When the church was built at Mathon towards the end of the 11th Century, it was a time when more castles and monasteries were being built rather than churches. If, as there is good reason to think, the village had been in existence for several hundred years, it is likely that the building was a replacement for an earlier Christian church, perhaps a wooden one. The new building was a simple one of rubble masonry, having an earth floor to the nave and sanctuary, and with no seats for the congregation, who stood or knelt for the daily Mass or the Sunday services. There was no pulpit, and no sermon, as preaching did not become popular until the 15th Century. The Mass was celebrated in Latin, and though many attended, they took the sacrament infrequently except at the major festivals, when attendance was almost universal. The stone altar in the sanctuary and the Norman font have not survived, and may have been destroyed, as many were at the Reformation. There was no glass in the windows of this early church, as it was scarce, expensive, and could only be obtained by wealthier churches and monasteries. This small building was the centre for the greatest events on the life of the village, the great festival of Christmas in the darkness and cold of winter, the Palm Sunday procession, the joy of Easter ushering in the Spring. The church and its grounds were used also for those rejoicings which enlivened a hard-working existence, such as Miracle Plays, churchyard fairs, parish ales and morris dancing. Our ancestors saw no harm in using the church for such pleasurable activities. In the days when few could read or write, the church with its wall pictures and Bible stories, and later in the Middle Ages, its stained glass and music gave an opportunity for the village people to be temporarily transported above their everyday lives.
The dimensions of this early church are shown by the characteristic herring-house masonry which can be seen on the outside South wall, of the nave, to the right of the porch, and which was revealed when the stucco was removed during a Victorian restoration.
Late in the 12th Century, the Chancel was re-built and the nave extended eastward and westward. The priest’s door in the South wall of the chancel is of this period, and so is the window on the west side of it. Close to the door is the original piscina, used for the washing of Communion vessels. The two round-headed East windows and the round window above them are of this time. The roof of the chancel is mediaeval, but would be of a later date, when there had been an improvement in woodworking skills. Also part of the first church is the South door with its plaited rope mouldings, a North door opposite, now blocked, and the window next to it which was later enlarged and lengthened.
The West Tower was built in the late 14th or early 15th Century. Its main purposes was to house the bells, but for many years it was a place of refuge for the village people when a raiding party approached. For this reason some towers were built without stairs, or even erected separately from the church (as at Bosbury) so that they could be more strongly constructed against attack.
The South porch and the nave roof were added during these years and are examples of good Herefordshire woodwork. There are six 17th Century bench seats, and the pulpit is Jacobean carved oak. The parish records show that there was a gallery in the church in 1850 when Samuel Archer, a carpenter who lived at Twynings House, made some repairs to it. Many village churches had such galleries, and one can still be seen in Stokesay Church in Shropshire. The musicians, who provided the accompaniment to hymns were seated in the gallery, a clarinet, bassoon and bass viol were the instruments, but they were now near the end of their tenure as the organ was installed in 1866 and the gallery was removed in the restoration of the church in Victorian times. It was probably at this time that the old pews were used to panel the sides of the nave, and new ones installed.
There is an oak chest bound with iron straps and made to hold the parish records. Its bears the names on the lid of the churchwardens, Jo. How, gent, and H. Dangerfield 1698.
Mathon has a ring of six bells, cast by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester in 1760, and the Sanctus bell by John Martin in 1675. In 1950 the oak frame had to be replaced by an iron and steel one. The work, carried out by John Taylor & Sons of Loughborough, cost £700, which was raised by public subscription and local fund-raising efforts. One bell was re-cast at this time, and bears the names of the vicar, Rev. P. B. Thorburn, and the churchwardens, M. F. Higgins, H. Fitzer. This was the E flat bell, number 2.
1. Treble, F: 4cwt. 2qrs. “Peace and Good Neighbourhood”
2. E. Flat: 4cwt. 2qrs. 19lbs. “Prosperity to the Town”
3. D. Flat: 4cwt. 3qrs. 18lbs. “God preserve our Church and State”
4. C. 5: 5cwt. 1qr. 1lb. “Fear God, Honour the King”
5. B. Flat: 5cwt. 3qrs. 8lbs. “Glory to God”
6. Tenor, A. Flat: 7cwt. 2qrs. 23lbs. “The living to the Church I call, and to the grave I summon all”
Perhaps some of the ringers were sometimes reluctant to leave their beds, because on the Ringing Chamber hangs the following rhyme:
MATHON December 24 1819
You ringers all that do ring here
Ring carefully with hand and ear,
Let everyone observe his bell,
To ring it right and rule it well.
For ‘tis indeed a shame to him
That takes a bell and cannot ring,
It’s better for him to stand off,
Than that Men should at him laugh.
For he that interrupts a peal
Shall surely pay a quart of ale,
Or ring with glove, spur or hat,
Must pay the like, be sure of that.
These rules let’s all observe and use,
That neither bells nor ropes abuse.
In silent order play your part,
For ringing is the best of Art.
A full architectural discussion of the church building can be found in the Victoria County History - Worcestershire or in the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments - Herefordshire East 1931 in Hereford Library.
Incumbents of Mathon Church