanced image of graffiti on the table.

Acknowledgements

Our thanks go to churchwarden Patrick Foote for welcoming us on site and for giving us access to the vestry, and to the parishioners who called in to see us during our visits, providing helpful insights into the building and its history.

Survey Archive

164 photographs were taken during the survey. All images and record sheets are held by the Hampshire Field Club Medieval Graffiti Project archive and are available on request. A copy of this report has been lodged with the Hampshire Historic Environment Record and with the church, and reports have been posted on the HFC website.

Disclaimer

This document has been prepared for the titled project or named part hereof and should not be relied upon or used for any other project or assessment without the permission of the Hampshire Medieval Graffiti Project or the church.

The full report is available as a PDF download.

Surveyors: Helen Banham, Mark Barden, Sarah Gould, Karen Parker, Joe Peshall, Karen Wardley, Andy Watson.