CHURCH.
The earliest record of the name of the
parish suggests that Cherington had a church by the
time of the Norman Conquest. (fn. 5) Robert Doyley
granted two-thirds of the demesne tithes of
Cherington to St. George's chapel in Oxford castle,
which he founded in 1074. (fn. 6) The living was a rectory
in 1291 (fn. 7) and has remained one. The advowson,
which in the 16th and 18th centuries was sometimes
granted away for one turn, (fn. 8) followed the descent of
the manor (fn. 9) until 1954 when it passed to Mr.
E. M. M. Tarlton. (fn. 10)
In 1623 the rector's glebe included two yardlands
of arable and pasture for sheep and cattle in the open
fields and commons. He received all the tithes but
the lands in the parish forming part of the Hazleton
estate were tithe-free. (fn. 11) The latter represented the
land from which Robert Doyley had alienated the
tithes, for during the later Middle Ages Oseney
Abbey, which had succeeded to the endowments of
St. George's chapel in 1149, (fn. 12) received a pension
of 20s. in place of tithes from Cherington and
Hazleton from Kingswood Abbey; (fn. 13)
c. 1520 the
farmer of Cherington rectory was claiming tithes
from Kingswood. (fn. 14) By the late 17th century the
rector was taking a modus for the tithes of milk and
garden produce. (fn. 15) The tithes were commuted at the
inclosure of 1730 when the rector was awarded
325 a. for his tithes, glebe, and common rights. (fn. 16) In
1800 43 a. of glebe were sold for redemption of land
tax, (fn. 17) and the remainder, for which there was no
separate farm-house, was afterwards usually rented
by neighbouring farmers. (fn. 18) In 1973 102 a. were
rented by the owner of Coxe's farm and the other
168 a. were farmed with Westrip farm. (fn. 19)
The rectory house was in disrepair in 1563, (fn. 20) but
had apparently been rebuilt by 1623 when it was
said to be in good repair; (fn. 21) it comprised 6 bays in the
early 18th century. (fn. 22) With the non-residence of
successive rectors in the late 18th and early 19th
centuries (fn. 23) the house fell into decay and in 1855 was
considered unsuitable as a dwelling for a curate. (fn. 24)
The house, which stands at the eastern end of the
village, was rebuilt c. 1870.
The rectory was worth £8 in 1291 (fn. 25) and
£10 17s. 3d. in 1535. (fn. 26) It was valued at £65 in 1650, (fn. 27)
£100 in 1750, (fn. 28) and £176 in 1856. (fn. 29) A pension of
10s. owed to the rector of Avening in 1535 (fn. 30) possibly
derived from some agreement about parochial rights
over Aston. The transference of Aston to Cherington
parish was recommended in 1650, (fn. 31) and inhabitants
of Aston later attended Cherington church (fn. 32) and
were buried in its churchyard.
The rector William of Yetminster had leave of
absence in 1314 for one year while in the king's
service (fn. 33) and again in 1319 for three years. (fn. 34) In 1337
Leonard de Lucy was licensed to study for one
year. (fn. 35) William Pynnok incurred royal displeasure in
1366 by travelling abroad contrary to royal
proclamation. (fn. 36) John Gobbys was assisted by a
chaplain in 1498, (fn. 37) and Thomas Sheriff by a curate
in 1548. (fn. 38) Richard Bramborough, rector from 1548, (fn. 39)
who in 1551 was found to be learned and able to
answer all the articles, (fn. 40) was deprived in 1563
because of his unwillingness to accept the
Elizabethan Settlement. (fn. 41) The neglect of the
parsonage and chancel attributed to him (fn. 42) probably
resulted from non-residence; in 1553 the living was
served by a curate who farmed the benefice. (fn. 43) John
Rogers, rector from 1563, was deprived in 1574 (fn. 44) but
he retained the living in 1576 when he was found to
understand Latin and to be reasonably well versed in
the Scriptures. (fn. 45) His successor Thomas Whitesey,
presented in 1574, was not instituted until 1578
because of a dispute over the patronage. (fn. 46) Whitesey,
described as a preacher and a conformist in 1584, (fn. 47)
was said to be a non-graduate in 1593 when he also
held the living of Dodington. (fn. 48) Brian Harris, rector
1593-1610, (fn. 49) was presented in 1597 for not wearing
the surplice and in 1605 for failing to wear the square
cap. (fn. 50) Daniel Parker, rector 1611-50, (fn. 51) was described
in 1650 as a preaching minister. (fn. 52) During his
incumbency there was apparently some growth of
Puritan feeling in the parish; in the 1630s the
payment of church-rates was resisted by several
parishioners including Thomas Jelfe, (fn. 53) a baker, (fn. 54)
who later supported the parliamentary cause and
died in gaol after his capture at the siege of
Cirencester in 1643. (fn. 55) After Parker's death the parish
register was kept irregularly until the Restoration. (fn. 56)
Joseph Trapp, rector 1662-98, (fn. 57) was probably the
father of John Trapp who was curate from 1698 and
rector from 1700. There were two long incumbencies
covering much of the 18th century. Nathaniel
Hackham, rector from 1716, was succeeded in 1756
by Samuel Lysons, who held the living until 1804 in
plurality with Rodmarton, (fn. 58) where he resided,
although serving Cherington in person. (fn. 59) His
successor, William Cockin, who remained rector
until 1841, held the living from 1806 with
Minchinhampton, where he lived, appointing
stipendiary curates to serve Cherington. William
George of Cherington Park, appointed curate in
1829, became rector by his own presentation in
1841; he had resigned by 1862. (fn. 60) Between 1850 and
1855, when he was suspended for immorality, the
living was served by curates. (fn. 61) A vacancy in 1973 was
left unfilled and the parish served with Rodmarton
pending a proposed union of the livings. (fn. 62)
The church of ST. NICHOLAS (fn. 63) is built of
rubble and ashlar and has a chancel, nave with north
porch and south transept, and west tower. The nave
retains the proportions of the 12th-century church
and a carved tympanum and a window head remain
in the north wall. A second more elaborate
tympanum, said to have come from the south wall,
is at Cherington Park. The font and a capital
inverted and inset in a chancel-arch respond are
additional remnants of the 12th-century church.
The chancel was rebuilt in the mid 13th century and
is of uniform design, with string-courses inside and
out and broad rear arches to the lancet windows.
There were substantial alterations in the earlier 14th
century and their completion was possibly marked
by the consecration of the church in 1315: (fn. 64) the
westernmost window in the south wall of the chancel
was enlarged and the sill altered, the chancel arch
was widened, the transept and tower were added,
and all the nave windows were inserted. The nave
roof was rebuilt to a lower pitch in the later 15th
century. Restoration work was carried out in 1816 (fn. 65)
and 1881. (fn. 66) The porch, north doorway, and nave
north windows and south wall were rebuilt using
new stonework and it is not certain that the features
always copied their medieval predecessors.
Traces of medieval wall-painting including the
figure of a bishop survive in the splays of the east and
south lights in the transept. (fn. 67) There are several
monuments of the 17th and 18th centuries, chiefly to
rectors and members of the Coxe family. The
memorial to Daniel Parker (d. 1650) is set in a
13th-century double piscina in the chancel. There
are monuments to lords of the manor, including
John George, in the south transept.
The communion rails date from the 18th century.
There were four bells c. 1703. (fn. 68) Two were cast in
1663 and 1670 by Edward Neale of Burford. The
others were recast, one in 1744 by Abel Rudhall
and the other in 1870 by I. W. Gardiner of
Tetbury. (fn. 69) The 'theft' of the treble c. 1830, when it
hung temporarily in Avening church, became the
subject of some doggerel. (fn. 70) The plate includes a
chalice and paten-cover of 1676 and an alms-dish of
1693. The silver communion set is dated 1859. (fn. 71)
The registers begin in 1567 (fn. 72) but were irregularly
kept in the mid 17th century. (fn. 73)