AD 900 - The Origins of the English Village - Page 4
| Article Index |
|---|
| AD 900 - The Origins of the English Village |
| Page 2 |
| Page 3 |
| Page 4 |
| Page 5 |
| All Pages |
Page 4 of 5
The mystery of the parish church
The church built in the wrong fashion. The church at the centre of the village may seem a typical medieval church to the casual viewer, but in fact it is all wrong. According to the documentary evidence it was built in 1331 at a time when central towers were hopelessly out of fashion, and western towers had long been the norm.
The site of the old church
The site of the old church had never been lost: it lay about a mile to the west in a field still known as Church field. Geophysical survey, and aerial photography (see photo right) combined with excavation, soon revealed the answer: when the church was moved in 1331, the new church was built in the exact form and dimensions of the earlier church, in a style that was by then over a century out of date.
