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Hodgeston Parish Church nave is thought to date from the 13th century, while the chancel was added during the following century. The tower was built at a later date. The present windows were added as part of this restoration, but many of the internal features were preserved in the mid-19th century.Â
The church is constructed in local limestone with slate roofs. Its plan consists of a nave with a south porch, a chancel, and a west tower. The massive tower was unusually slender for the era, and is in four stages. On the north face of the tower is a stair turret. In its lowest stage is a 19th-century double west window over the remains of a former narrow window. There are double round-headed bell openings in the top stage, and at the summit of the tower is a parapet supported by corbels. In the north wall of the nave is a blocked doorway.
The chancel measures 9 metres by 5 metres. It has a cornice decorated with ballflowers. Along its south wall is a bench, a double piscina dating from the 14th century, and a triple sedilia; these are decorated with ballflowers, crockets and leaf finials. The carving is of high quality, and was probably paid for by Henry de Gower, Bishop of St David's. The chancel is floored with encaustic tiles. The restored east window is in Decorated Gothic style; the other windows in the chancel are in simpler style. The nave measures about 12 metres by 5 metres and it contains a Norman font. The ground floor of the tower is used as a vestry. The bells date from the 15th and 16th centuries.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.
