Today we found St.Andrew's, Pixley. We had looked for it but had been unable to find it before. It is located within a farm yard!
There were many orchards in the area that provided apples for the cider industry. This apple crusher is a relic of that industry.
The Nave
An old reed organ
The Angel Gabriel addresses...
...The Blessed Virgin Mary
The screen dates from the 13th century
St.Peter and St.Paul's, Stoke Lacey
The Nave
The church has connections with Morgan cars. The father and grandfather of the designer of the first Morgan car were rectors of the parish.
The Lectern
The Organ
The Nativity
The "goblet" pulpit was made about 1864.
St.Peter (note scenes from his life at the bottom left and right)
St.Paul (note scenes from his life at bottom left and right)
More Morgan Cars
A huge tree in the churchyard
After breakfast at Bromyard, we arrived at Witley Court. Sadly the house is now in ruins but it was once one of the finest houses in England. Royalty often came to stay. Even in its current state, it remains a very impressive structure.
Some areas of the garden have been restored, adding to the grandeur of the site.
There are some traces of plaster and other decorative features left.
The Back Door
There used to be a grand staircase here
The Orangery escaped the fire but, like the rest of the house, it was stripped of anything of value and allowed to fall into ruin.
One of the few remaining areas of the original flooring
It was lovely to see some colour!
The Lacey Family (who built the house) also built the beautiful church next door. Fortunately it escaped fire damage and, because it is the Parish Church of Great Witley village, was not allowed to fall into ruin.
The amazing interior of Great Witley Church (from the organ gallery)
We learned that most of the moulding is actually made of papier mache!! The gold is real though.
The font
One of the panels decorating the pulpit.
The ceiling is decorated with paintings by Antonio Bellucci.
The organ
The sanctuary
The monument to the Lacey Family
The Annunciation. The windows are by Joshua Price (d. 1772)
The Nativity
What an enormous door!
When we arrived at Great Malvern Priory, it was cold, raining and getting dark! Sadly, the darkness precluded the taking of photos of the windows.
The Nave - note the Norman arches and pillars
The Lectern
Not many lectern eagles show their tongues!
Organ Console
The Quire and the Sanctuary
The Altar
Some of the Vaulting
Another part of the ceiling
In the evening we attended Hereford Cathedral for another performance of the Messiah. The soloists were Rowan Pierce (female and soprano), Annie Gill (mezzo soprano), Ruairi Bowen (tenor, same one as Gloucester - lucky he is really good!) and David Stout (baritone) The Marches Baroque accompanied the Hereford Choral Society who were conducted by Geraint Bowen. Once again, the performance was of a high standard.