3 ASTON (D.a.)
(O.S. 6 in. III, S.W.)
Aston is a small parish 8½ m. N.N.W. of Leominster. The church, with a remarkable 12th-century
doorway, is the principal monument.
Ecclesiastical
(1). Parish Church of St. Giles stands near the
middle of the parish. The walls are of local sandstone
rubble with dressings of the same material; the roofs
are tiled. The Nave was built about the middle of the
12th century. The Chancel was largely re-built in the
13th century when the chancel-arch was re-built. There
appears to have been a N. vestry, now destroyed. At
some uncertain date the E. wall of the chancel was
re-built. The church was restored in 1883 when the
bell-turret was re-built.
The tympanum and other ornaments of the N. doorway are remarkable examples of mid 12th-century
work.
Architectural Description—The Chancel (13½ ft.
square) has an E. wall, perhaps of the 17th century
or earlier, and an E. window with 13th-century splays
and a modern head and rear-arch. In the N. wall is
a 12th-century window of one round-headed light, all
modern externally; further W. is a doorway, perhaps
of the 17th century; it has a wooden frame and a
square head and is now blocked. In the S. wall are
two windows, the eastern of late 13th-century date,
and of two trefoiled lights; the western window is
a 'low-side' of late 15th or early 16th-century date,
and of one square-headed light with a modern shutter.
The 13th-century chancel-arch is two-centred and of
two continuous chamfered orders.
The Nave (27 ft. by 15¼ ft.) has, in the N. wall, a
12th-century window of one round-headed light; the
mid 12th-century N. doorway has plain jambs with
chamfered imposts (Plate 16) carved with dragonesque
forms or foliage, and a round arch with cheveronornament, enclosing a carved tympanum (Plate 85);
this has a central circle enclosing an Agnus Dei and
supported by a beast with an eagle's head and wings
for St. John and the winged ox of St. Luke; an outer
band has four beasts and a bird in foliage on the curved
part and checker-ornament above the door-opening.
In the S. wall are two modern windows; the 12th-century S. doorway, now blocked, has plain jambs and
flat lintel with a round arch above enclosing a plain
panel or tympanum. In the W. wall are two modern
windows.
The Church, Plan
The Roof of the nave is of late 14th-century date and
of four bays; the middle trusses have tie-beams and
collars with curved braces between them forming
segmental arches; the end trusses have tie-beams, collars
and queen-posts; between the purlins are diagonal
wind-braces cusped on the under side.
Fittings—Bell: one, by John Martin of Worcester,
1691. Brackets: In nave—over chancel-arch, two
stone corbels. Chair: In chancel—with curved arms
and panelled back with incised geometrical design, mid
17th-century. Coffin-lid: In chancel—against N. wall,
fragment with incised stem on trefoiled base, early
14th-century. Communion Table: with turned legs,
late 17th or early 18th-century. Plate: includes
17th-century cup with baluster-stem and a pewter
plate of late 17th or early 18th-century date. Miscellanea: In nave—stone (Plate 16) in the form of a
truncated cone hollowed out on the base, sides carved
with a dragon, beast and scrolled foliage, 12th century,
purpose uncertain.
Condition—Good.
Secular
(2). Mound (Plan, p. xxviii) and moat 120 yards N.E.
of the church, probably a castle-mound or tump. The
mound is roughly circular, and about 47 yards in
diameter at the base, rising about 24 ft. above the
bottom of the ditch. The moat is still wet on the
N.W. side.
Condition—Planted with trees.
(3). The Farm, house about 150 yards N. of the
church, is of two storeys with cellars; the walls are
of rubble and the roofs are covered with slates and
tiles. It was built early in the 17th century, on a
T-shaped plan with the cross-wing at the S. end. There
is a late 17th-century addition on the N.E. and an
18th-century extension on the W. On the N. side is
an original window with moulded mullions. Inside
the building are some exposed ceiling beams.
Condition—Good.
Unclassified
(4). Mound (Plan, p. xxviii), S. of the road and 350
yards N.N.E. of the church, is roughly circular in
form, 50 yards in diameter at the base, and with a flat
top rising at most about 9½ ft. above the surrounding
ground. There are traces of a ditch on the S. and W.
and of a small outer enclosure on the W.
Condition—Poor.
(5). Lynchets, near the foot of Juniper Hill, 650
yards N.E. of the church, consist of five terraces of
varying width from 45 to 25 ft. and extending to an
average length of 115 yards.
Condition—Fairly good.