St Michael's   Quarley    Hampshire

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Detailed Description

On the edge of this tiny village sits a tiny church. A Saxo-Norman church that could easily be mistaken for a house (tombstones aside). It has no bell tower, but three bells hung a few feet off the ground from a wooden frame to the east of the church. Only one survives to date. Also the north window that sits behind the alter is uncharacteristic of the Saxon style. It is in fact a Venetian window with square iconic columns to each side, both on the exterior and interior. The story behind this window comes from the inscription that is on the exterior and the interior. �Gulielmus Benson & Henricus Hoar F. AD 1723� Both men are linked with Palladian architecture. Benson lived a few miles away in a Wiltshire house that he designed himself and which was said to have been one of the first Palladian houses built in England. Henry Hoar Senior was an architect who built Stourhead House also in Wiltshire which was in fact one of the first Palladian buildings in England. He was also the manor of Quarley. So they probably teamed up and produced one of the earliest Venetian windows in England.

Architect

More from this architect Unknown

Period

More in this period 11th Century

Location

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