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Wantage

The site on which stands the parish of Wantage is a very ancient one. It is known from the will of a certain Lady Wynflaed that there was a church there as early as AD 950; and it seems likely that King Alfred was christened in the same building just over a hundred years earlier. he was certainly born in the parish.

The nave and base of the tower in the present structure date from the the early 13th century. The latter has 'crusader crosses' scratched on it by returning crusaders wishing to blunt their swords and enter a quieter life of prayer.  Most of the building is 14th and 15th century, including the hammer-beam roof on its lively corbels. The west-end wall was rebuilt one bay further on in Victorian times.

The interior seems very light and modern, yet houses some ancient treasures. The quire stalls are the largest set in Berkshire. They have fine natural carvings and misericords dating from the 15th century. There is a small of medieval glass featuring St. Stephen and some good monuments. The effigial monument to William FitzWarin La Frere and his wife has seen better days. He was a founding member of the Order of the Garter who lived at Wantage Manor, where he died 'of the Pestilence' in 1361. There is a painting of his stall-plate in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. Under the tower, is a large brass to the memory of his son,  Sir Ivo FitzWarin (1414), complete with his moustache, a feature unusual in brasses. This man was the father-in-law of the legendary thrice Lord Mayor of London, Dick Whittington, and features prominently in pantomimes as Alderman Hugh FitzWarin. For, as well as being a member of the landed classes and a soldier who served with the Duke of Gloucester in Brittany, Ivo alias Hugh had many business interests in the city. It was there that he took the poor orphaned Dick under his wing and later allowed him to marry his daughter, Alice. There are many other brasses in Wantage Church. One to an unknown priest in full vestments, is among the oldest in the country. 

There was once a small Norman chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the corner of the churchyard. It has long disappeared, though a nicely carved doorway has been reset in King Alfred's school. The Pope himself granted an indulgence to pilgrims who visited the chapel on its patroness' feast day.