Welcome to Stoke Charity and Hunton Churches
The gloriously unspoilt ancient church of St Mary and St Michael is a treasure house of beautiful and ancient objects. The building dates mainly from the 12th and 13th centuries, the Norman nave and chancel perhaps being added to a small Saxon church which then formed the north aisle of the enlarged church. The nave was lengthened westward and the south wall rebuilt in the early 14th century. The side chapel, which has a portion of a 13th century wall painting, was rebuilt in the 15th century.
The church contains tombs and monuments from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, a rare 15th century sculpture depicting the Mass of St Gregory, some 15th century stained glass, 13th century floor tiles and a 12th century font. Much of the old work remains almost as it was when first built, having escaped any major restoration in the Victoria era. Its preservation can be attributed to the fact that throughout the 19th century there was no manor house and no one of any great wealth lived in the parish. William Cobbett in his travels on horseback in the middle of the 19th century visited Stoke Charity, as he relates in his "Rural Rides", and damns it as a half-starved place, with only two well-fed families: those of the farmer, who lived in the house to the east of the church, and of the curate, who lived in the Rectory. Such work as was done in Victorian days included the installation of the present pews and the re-plastering of the nave and chancel. In the latter process some fine medieval wall paintings were undoubtedly destroyed. Major conservation work on the fabric and furnishings of the church was undertaken in the years 1991-1997.
The church stands by itself in a field, where once also stood a manor house. The configuration of the church field suggests that the house stood to the west of the path that now leads to the church. Near the river Dever were the manor fishponds and the artificially levelled stretch of land to the west of the church was probably laid out in medieval days for archery and jousting practice. The manor house fell into ruin and was demolished c.1730. The house had been vacated by the last lord of the manor of Stoke Charity, St James Phelyppes. The Phelyppes supported the Royalist cause in the civil war and St James subsequently went to Ireland, where he died in 1690.
