St Mary's Church, Itchen Stoke

St Mary’s Church stands in the Hampshire village of Itchen Stoke, beside the River Itchen. It is a redundant Anglican church now looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust and protected as a Grade II* listed building. The present church is the third on the site, replacing earlier structures that fell into disrepair. The first church, built before 1270, was pulled down around 1830 because of damp. The second church, funded by Lord Ashburton, was itself demolished in 1866 after complaints that it was cold and damp. The church is worth visiting for its striking architecture and unusual history. It was designed by Henry Conybeare, an engineer with a taste for Gothic style who had also worked in Mumbai. Nikolaus Pevsner praised the building as “serious and impressive,” noting its resemblance to the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Lady Ashburton donated the rose window above the west door in memory of her husband. The church’s vaulted stone roofs and patterned slates add to its distinctive appearance. Visitors enter by a steep path from the main road and pass through a wide vestibule with a vaulted stone roof. Inside, the nave is tall and divided by wall columns under a timber roof. The chancel is semi-octagonal, its vaulted ceiling supported by moulded ribs. Coloured glass in the windows forms small rose motifs, and the floor is laid with brown and green tiles arranged as a labyrinth. The contemporary furnishings include an enamel and marble font, an iron scrollwork pulpit, and panelled pews.