stiffleaf's hertfordshire churches
  • Visiting Hertfordshire churches
  • Contact
  • Locked churches, and Mammon and the church
  • Architectural style in Hertfordshire churches.
  • Fonts, glass, woodwork and tiles in Hertfordshire churches.
  • Hertfordshire church monuments.
  • Glossary and links.
  • Architectural timeline
  • Abbots Langley church, Hertfordshire
  • Albury church, Hertfordshire
  • Aldbury church, Hertfordshire
  • Aldenham church, Hertfordshire
  • Anstey church, Hertfordshire
  • Ardeley church, Hertfordshire
  • Ashwell church, Hertfordshire
  • Ayot St.Lawrence churches, Hertfordshire
  • Baldock church, Hertfordshire
  • Barkway church, Hertfordshire
  • Bengeo church, Hertfordshire
  • Benington church, Hertfordshire
  • Berkhamsted church, Hertfordshire
  • Bishop's Stortford church, Hertfordshire
  • Braughing church, Hertfordshire
  • Brent Pelham church, Hertfordshire
  • Broxbourne church, Hertfordshire
  • Caldecote church, Hertfordshire
  • Cheshunt church, Hertfordshire
  • Chipping Barnet church, Hertfordshire
  • Clothall, church, Hertfordshire
  • Cottered church, Hertfordshire
  • Cuffley church, Hertfordshire
  • Datchworth church, Hertfordshire
  • East Barnet church, Hertfordshire
  • Eastwick church, Hertfordshire
  • Flamstead church, Hertfordshire
  • Furneux Pelham church, Hertfordshire
  • Gilston church, Hertfordshire
  • Great Amwell church, Hertfordshire
  • Great Gaddesden church
  • Great Hormead church, Hertfordshire
  • Great Offley church, Hertfordshire
  • Great Wymondley church, Hertfordshire
  • Hatfield church, Hertfordshire
  • Hemel Hempstead church, Hertfordshire
  • Hertford churches, Hertfordshire
  • Hertingfordbury church, Hertfordshire
  • High Wych church, Hertfordshire
  • Hitchin church, Hertfordshire
  • Hunsdon church, Hertfordshire
  • Ippollitts church, Hertfordshire
  • Kings Langley church, Hertfordshire
  • Knebworth churches, Hertfordshire
  • Little Gaddesden church, Hertfordshire
  • Little Hadham church, Hertfordshire
  • Little Hormead church, Hertfordshire
  • Little Munden church, Hertfordshire
  • Markyate church, Hertfordshire
  • Meesden church, Hertfordshire
  • Much Hadham church, Hertfordshire
  • Nettleden church, Hertfordshire
  • Newnham church, Hertfordshire
  • North Mymms church, Hertfordshire
  • Oxhey chapel, Hertfordshire
  • Redbourn church, Hertfordshire
  • Royston church and cave
  • St.Albans churches, Hertfordshire
  • St.Albans cathedral, Hertfordshire
  • St.Pauls Walden church, Hertfordshire
  • Sawbridgeworth church, Hertfordshire
  • Standon church, Hertfordshire
  • Stanstead Abbotts church, Hertfordshire
  • Stanstead St. Margaret church, Hertfordshire
  • Stocking Pelham church, Hertfordshire
  • Thorley church, Hertfordshire
  • Walkern church, Hertfordshire
  • Ware church, Hertfordshire
  • Waterford church, Hertfordshire
  • Watford churches, Hertfordshire
  • Watton-at-Stone church, Hertfordshire
  • Weston church, Hertfordshire
  • Wheathampstead church, Hertfordshire
  • Wyddial church, Hertfordshire
  • Wormley church, Hertfordshire
St. Nicholas, Great Hormead.


Away south from the centre of the little village, this church sits closer to the local patron's house. As so often in rural N.E. Hertfordshire, the local lordling's ease comes before that of his tenants.This church was much restored in the 1870s; its chancel and porch are Victorian and the late fourteenth century tower and late mediaeval nave and aisles were renewed with crisp nineteenth century ashlar. However, this C19th skin covers an earlier body, mostly of dates between 1300 to 1400, but retaining Norman details here and there. The font may have been tidied up but dates from around 1200. Damage left on the edge of the bowl where a lock once fitted often helps prove a mediaeval date when a font has lost its patina of age to Victorian chisels.
Picture

PictureC12th feline mask

Picture

Picture

Picture

PictureC14th roof corbel

Inside, this was a dark church even on a bright summer's day; partly the result of the 1870s stained glass that fills most of the windows, some of which is Clayton and Bell's work just as they hover on the edge of their fall from early grace into later mass production .Photography was not helped by the power being off: no lighting, nor power for my builders' floodlights. Even so, it was possible to make out what looked like reused twelfth century corbels in the south aisle, and two sets of fourteenth and fifteenth century roof corbels in the nave over the fourteenth century arcades.
PictureC15th head

PictureC14th roof corbel

PictureMan pulling faces

This is a pleasant enough church, with fresh flowers helping a somewhat tired interior; despite its heavy handed restoration there was nothing outstandingly out of place, and a few items of interest, if nothing worth going far out of your way for. Perhaps the fact that we can say that just shows how spoiled for choice we are; plenty of the corbels here would find an easy home in many museums around the world, yet just because they are not presented as sculptures they often don't get a second glance. 

The church is I believe always open in daylight - though it would help if any reached the interior to brighten the Stygian gloom. Full marks for being open, anyway.
All rights reserved for this entire site. Copyright reserved to stiffleaf for all text and images, which may not be reproduced without my permission.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.