The history of the original St Bartholomew’s church.
This ancient church, as it stands today, was built in the dying days of the 11th century ~ one of a flurry of churches built in England by the Normans after the Conquest. There are the first basic Norman wall paintings in Worcestershire around a southern slit opening. On other walls, painted in medieval times, are the remains of successive wall paintings, painted one on top of another. Before this time there was a Saxon settlement and in the Domesday Book of 1086 is recorded a priest here.
It seems this may not be the first incarnation of a church on this spot. In 781AD the then Bishop at Worcester, Brihteah, swopped land here with King Offa for land at Iccomb. In 800AD it returned to the Bishop, who gave it, “. with license of the brethren” to his sister’s husband. At the very least then there was a priest here in 800AD. However, it appears there was a church here even before that. A skeleton became partially visible after a landslip. This was exhumed and reinterred in a safer spot. The skeleton was found to be facing east with its arms crossed on top of the body suggesting a Christian burial. The femur was sent off for carbon dating, only to return the date of the skeleton as being from the 730s. The femur was reinterred with its owner after its return.
Within the churchyard has been found the remains of a rubble and compacted lime floor which may have been the floor of a free standing bell tower (there are others in Worc’s) or the floor of a previous Saxon church.
A porch was added in the 1400s and the church reroofed. Between the 14th & 19th century, windows were put in and the splendid 15th century south door was hung. The south chancel door & north door were also blocked up.
Overtime, the centre of Lower Sapey had moved in concentration to the north~west, to the hamlet of Harpley. As a consequence, a new church was built there between 1876~1878 to serve the parish which was now centred around Harpley. It too was called St. Bartholomew and with this the old church became Old St. Bartholomew or Sapey Old Church. The communion table and communion plate, linenfold cupboard; font and bells were given to the new church. In 1878 services ceased at the old church, and overtime, what fabric was left was sold off. As life around this ancient church had moved away across the fields to Harpley, the old church fell into disrepair. An order had also been received that the old church “.be brought within six feet of the ground.” but this was never done. For over a hundred years the old church became a farm building, used for both animals and storage.
In 1946 however, the old church was declared an Ancient Monument under The Monuments Acts of 1913 and 1931. It was also reroofed again, this time by the Evans family who owned the estate within which both the old and new church stood and who held the Advowson for the priest.
During the 1980s a working party under the auspices of The Friends of Friendless Churches came periodically to make running repairs and, ‘held the line,’ for this ancient church such that it did not collapse. A new vicar, Revd. Patrick Hobson, introduced a service in 1984 using straw bales as pews to which the parishioners came, and this continued annually until he left the parish. The old church continued to decay until a new family bought the old house next door and they determined the old church must be saved. They rescued the churchyard and cleared the interior of the building but structurally it was a cause for worry. The family reinstituted the annual service which still continues today and with local support, including members of the Evans family, The Friends of Old St. Bartholomew’s was created. To raise funds an opera was staged annually at Whitbourne Hall, to coincide with the Annual Service, with opera singers coming from London and under the direction of a Covent Garden Repetiteur. It was a busy time with many people, locally and around the world, harbouring the dream that this ancient place could be saved. After some five years of endeavour this dream came true in 1994 as the old church was vested in The Churches Conservation Trust, it’s future now secured for all time. This august body has preserved Old St. Bartholomew’s Church such that it might stand for another thousand years bearing silent witness to God. Today it has visitors from all over Britain and indeed many parts of the world. The “Annual Service” still continues on August Bank Holiday SUNDAY at 3pm and people bring their own chairs to sit on and a picnic for afterwards.
“THERE IS NO DOUBT WHATEVER ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS BUILDING, ARCHITECTUARALLY, HISTORICALLY AND ARCHAEOLOGICALLY. IN ADDITION, IT IS ONE OF A CLASSIC GROUP OF BUILDINGS WITH THEIR ORIGINS IN MEDIEVAL TIMES, IF NOT EARLIER, SET IN A SUPERB AND REMOTE LANDSCAPE. ” Quote from Phillip Barker. Past Diocesan Archaeologist.
