Widford, Essex

St Mary is locked but with a keyholder listed but as it is a Victorian barn of a church situated by a busy roundabout I decided against seeking out the key - sometimes you know when it's not worth the effort.

ST MARY. 1862 by St Aubyn. With a tall stone spire. - (In the churchyard MONUMENT to Viscountess Falkland, 1778, by Edward Pierce, designed by G. Gibson. See R. Gunnis.)

WIDFORD. Its great house and its church are 19th century, the house in the splendid 600 acres of Hylands Park, the church remarkable for its imposing spire rising 145 feet. A window in the tower has fine figures of the Madonna in white, St George in a rich red cloak, and St Nicholas in purple carrying a sailing ship. A big sycamore guards the churchyard, where we see the tomb of Lady Falkland, who was a benefactor of the village in the 18th century.

Flickr.