St Mary's Church North Leigh, is a treasure trove for medievalists with a doom painting, a Knight's effigy, medieval stained glass, some fan vaulting, and a Saxon tower.
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To me the star of the show is this wonderful doom painting. Medieval parishioners participating in services would have no doubt what awaited them when the inevitable happened and they died. Every Sunday, from a very early age, they would have sat looking at this painting and imagine that they would feature in this event. The message was simple, be a good citizen, do not break the Ten Commandments and your soul will end up with the “Saved” on the left of the painting, being greeted by St Peter at the entrance to Heaven. Their soul would then have a very comfortable existence for eternity.
Above; the middle panels of the painting portray souls rising from their graves to be assessed in the “Last Judgement”. Jesus does not feature in these panels but all the parishioners knew from listening to their priest that Jesus would pass judgement on them with regards to their eternal destiny. In many doom paintings, Jesus is depicted in the top centre but in this one and in the neighbouring South Leigh doom painting, he does not appear. To show that everyone would be treated the same no matter what their rank in society once was, a queen and king are included in the group.
Above; St Peter in red, holding a key to the gates of Heaven is welcoming all the saved. They have no clothes on because they once came into the world naked and were deemed to leave the world naked. In the group is a queen, a king and a bishop, all painted with crowns and in the bishop’s case a mitre. The angel at the top has a horn to wake the dead to rise out of their graves for the “Last Judgement”.
Above; the ones not “saved” were often known as the “Lost”. For their numerous and serious sins, they have been condemned to spend eternity in Hell. I use the words serious and numerous because, at death, souls would spend some time at a placed called “Purgatory” where they could be cleansed of their sins after a degree of suffering, ie they were forgiven. At the “Last Judgement”, these souls failed to be cleansed and so would face eternal suffering. Again, the image depicts royalty and a bishop, illustrating equality in God’s eyes. It also lets them know that there is no escape, with the devil hauling them in to the monstrous Hell. Two other devils are also on standby to ensure that there is no escape. The image looks frightening, especially to a child. Growing up seeing that every Sunday would surely have an effect on their minds.
Above; to the left of the painting is a beautiful “Chantry” where special prayers for the dead would have been spoken. Look at that amazing fan vaulting. I usually see these high up in grandiose cathedrals and not a small country church. In this location, you can get a great view of the fans, something you can’t do in many cathedrals!
Above; looking at it from this distance it is easy to appreciate the artistry and skill of the stone masons.
Above and below; Sir William Wylcot and his wife Elizabeth. Sir William died in 1411 having been an MP and Sheriff of Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
Above and below; The effigies show them both with a collar with SS all around it. This shows that they were Lancastrian supporters with the SS being a badge of Henry IV. Apparently, it is quite rare to see a lady with such a collar.
Above; William Lenthal and his wife, dated 1628. Below were once their four sons and the four incomplete sculptures of their daughters. It has been suggested that Cromwells associates have been at work here.
Above and below; a monument and plaque to Robert Perrot, who died in 1605 and was a “Gent (leman) doctor of Physic”. Opposite him is his wife and below are his eight children.
Essential Information
Getting there; use Sat Nav with this address St Mary's church OX296TX
Parking. There is a car park opposite for the cemetery and Turner Hall.
There is a toilet in the church and also Turner Hall if it is open.
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All Saints has been described as a “charming jewel of a church adjacent to the beautiful Chilterns’ countryside”. Once inside, one look at the walls demonstrates why it has been given this description. Star of the paintings is a virtually complete St George, St John the Evangelist and St James. Others are not quite so clear but with a little effort and time, various features from the stories of other saints can be interpreted can be recognised. An example of this is St Francis of Assisi, who can be identified by the presence of birds. There are also six medieval tiles and clues that show that the Church was built in two distinct phases.