St John the Baptist, Itchen Abbas

St Mary's, Easton

Easton together with Itchen Abbas, Avington & Martyr Worthy is part of the Parish of the Itchen Valley.

Full details of all the churches and our services can be found at http://www.itchenvalleychurches.org.uk/

We look forward to seeing you.

St Mary’s is probably the earliest of the Norman churches in the Valley and the largest, dating from the twelfth century. The south doorway and chancel are Norman while the twelfth century windows in the north wall were reglazed in the early 1900s.

Architecturally the church consists of a nave, chancel and apse while the tower at the west end is believed to date from the thirteenth century. Major works were carried out to the church in the 1870s, including the erection of the current rood screen between the nave and the chancel. A major project to reorder the interior of St Mary’s was carried out in 2007 to make the church more flexible and responsive to the needs of the whole community.

The works included reopening of the North Door, the installation of underfloor heating, the provision of a hearing loop and sound system and the removal of pews, replaced by moveable pew benches. The six bells in the belfry are regularly rung by a committed group of ringers. The pipe organ was replaced less than ten years ago by an electronic instrument.

St Mary’s can comfortably hold 160 people (a few more for some occasions). Since the reordering it has been used with the full benefit of its flexibility for formal and less formal occasions, for its large space or just its alternative layouts.

Concerts and a Harvest Festival Supper are examples of this but the church has also been the main focus for less formal family and band services. For the future, we hope to build an extension on the north side of the church to house kitchen and wc facilities as well as improving access for disabled people.

St Mary's, Avington

Avington together with Easton, Itchen Abbas & Martyr Worthy is part of the Parish of the Itchen Valley.

Full details of all the churches and our services can be found at http://www.itchenvalleychurches.org.uk/

We look forward to seeing you.

St Mary’s comes as a great surprise since it is a rarity, an unrestored red-bricked Georgian church built between 1768-71. The pathway from the road to the church with its dominating crenellated tower, is 100 yards long and made up of old tombstones which lie like stepping stones in the grass.

Inside there is a marvellous sense of light enhanced by the barrel ceiling of the nave painted in an attractive light blue. All the windows are of plain glass, apart from a small Crucifixion scene in the East window with four roundels alongside depicting Wheat ( the Bread of Life ), a Rose, Grapes and a Lily.

The blue reredos behind the altar has the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments written on it in gold lettering.

A great two-decker pulpit capped by a carved canopy dominates the nave. The rest of the nave is filled by high box pews, many of which have seats on three sides facing into the middle. The largest, with carved interior, was reserved for Avington House.

The pulpit and pews are made of Spanish mahogany said to have been taken from an Armada galleon captured by the Duke of Effingham. All the pews have wall pegs for hanging wigs on. At the west end the marble font is of unusual vase shape. Above it is a musicians’ gallery, with two rows of seats for the musicians and a barrel organ dating from 1830 which can still be used. Hanging from the gallery are the arms of King George III dated 1771.

A fine set of five bells has recently been hung following a substantial bequest and fund raising. The church remains largely unaltered and its congregation continues to favour traditional forms of worship.

St Swithuns, Martyr Worthy

Martyr Worthy together with Itchen Abbas, Avington & Easton is part of the Parish of the Itchen Valley.

Full details of all the churches and our services can be found at http://www.itchenvalleychurches.org.uk/

We look forward to seeing you.

St Swithun’s lies on the Pilgrims’ Way, in the centre of the new Parish. A church is mentioned in the Domesday Book when the land belonged to the local monastery. The nave of the present church was built in the mid twelfth century and the north and south doors are also Norman.

In the 1860s an apsidal chancel was added and the roof of the nave opened so that the oak-panelled roof was made visible. In 2007 pews at the rear of the church were removed to give some flexibility.

Otherwise the church, which seats about 120, retains its Victorian pews and its pipe organ, giving it a unique atmosphere among the Valley churches.

St Swithun’s has the benefit of lying immediately opposite the small Martyr Worthy Village Hall which is often used with it, creating a particular village community identity. It is also the focus for the annual “Way of the Cross” re-enactment of the Passion, a very popular and moving dramatic event as it moves up Church Lane on Good Friday.

To find out more about the history of St. Swithun's and the village of Martyr Worthy the British History Online is a wealth of information.