Before we look over some of the stones in the graveyard take a look up to the right as you pass the front of the Porch. The then Norman church was expanded by the addition of a square tower at the West end of the nave sometime in the 12th / 13th Century. The tower houses the clock mechanism which you saw as you came through the Lantern Gate. Sometime in the mid 13th century the church was rebuilt, achieving its present form. The number of features that date to this period suggest that a major disaster may have struck the church which required complete reconstruction. As part of the rebuild the tower was increased in height and buttressed. OK, if you're ready, let's move on to look at some of the headstones in the churchyard. |