Churches of the British Isles

In 1945, aging farm labourer Charles Walton was hedge-planting for a local farmer. That evening his niece found their thatched cottage empty and his corpse was found on the Meon Hill. The old man had been savagely murdered. His trouncing-hook was found embedded in his slashed chest, whilst his pitch-fork had been driven through his neck and was embedded deeply in the earth - the traditional method of dispatching a witch. Walton is buried in the churchyard.

St Mary, Ilmington, lies between Back Street and Valenders Lane in the heart of the village. There was a priest, implying the existence of a Saxon church, at Ilmington in 1086. That church was probably wooden, and following the Dissolution the advowson descended with the manor, being conveyed with it in 1550 to Sir Thomas Andrews. One member of this family seems to have parted with it, possibly because they were Roman Catholics.

Whatever early church may have been here, the Norman church dates to the mid-twelfth century, when the chancel and nave were built. Later in the same century the tower was added. Early in the thirteenth century the chancel was rebuilt and extended, retaining the thick walls. Extensive rebuilding took place in the fourteenth century, and again in the mid-nineteenth century (perhaps in 1846). The roof was restored in 1939, and there are five bells, all dated to 1641.

All photos on this page kindly contributed by Aidan McRae Thomson.