Romanesque fragments - St Marwenne - Marhamchurch, Cornwall - Romanesque Architecture on Waymarking.com

Two Romanesque carved stones in Marwenne's church, Marhamchurch. A quarter capital and a base from a doorway shaft.

"The Norman church probably consisted of nave, chancel and S transept; together with the nave S wall and chancel S and E walls probably on the original foundations.

The Welsh saint Morwenna, the patron also of Morwenstowe, must have founded an oratory here prior to the Saxon conquest, which occurred earliest in this north-eastern area of Cornwall and more or less eliminated original Cornish place names. The manor of "Maronecircke" or "Maronacirca" mentioned in the Domesday Book was perhaps the Celtic endowment. This was of course secularized and Marhamchurch became an ordinary parish.

On the [right hand side of the] sill of the W window of the N wall of the N aisle rests the base from the corner shaft of a doorway. This has shallow cavetto and torus mouldings, the front corners with ribbed foot ornaments, tapering towards the square base. It has been hollowed out for use as a flower pot, with a drainage hole; found in the rectory in the last century, it is of a coarse, non-local stone.

In the other corner of the same window sill is a fragmentary quarter capital. This is multi-scalloped with traces of a leaf motif in the shields, most of which have been truncated, as the abacus, originally square, has been trimmed off. It is of Ventergan stone, hard, grey and fine-grained, and was found during the restoration of 1907.

The motifs just discernible in the shields of the capital fragment resemble those used on one of the St. Teath capitals. Sedding suggests that the arches originally above the capital were square in section, probably with a recessed order as in Morwenstowe and St. Germans. In Henderson's time it was kept in the vestry, Dating: second quarter of 12thc. Sedding compared the base with those of the circular shafts of the S doorway of Holsworthy church in Devon. Dating: mid-12thc."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Web site proof of Romanesque or Pre-Romanesque features: [Web Link] Type of building (structure): Church Address: St Marwenne Marhamchurch Cornwall England EX23 0HY Date of origin: Not listed Architect(s) if known: Not listed Romanesque or Pre-Romanesque: Not listed

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