Off to Hay-on-Wye yesterday as a treat. And it was market day in that most middle class of communities. (Market towns are, unsurprisingly, always best experienced of a market day.) In the afternoon we ambled off to have a look at the parish church of St Mary-the-Virgin, which is, a little oddly, away from the medieval centre of the town, next door to what remains of Hay's other castle.
It really is an odd mix of styles: medieval west tower, a preaching nave in the Georgian tradition (tho' technically Victorian) and a High Victorian chancel. The architect of the nave was Edward Haycock Snr and the chancel seems, according to 'Pevsner' the combined effort of Haycock (1834) and Nicholson (1866). I have no idea who either of them were. Thankfully the consistent use of local stone helps reconcile the parts and lower the temperature. The same cannot be said of the interior where nothing quite gels architecturally or when it comes to the furnishings. Sadly all a bit of a mess.
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