Blanche Parry

Other Nearby Places To Visit

Bacton Church: St.Faith (like Dorstone)

The earliest dedication at Bacton was to Saint Foi, a disciple of the 6th century Bishop Dubricius (or Dyfrig), who came to be equated with Saint Faith of Conques in France in the Medieval period.
The present Church is mainly 13th century with 14th‐15th century alterations and a tower that is mostly 16th century.
The repaired, late 15th century choir stalls have a tiny carved Parry coat‐of‐arms and were probably designed to match the now lost Rood Screen. The date suggests they were commissioned by Blanche Parry's parents. This Church was the mausoleum, or burial place, for Blanche's family.
The steps in the wall to this Screen, which divided the chancel from the nave, can still be seen.
Bacton has a number of unique features, the most notable of which is the monument commissioned for herself by Blanche Parry, the confidante of Queen Elizabeth I. This is securely dated to before November 1578 and so is the earliest known representation of the Queen as an icon, as Gloriana.
Opposite the door is a copy of the Bacton Altar Cloth, part of a dress worn by Queen Elizabeth I. The original is in Hampton Court Palace. See: Bacton Altar Cloth
Amongst the other interesting memorials are two tablets from the 1914‐1918, First World War. Carved on these are coloured, military ribbon decorations, which are very rare features on such memorial stones.
Bacton owns a pre‐Reformation chalice and paten (kept in Hereford Cathedral).
The stained‐glass is modern. The early stained‐glass showing Blanche's father and her grandparents can be seen in the Gallery
Available in the Church is a guide and 'Blanche Parry & Queen Elizabeth I'. The hall adjacent to the Church, when open, has toilet facilities. It stands on the site of the Medieval ale‐house.

Kilpeck Church: St. Mary & St. David

is a jewel, described as 'one of the most perfect Norman village churches in England...' (Pevsner)

The graveyard was originally rounded denoting an even older religious site. The earlier bank can be traced on the north, behind the Church. It was evidently an important and ancient site.
A charter, dated c.850 AD, in the Book of Llandaff, records the gift of the Church with a surrounding estate to Bishop Crecielis. It is described as the cil, or retreat cell, of Pedic in Ergyng, the old name for this area in south Herefordshire. This suggests an earlier dedication to an unknown Saint Pedic.
The present building, in red sandstone, is a typical lay‐out of nave, chancel and apse of c.1134‐1145, though it may incorporate some Saxon masonry. The builder, Hugh de Kilpeck, was the lord who lived in the castle with his family and retainers.
Later King John stayed in the castle to hunt in Trivel Forest, see: King John & Dore Abbey.
The Church's glory is the wealth of decoration, all originally painted. It is the prime surviving example of the Herefordshire School of Sculpture. Much of it seems was made about the time the Church was given to the Benedictine Abbey of Gloucester in 1143. A priory of this abbey was nearby.