Inside St Mary the Virgin's Church, Forthampton

This stone altar is a survival from the 13th century, complete - so the guide book tells us - with “four chamfered stone shafts and three consecration crosses”. It is apparently one of the few stone altars to survive intact after the Reformation.

The reredos, “a boldly three dimensional crucifixion scene with eight flanking figures” was competed in 1866. Other alterations to the church at this time were to designs by William BURGES, who also designed Lille Cathedral, St Fin Barre Cathedral in Cork, and Cardiff Castle. The work was commissioned by the Yorke family in memory of Augusta Emmeline Yorke who died in 1863.

The east window is by Burges, and depicts The Virtues, separated by leaves and russet apples.

(Information provided by Rosemary Lockie)