St Mary The Virgin Easington Village

You may see St Mary The Virgin Church as you coast up or down the A19 in County Durham. It sits majestically on the high point of Halls Walk in Easington Village and can be seen 30 miles out to sea!

I am most grateful to Hazel, the Church Warden who gave me some wonderful insights and recommended picking up the guidebook and layout leaflet. There is also a wonderful short History of Easington Village written in 1959/1960 by Hannah Brown (1898 to 1990) for the Womens Institute History competition.

Easington Village is not to be confused with Easington Colliery, the neighbouring village, and Easington Lane, which is 3.5 miles away to the northwest. This village has a lovely green and the area stems from Anglo Saxon times. St Marys has a few relics such as the Saxon cross that can be seen in the wall.

The church is predominately Norman-looking and the Romanesque Tower dates to the mid-12th Century.

A stone wall around most of the churchyard drops 6 feet to the roadside in places and makes it all that more imposing from the pavement.

The graveyard has mainly 19th-century graves. From the History of Easington Village:

"When a pauper died, the body was put in a rough coffin of plain wood, covered with a black cloth, and wheeled in a hand cart to the churchyard for burial in the pauper's section at the N.E. corner. Part of the pauper's section was taken off for road widening in 1937. The wall was set back and the bones that were dug up were discreetly buried in another part of the churchyard."

The church has a benchmark on its southeast corner which is a nice find for trekkers. It is a projecting type bracket which is not that common. This measures height and given St Mary's position, it is certainly one of the highest points. This benchmark is part of the 3rd Geodetic Levelling of England and Wales that took place between 1950 to 1968. The initials O S B M are embossed on the plate with an arrow.

The interior of St Mary the Virgin has much to admire. There are Gothic and Victorian alterations but the pillars are dated no later than 1195 due to their characteristics. The south aisle has two octagonal and one round pillar and the north aisle has two round and one octagonal. Hazel tells me they are wonky. Subsidence is apparent in many churches and is a tricky one to overcome.

The font is worthy of an inspection. The guidebook Easington Parish Church by the Revd. Neville Vine gives this information:

'The steps [To the font] except for an addition on the west are clearly medieval, as probably is the moulded base. The shaft and plain bowl are more puzzling, they might be retooled 13th-century work or a piece of surprisingly unassuming Victorian medievalism.'

The mouse on the font cover is the unmistakable work of Robert (Mouseman) Thompson (1876 to 1955)

From the website the mouse motif was believed to stem from a conversation in 1919 and Thompson later said:

"The origin of the mouse as my mark was almost in the way of being an accident. I and another carver were carving a huge cornice for a screen and he happened to say something about being as poor as a church mouse. I said I will carve a mouse here and did so, and then it struck me, what a lovely trademark."

This piece can be dated to 1930's as this mouse has no front feet.

The cast iron spiral stairs to the clock are ornate and probably Victorian. Hazel explained that her husband ascends these once a week to wind the clock. If you fancy it, the church is looking for a new volunteer to step up to this task.

There are several notable Rectors

Anthony Bek became a Prince Palatine, serving in the 13th and 14th centuries. He helped quell the Scots under Edward I.

Robert De Geneva became Pope Clement VII in 1378. Known as 'The most unfortunate of Popes' due to religious, political and military struggles during his watch.

John Kemp became Cardinal of St Balbina in 1439 and sometimes known as Cardindal Baminus; or of Canterbury or York.

They all got to wear red.

The clergy would had been especially busy after the First World War: From a history of Easington Village:

"During the winter 1918 -19 when the Influenza epidemic swept the country, the village too was stricken. The school was closed almost the whole period, November 19th, 1918 to March 14th, 1919 on account of the epidemic. Burials continued all day until dusk at the village cemetery."

There is a fair amount of wood furniture and ornamentation in the church, which some are Gothic and Victorian alterations, some has been kindly donated and is the work of skillful locals

Wood Pew ends are hand carved and date to 1660. They have festoons of fruit and flowers.

Two artworks by Kenneth Rowden (1935 to 1999) are on display. Ken was born in nearby Horden, worked as a welder, expanded this skill into the art world, became a successful sculptor, and exhibited internationally in the USA, France and Blighty. He presented the former Prime Minster John Major with a piece entitled 'The Stumps' which depicted old father time from Lords Cricket Ground. The welded pieces are The Cruxification and St Godric which is postioned outside his cave.

There are many stained glass windows but interestingly it is worth noting the North side has plain windows.

There is still more here, with connections to Alice in Wonderland, effigies of a Knight and a Lady, and a sea view.