Local Churches - Wixford

The church of St. Milburga at Wixford is not quite a parish church in the sense of being the chief parochial place of worship. In pre-Reformation days it was a chapel attached to Salford Priors but after the Reformation became a chapel attached to Exhall next door. There is no priest shown in 1086 in Domesday Book but that is understandable if Salford supplied the ministry.

It is but a small church, consisting of nave and chancel, with an attached chapel on the south. The chapel dates from about 1440, becoming a chantry chapel in 1448, the endowment provid ing for a chantry priest to pray for the souls of various people, in cluding Thomas and Juliana Cruwe The Cruwes are commemorated by their low altar tomb, on which is one of Warwickshire’s finest brass es and is dated 1411. Thomas is in full plate armour and his lady rests her feet on a pet dog. ‘Victoria County History’ refers to the custom of parishioners holding a feast on All Saints’ Day at the tomb in the chapel. In the same book may be found a plan of the church and a detailed exposition of the architecture. In spite of the alterations and additions of the centuries, part of the nave, on both sides, is of the 12th century.

Approaching the church from the Roman road (Ryknield Street), which joins Oversley and Wixford, one notices immediately a very large and fine old yew tree, as well as a thatched wooden shed which tradition says was the stable for the horses of visiting clergy. In looking at ancient buildings it is dways better to inspect the outside before entering. To do this at Wixford will reveal various scratched sundials (mass dials?) on the outer wall of the chantry chapel, as well as ancient scratchings and initials. In the churchyard there is also the base of a 15th century churchyard cross. The memorial inscriptions of the churchyard graves have been recorded by our society in its M.I.s of the Lower Arrow Valley : some of the interments were not from Exhall or Wixford but from Oversley, which, although in Arrow parish, found it easier to get to Wixford than to Arrow church. The Wixford registers start in 1540, 20 years earlier than Alcester’s or many other parishes in the area.

Autumn 1985 Index