Wootton Wawen
The church was probably founded soon after 723-37 when King
AEthelbald of Mercia granted Earl Aethilric 20 hides of land to build a
monastery or minster. The land was near the River Aeluuinnae, now
the Alne. The church was obviously standing in 1086 when a priest
was mentioned here. Shortly afterwards Robert Tosny Stafford
(d.c.1088) granted the church to Conches abbey.
The oldest part of the church would appear to be the 3 lower storeys of
the central tower. These are typically Saxon with long and short
work quoins and early Romanesque doorways on all 4 sides. The
tower at York, Bishophill Junior,
also had 4 doorways. The bulk of the tower is made up of a jumble
of poorly coursed rubble. Adjoining the tower to the west is
a large nave (some 50' by 25') with an added south aisle. A
blocked splayed Romanesque window is in the north wall where there are
also traces of a blocked Romanesque north door. Beneath the
window are some single courses of herringbone masonry. The west wall has a blocked central doorway with large, crude jambs and a similar, broken lintel.
Copyright©2021
Paul Martin Remfry