St Mary’s Church Eling

Th ancient St Mary’s church Eling sits perched on a hill overlooking Eling Quay and its tidal mill

St Mary's Church Eling Hampshire

St Mary’s Church

The parish church of St Mary’s Eling has an abundance of roof lines and its mostly Victorian exterior hides the earlier structures of Saxon and Norman origin. It lays claim to being the tenth oldest church in England. The original wooden Saxon structure was replaced with a later Saxon stone building. A very simple and beautiful stone arch and a tiny Saxon window remain to remind us of St Mary’s early origins.

St Mary's Church Eling

The Saxon arch St Mary’s Church Eling

A link to the Titanic disaster

The Victorian pews have been removed and this serves to accentuate the wide open space of the Medieval church. The Victorian stained glass windows are very beautiful but perhaps the greatest treasure is the Anglo Saxon stoop. On the wall a memorial to parishioners who lost their lives when the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean.

Titanic Memorial St Mary's church Eling

Titanic Memorial