Page 21 - Oundle Life May 2022

commonplace additions to buildings to record and celebrate the unity of two families. In addition to a date, these stones often included the initials of the newlyweds. While some do appear as individual stones set into a wall, many such records are simply carved into
Norman origins, and that it was largely rebuilt in the 13th Century so, to what do these later dates apply? They are clearly not indicators of the church’s origin. Pevsner posits that they reference a period of significant rebuilding,
the stone or timber head of a doorway known as the lintel. Such carvings were often added long after the building was erected so again, they are an unreliable dating device for the original building.
It’s not just dates that tell a story
perhaps following a catastrophic failure from lightening as was common in many churches.
Strolling down West Street I easily discovered two fine examples of dated leadwork. The first was at 24 West Street where the date 1715 is visible on the
To find some useful examples to
help support the points above I took a wander around Oundle with my camera in hand.
At St Peter’s Church Pevsner reports that
a date of 1634 is present on the tower and 1637 on lead hoppers adjacent to the tower – although I could see neither from the ground. We know that St Peter’s church has Saxon and
face of a lead hopper at high level. This appears consistent with the classical proportions of this early Georgian building and may indeed signal its origin. The second was at Queen Anne’s House near the clock shop. Here the date 1824 appears on the lead hopper of what appears
to be another Georgian-fronted building.
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