St Bartholomew, Winchester, Hyde

Postcode: S023 7DF Grid Ref: SU482302 CHR No: 641358

Date of survey: 17th October 2025

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Photo 1: Exterior of St Bartholomew's church

The church is listed Grade II*. It was built in the early 12th century by Hyde Abbey to serve its tenants and lay officials and is now the parish church of Hyde and Abbotts Barton. Although much repaired in the 19th century, some Norman elements remain, for example the south wall and the impressive south doorway of c1130. The tower, of chequered knapped flint and freestone, was built in the 16th century using stone from the Abbey. A new north aisle and south porch were added in the 19th century. On display in the church are five impressive Romanesque capitals and a springer stone from the cloisters at the Abbey. Many reused stones from the Abbey, including some architectural mouldings, can be seen incorporated into the church’s masonry. Map 1, below, shows an excerpt from the Winchester Town Plan which was published in 1873.

Map 1: An excerpt from the 1873 Winchester Town Plan (Scale: 1:500)

Church Plan

Map 2: Church plan showing main areas of graffiti. (See enlarged version to read the numbers.)

Graffiti Summary: Church Tower

The tower was built of stone and timber from Hyde Abbey, following its dissolution in 1539. The church guide dates the tower to 1591. It consists of a ground floor, a first floor used for storage, a second floor (Photo 2) and the top third floor housing the wooden framework for the bell, which carries the date 1659.

Photo 2: The second floor of the tower.

Many names and initials, some dated, occur as graffiti in the bell chamber and the floor below (the second floor), carved into the stone and woodwork. Carpenters’ marks can be seen on the exposed timber framework on the first to third floors. Although not graffiti as such, the survey recorded the carpenters’ marks which are on many of the main timbers in the tower. Timber buildings were first constructed off site, in a framing yard where the carpenters could assemble the wall-frames and roof trusses by laying them out flat on the ground and pegging them together temporarily. Then they would mark up and number the frames before dismantling them for transport to the construction site. The numbers ensured that the right tenons went into the right mortises for an accurate fit. The marks were always positioned next to a joint with the same number written in Roman numerals on both joining timbers.

Photo 3: Carpenters' marks on timbers in the tower.

Carefully carved names and dates from the 19th and 20th centuries are on some of the timbers. It seems likely these were made by carpenters who were working in the tower at this time. In the bell chamber are two, both dated 1930, made by W. Brook (Photo 4) and E. Rickman. Initial searching of local trade directories for 1930 has failed to identify these names with certainty. There are also the pairs of initials DW and JH, which were left on a beam in 1942.

Photo 4: Possibly the name of a carpenter.

Other people left their marks on the stonework in the tower. These were mainly as initials, names and dates. Below (Photo 5) is a block with many shapes and initials scratched onto it, and the date 1874. We can only guess at the identity of the makers of these marks, but they could be bell ringers, workmen, or visitors with some other business in the tower.

Photo 5: Tower. Second floor. Initials and date 1874

The Tower Exterior

The west doorway of the tower has graffiti on both sides of the arch. There are matching dates at roughly the same height on each side. That on the north side is incomplete with only 176 remaining, but the full date 1763 can be seen opposite, associated with the initials IE. Above the date on the north side is a shape which might be an initial W, or it might be a VV symbol, of interlocking Vs. Such marks are apotropaic in function and derive from the Christian symbol of devotion to the Virgin Mary, the VV standing for Virgo Virginum, or Virgin of the Virgins. (Photo 6)

Photo 6: Tower, West doorway, North jamb: Partial date 176 with VV above

Church Interior:

The south doorway in the nave has small crosses incised into the archway on the east side. Such crosses were probably made as a symbol of personal devotion by parishioners entering or leaving the church and are a common form of graffiti found in churches. On the south side of the nave, near the pulpit, a pilaster which came from Hyde Abbey is built into the wall. Within the church fabric are many reused stones from the Abbey, which was dissolved in 1539. These have been recorded elsewhere, and are outside of the remit of this report.

The South Porch:

The south porch was built in the 19th century in front of the fine Norman doorway, which is dated to c1130. There is modern graffiti on the west wall of the porch, including lines and initials. On the wall to the east of the door is a scratch or mass dial (Photo 7). A central stick or gnomon would have been placed in the central hole and cast a shadow onto the diagonal lines radiating from the hole, to mark the times of the daily church services. Inside the porch, below the mass dial, is a holy water stoup, originally from Hyde Abbey.

Photo 7: A scratch or mass dial

Acknowledgements

Our thanks go to Alys Blakeway who kindly arranged access to the church and tower and to Edward Fennell who met us on the day and unlocked for us.

Thanks also go to Karen Parker for researching the names in local trade directories.

References:

• References
  Bullen, Michael, Crook, John, Hubbock, Rodney, and Pevsner, Nikolaus (2010) The buildings of England. Hampshire: Winchester and the North.
• Easton, Timothy (2024), “No witches in sight”, Vernacular Architecture, Vol 55.
• https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1350689?section=official-list-entry
• https://threesaints.org.uk/st-bartholomew

Survey Archive

32 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 Winchester Historic Environment Record and with the church, and reports have been posted here 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: Mark Barden, Ron Braiding, Karen Parker, James Thomas, Karen Wardley