The parish church of St. Mary the Virgin at Kempsford is an impressive building.   Its setting is picturesque and peaceful and well kept.   Then you enter the church building and, well, wow!   It is big, tall and there is so much to take in.   Undoubtedly the most striking feature is the vaulted ceiling of the tower.   According to the history leaflet available inside the church, the tower was constructed in the 13th century and rebuilt in the 15th century when the carved ceiling was added.   The carvings were re-painted in 1862 and still look to be in splended condition.   Of course our photographs cannot do it justice - it is so high up and out of reach of the camera's flash.   The stained glass windows of the north and south sides of the tower are just breathtaking for their size and colour.

There are many other beautiful things to see inside the church.   The floor tiles are in good condition and very elaborate compared to other churches we have visited.   And there are so many stained glass windows; large ones, small ones, some very high up.

Well done to the congregation who have taken their responsibility of looking after the fabric and history of their building seriously.

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St. Mary the Virgin (384k)

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South porch, 13th century (411k)

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Various stone carvings on the outside of the building (125k)

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North porch, circa 15th century (509k)

Carvings either side and above the entrance (175k)

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Bench in memory of Michael LYNE (D032 - 97k)

Memorial Plaque 1944 (D033 - 168k)

Digby GRITTON (D035 - 104k)

Eric LANE (D034 - 99k)

David WATSON (D036 - 95k)