How old is the church?
Norman doorway, around 1125
There was probably a wooden church here in Saxon times, with the lord of the manor taking most of the tithes. The church was 'nationalised' into the diocese of Worcester around 1174, and the lord of the manor gave 'six forks' for the construction of a habitation for the priest (William Dugdale, Antiquities of Warwickshire, 1656, quoting The Cartulary of Worcester Priory*). These six trees, formed into three pairs of cruck frames, would have created the main structure of a two-bay parsonage house, with a hall open to the roof in one bay, and a bedroom floor, reached by a ladder, above the kitchen in the other. With a typical fifteen-foot spacing of beams, the floor area on one and a half floors would have been around 675 square feet, 67.5 square metres. The drawing shows a four-bay house; the priest's house corresponded to only the right half.
The
oldest parts of the present church date from around 1125 - the doorways, one window and
the corbel table around the outside (at least half of the carvings are of cats). The chancel was built at the same time as the nave
(Pevsner is incorrect).
Other windows date from 1290, 1340, and the 1400's, but the whole building was taken down and renewed around the 1860s (the chancel) and in 1879 (the nave) - which is how we come to enjoy a damp-course in our 31-inch stone walls. Parts of the bell frame may be fourteenth century, and inset into the blocked north doorway is a thirteenth-century priest's gravestone.
The church around 1802, a watercolour by a pupil of Henry Jeayes
(from the Towneley collection, courtesy Birmingham City Archives)
When did it stop being a church?
The last service was on Palm Sunday, 1966. See 'Redundancy'.
Why such an obscure saint?
We can only speculate. Until the second half of the sixteenth century, the patron saint seems to have been Saint Nicholas. Perhaps someone decided to commemorate the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Protestants in France. See 'Who was Saint Bartholomew?'
What happened to the village?
People have lived on this ridge above the river Blythe for at least four thousand years. The Domesday Book says there were tenant farmers, smallholders, and a Saxon lord of the manor in the combined Packington parish (or estate) in 1086. The manor house probably stood near the Rectory with the church's north door for access. The villagers lived in an area stretching from the church down to the river, protected by a ditch with a palisaded bank, remains of which can be seen on either side of the orchard. At this time, one of the most important roads in England ran from London to Oxford, Warwick, Tamworth and on to Chester and the north west - up the west bank of the Blythe, through here. With the rise of Coventry in the later middle ages, traffic tended to go that way, and cross the river Blythe further north, at Packington ford. So the village was attracted away to the west side of the ford. The Chester Road turnpike bypassed this route in 1732, and the village dwindled away, finally disappearing earlier this century. See 'Why is there no village?'
Are there any bells?
There were three, cast by a Leicester family in Queen Elizabeth's reign. Two are now at Halford in south Warwickshire, and the other is in store. See 'The bells'.
Are any famous people connected with the church?
It depends on what you mean by famous. The Shakespeare family whose memorial is near the main door, cannot trace any connection to the famous William. Richard Mudge the rector published a set of concertos in 1749 which are occasionally played, and the brother of 'Black Broome' who killed a priest at Baddesley Clinton, is buried here. And then there are the Shepherds…
Do you have to leave the gravestones?
Yes. But the rabbits are not obliged to keep them vertical.
Many of them are interesting. Meet the Good Samaritan on Joseph Todd's stone of 1788.
Sculptor: Waring of Fazeley
Do the graves worry you?
We find the whole atmosphere very calming.
Where are the radiators and power points?
Spot the plastic heating pipes under the floors, and the floor service boxes.
Who converted it?
Simon Hudspith was the architect, John Shepherd the contractor, Sandy Browne the supervising carpenter, with Jason and Terry carpenters, Frank and Frank bricklayers, Jim the groundworker, Dick the plumber, Bob and Stuart stonemasons, John the electrician, several others… and of course Mr Bradford and Mr Bingley. A special Thank You to our volunteer helpers, especially Judith Patten and Luke, Ken Golby, David Baldwin, Mary and Brian Davis. See 'Plans', Construction', and 'The Workers'.
How much did it cost?
Too much. And it ain't finished yet.
*folio 319, dated 1232. The Cartulary is kept in the Chapter House of Worcester Cathedral, and was published by the Pipe Rolls Society in 1968 (New Series vol 38). When the text was pointed out to him, Dr N.W. Alcock stated that if this can be securely dated to around 1174, this would be the oldest surviving record of cruck-building. Even at 1232, this is the earliest record in Warwickshire.
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