All Saints Churchyard in Hooton Pagnell

 

The lychgate

Having spent just over an hour briefly looking at All Saints church in Hooton Pagnell, since alighting from the Stagecoach No. 203 bus from Doncaster, I had an hour and 20 minutes to explore the rest of the village – to photograph its listed buildings and have another look at its geology before the next bus to Thurnscoe and Goldthorpe arrived. 

 

The cross base and shaft

The first of these was the Grade II Listed limestone base of a cross, of mediaeval date, with a later shaft, which is located a few metres south of the porch. The shaft originally formed part of a sundial, but the dial and gnomon are now missing.

 

Horse mounting steps in the churchyard wall

 

Descending the steps to the B6422 road, I had a quick look at the cantilevered blocks of unknown date that have been set into the retaining wall of the churchyard, instead of the usual freestanding horse mounting block, before having a quick wander around the churchyard. 

 

Chest tombs in the churchyard

 

Although there is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone here, which I wasn’t aware of and didn’t see at the time, I just took a few quick snaps of some of the chest tombs, which date back to the C18, where most comprise an inscribed slab of Coal Measures sandstone is laid on side panels that are made out of local dolomitic limestone from the Cadeby Formation. 

 

Weathered dolomitic limestone panels to a chest tomb

 

I didn’t spend any time looking at the fabric of church in any detail, but I certainly didn’t notice any areas where there had been scouring or cavernous decay. I was therefore surprised to see that on at least two chest tombs, parts of the side panels have been completely weathered away, leaving the sandstone slab precariously perched. 

 

Weathered dolomitic limestone panels to a chest tomb

Since 1703, the adjacent Hooton Pagnell Hall has been owned by the descendants of Patience Warde – the Warde- Aldam and Warde-Norbury families - and several monuments to various family members are laid out closely together in the southern part of the churchyard. 

 

The memorial to Julia Warde-Aldam

Julia Warde-Aldam, who is commemorated with a crucifix in the style of those erected by Viscount Halifax in nearby Hickleton, made quite radical changes to the hall and has been described as "a flamboyant benefactor with a fondness for seances". 

 

Various tombs of the descendants of Patience Warde

Other members of the family, such as Mary Betty, Alistair George and William George Anthony Warde-Norbury have simple raised inclined slabs, with a Latin cross for decoration, but other members of the family are buried in chest tombs.

 

Tooled limestone blocks in the churchyard

Next to the boundary wall, a couple of squared blocks of yellowish limestone - one adorned with a cross – look like they are probably masonry from the church. I had recently seen a salvaged window head from St. Wilfrid’s church in Hickleton, in the new Doncaster museum, but these stones aren’t documented and it is quite likely that very few people have noticed them.

 

A memorial to Rev. Godfrey Wright

 

I took a few photos of the tomb of Rev. Godfrey Wright, who was an owner of a considerable amount of land in Yorkshire, and also the tomb of Thomas Selwood and his wife Catherine, who was the sister of Patience Warde.

 

The tomb of Thomas Selwood and his wife Catherine

 

Before leaving the churchyard to go and investigate the rest of the historic architecture in the village, I took another quick snap of the lychgate, which is another contribution by Julia Warde-Aldam to Hooton Pagnell.

 

The lychgate