Relhan Collection : 340 Hardwick church

Relhan, Richard, 1782-1844

Relhan Collection

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>St Mary’s church was rebuilt in the C15 century without aisles, possibly on old foundations and retaining the unbuttressed late C14 tower and spire. Nothing <i>seems </i>to have changed from the drawing except for the windows to the chancel and the rendering of the walls, which Relhan shows as lime washed, but Bell 1883 commented ‘<i>whatever feature of interest this church possessed were destroyed at its restoration</i>’, and it was also restored by Detmar Blow in 1901, with further work in 1987. The C15 queen post roofs, covered with plain tiles, were changed to slate and plain tile, possibly 1901. Strikingly, cattle are grazing and being milked in the churchyard. In earlier years this would suggest the incumbent was a Puritan, but probably not by Relhan’s day. There are 2 rows of illegible C18 gravestones which may include survivals of those drawn in C19. An altar tomb for William Middleton, parson, died 1613, survives, although letters filled with lead date to 1748. It was described by Layer as grey marble raised on brick, and was recorded in 1968, but had lost its metal letters. It is presumably the one shown in the foreground of the drawing. </p><p>Bell 2013; Bradley and Pevsner 2014; Davis EM pers comm; RCHME 1968; Wright 1991</p></p>