There is a small notice board next to the church door that gives information with respect to services, that appear to have a rolling agenda, and times that it is open for the public. The section "Public Opening Arrangements 2011" reads:
"Opening will commence on Easter Monday and will continue until the end of October. The church will be open from 10:30am to 4:30pm on the following days:
Every Saturday
The third Sunday of each month (when there is no planned service)
Each Bank Holiday Monday
For access at other times requests should be made in advance by contacting the church office on weekdays between 9:30am and 12:30pm on 01452 712154."
Be sure to go to the west of the church to view the immaculate burial grounds.
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St Bartholomew's Church was the original Parish Church for Churchdown. Now it is one of two, the other being St Andrews.
Old paintings and photographs of Chosen Hill made before the Austrian firs were planted about 1898 show clearly how striking a landmark this ancient church must have been; the hill itself, only 511 feet above sea level, can be glimpsed from surprising distances, and from it's summit can be seen Worcester Cathedral and the welsh counties from Radnorshire to Breconshire.
Probably the nearest hilltop church is St Arilda's at Oldbury on Severn which "still stands in it's primitive circular churchyard". St Bartholomews and it's churchyard stand in the north east corner of an Iron Age hill fort.
Other lofty churches have had their building materials insistently carried to their sites by agencies as diverse as Angels, a flock of white doves, witches, goblins, Queen Mab and her elves, and a hog. St Bartholomew's perch is attributed to the devil ( too steep to be climbed except by the few very devout ). The county historian Revd. T. Rudge, borrowing from Bigland, may have the answer: " The laborious piety of our ancestors, which connected merit with difficulty". Within living memory, however, there were several cottages around the Church. It is also important to remember that St Bartholomews was the parish Church for the neighbouring village of Hucclecote until it had it's own Church in 1850. The remains of the old road to Hucclecote to the top of the hill can still be found.
For an old Church with the scantiest written records, there has been a surprising amount of learned conjecture, and definite - sometimes conflicting - statements, mainly from older writers who, a century ago, could see the fabric and interpret the story more clearly than we can now after the radical restoration work in 1880, and even that of 1923 - 1925 and 1966-1967.
Origins
In the North Wall of the chancel is some stonework. It's age and antiquity are doubtful, but Canon Bazely in 1921 considered that "the Saxon work here" probably belonged to a church provided for the tenants of her Royal Manor by Ethelfleda, Lady of the Mercians and daughter of King Alfred, and then granted to the priory at Gloucester, which she and her husband founded.He also speculated: "The chancel has been rebuilt within the memory of man, but the materials, which have been used again and again may well have formed part of a heathen temple, if not part of an early British Church."
Usually preferred, is that the Church was founded in Norman times, about 1175, almost certainly built by Roger Du Point L'Eveque, Norman Archbishop of York from 1154-1180, and the lord of the manor and Barony of Churchdown. The original Norman Church was small, comprising the present nave space, with the south wall where the arcade now stands, and attached to a Norman tower at the west. At the east end there would be an apse in which the alter stood.
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ST BARTHOLOMEW'S CHURCH AND CHURCHYARD is an ancient Christian site and the church is still used for worship most Sundays and on other occasions. The Church has its origins in Norman times, about 1175, but the site itself is believed to have had earlier Christian and pre-Christian uses. The Church is a Grade I listed building with many old and interesting features. The beautiful north porch lies beneath an unusual 'Priest's Room', the Font is believed to originate from the 14th century and the pulpit, installed in 1631, is one of the Church's treasures.
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St Bartholomew's Church is located in a commanding position on top of Chosen Hill. On a clear day you can see for miles around. An asset that was appreciated by our ancestors during war and peace, and well worth savouring during a summers evening while the local band practice their ancient art of Bellringing.
The newest of our six bells is the Treble , which was installed in 1933 when the existing five bells were rehung on roller bearings. The frame is inscribed J. E. Jacques 1828, but was rebuilt in the late 19th century, and again in 1933. The parish records for 1828 record that “the bells were rehung and new timbered by J. Jacques of Gloucester and opened 27th June 1828 by the ringers of St Mary de Crypt in Gloucester” While our Tenor bell is not notably old in “bell terms” it is a sobering thought that around the time this was cast, The English Civil War had finished only 32 years previously; Cromwell died only 20 years before; the Great Plague, and Great Fire of London were recent memories. In the same year 1678 John Bunyan published the first part of Pilgrim’s Progress. Life must have been very different then.
Graffiti artists however predate this, and Churchdown has had it‘s share! If you were to venture inside St Bartholomew's you will note the ground floor ringing room is now divided off from the nave by a modern oak screen. This cuts across much ancient carved graffiti going back to the tower’s construction, including one by ‘Sam-uel (C)ollerick 1647’ with some scratched out words in large letters. This was during the latter part of the Civil War. Earlier, in 1643, the next village of Badgeworth was sacked and deserted and Chosen Hill on which St Bartholomew’s sits, was used as a lookout point during the siege of Gloucester. Gloucester held out against a full scale Royalist assault for three weeks. A Thomas Collerick was Vicar before, possibly Samuel’s father? Below this inscription, about 400mm above floor level, is a curious little wall painting, about 300mm high of a 17th century post mill. No records exist of a windmill in the parish, but the 1:25000 Ordnance Survey map shows a ‘Tumulus’ in the vale below on a low hill, just over the parish boundary with Badgeworth. This has been ploughed out, destroying the tell-tale cross shaped depression on top which would confirm it as a windmill site. However, quite why anybody would trouble to bring a pot of paint up in to the church, sit on the floor and carefully paint a windmill is a complete mystery. Until recently a plug socket had been screwed on top of the painting, but this has now been relocated. Finally on 3rd September 1833 Peter Uzzell and Henry Berry climbed up to the Belfry, sat on the east & west window sills respectively, and carved their names in the stone. Peter made a much neater job!
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