St Mary's @ Newton Valance.

The Anglican church of St Mary’s was restored in 1871 and is faced in flint with a tiled roof. Inside, the nave and chancel are early English, dated around 1300, the West tower is also early English, but has an embattled top made of brick and dated to 1812. There are five bells in the tower, the largest weighing nine hundredweight. The tower’s black faced clock was restored as a millennium project.

Opposite the driveway to the church is a dew pond which was repuddled in the 1990’s. Nearby,  on a triangle of grass between Newton Lane and the track to Selborne  common is a small sarsen stone.

The reason I made the trip to Newton Valance this morning was to take a look at the ancient Yew tree that stands proudly next to the church, It’s age has been estimated at about 1000 years.

The Church has trees and bushes up against one side with a wall and hedge at one end. At the opposite end to the wall and hedge stands the huge Yew tree leaving only two possible views of the church one either side of the Yew tree, so it was to be a choice between end or side elevation.

So, side it is, with a little bit of Yew tree thrown in for good measure.

 

Beautiful  tree, beautiful church,  beautiful morning.............!!

 

j.

 

Dew Pond :- A dew pond is an artificial pond usually sited on the top of a hill, intended for watering livestock. Dew ponds are used in areas where a natural supply of surface water may not be readily available. The name dew pond (sometimes cloud pond or mist pond) is first found in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1865.[1] Despite the name, their primary source of water is believed to be rainfall rather than dew or mist.