‘THE ART SOCIETY’ CHURCH RECORDING GROUP

27 Apr 2022 • Other News

On Sunday 20 March, members of ‘THE ART SOCIETY’ CHURCH RECORDING GROUP (Worcester) joined our service to present a bound copy of their ‘record’ of Hanbury Church furnishings. This has photographs, descriptions and makers’ names and is bound in blue linen.

One of the most illuminating sections lists the translations of Latin inscriptions on indoor monuments which are too high to read in the normal way. They demonstrate the

overwhelming presence of the Vernon family between 1666 to 1962. The Bearcrofts of Mere Hall have a few, but further memorials were located at Broughton Chapel and in a vault in Hanbury churchyard. The Parkes family is also noteworthy.

Textiles which are brought into use according to their liturgical colours can be viewed easily from photographs, rather than by handling ‘arms full’ of weighty fabric; they are stored on hangers in long chests in the organ aisle. Details of bells, metalwork and woodwork are of interest too. The researchers, led by Keith Bridges, found Hanbury to be a particularly interesting project. If anyone would like to view the tome, please ask. The researchers were thanked for their hours of dedication over a period of three years.