Our eye was caught by the 13thC Vicar’s pele which forms part of the old Vicarage, now a private house. It is a reminder of troubled times along the border in the 16thC and the Border Reivers. We stopped for a closer look and also to go into the church.
Holy Trinity Church is on the southern edge of the village and is a long low building with a square tower, surrounded by the graveyard. The church dates from the 12thC but the porch was added later. The niche above the door originally had a carving of the Virgin Mary but this was destroyed during the Reformation and is now replaced by a modern carving representing the Holy Spirit. To us, this felt wrong and out of keeping with the rest of the building.
Inside the porch are the remains of beautiful old tombstones on the walls. All have a cross. Two have long swords and one a pair of shears. The roof is wooden and there is a rather nice carving of a green man in the centre with other abstract carved bosses.
Inside octagonal pillars with pointed arches with dog toothed designs separate the nave and side aisles. At the base of the arches on the north wall are rather nice carved heads. On the south wall there are crosses in a circle.
At the back of the church an ornate iron spiral staircase leads up into the bell chamber of the tower. The vestry at the back of the south aisle has two carved stone memorial stones on the wall. At the back of the north aisle is the children’s corner.
The Craster Family chapel is off the north aisle with memorial tablet for different family members on the walls.
A tall pointed chancel arch with dog toothed carving leads into the chancel. This was rebuilt in the 19thC and is nearly as long as the nave. The stained glass windows are 19thC.
There is nothing special about the church so it is ignored by the guide books. It is however a typical small village church, like so many others scattered round the country. We enjoyed our visit.
