Docklow

19 DOCKLOW (E.c.)

(O.S. 6 in.^(a)XIII, S.W., ^(b)XX, N.W.)

Docklow is a small parish 5 m. E. of Leominster, Cottage (5) is the principal monument.

Ecclesiastical

^b(1). Parish Church of St. Bartholomew (Plate 10) stands near the middle of the parish. The walls are of local sandstone rubble with dressings of the same material; the roofs are covered with slates, tiles and shingles. There is little evidence of the date of the building, but the old parts of the N. and S. walls of the Nave and Chancel may date from the 12th century. The West Tower was probably added late in the 13th century. Both the chancel and nave were largely re-built in 1880.

Architectural Description—The Chancel and Nave (58 ft. by 16 ft.), without structural division, have now no ancient features. The N. wall would appear to be largely old in structure and has traces of two small blocked window-openings. Only the base of the S. wall appears to be ancient.

The West Tower (8½ ft. square) is of two stages. The upper part and the spire are modern, as is the tower-arch. In the W. wall of the ground stage is a late 13th-century window of one trefoiled light.

Fittings—Bells: two; 1st, by Abraham Rudhall, 1701; 2nd, by Isaac Hadley, 1703. Chest: In tower— with panelled front and carved top rail, mid 17th-century. Churchyard Cross: S.W. of porch—octagonal base with projecting stops and socket for shaft, mediæval. Communion Table: with turned legs and moulded rails, early 17th-century, top modern. Floor-slabs: On external face of N. wall—(1) to Thomas Coningesby, 1607–8; (2) to Francis, second wife of Thomas Conyngeby, 17th-century. Font: now at Westend Farm in this parish—octagonal bowl with rounded lower edge, mediæval, perhaps from this church. Plate: includes cup of 1666 with baluster-stem. Seating: In tower—bench incorporating 17th-century panelling.

Condition—Good.

Secular

^b(2). Uphampton Farm (Plate 29), house, ½ m. N.E. of the church, is of three storeys with attics; the walls are partly of stone and partly timber-framed, and the roofs are slate-covered. It was built early in the 17th century with a projecting wing on the W. The S. front has a doorway at the first-floor level, with a moulded frame and panelled door; it was formerly approached by a flight of steps. The second floor projects on an original moulded bressummer, and the front is finished with three gables which retain their original apex-posts. The house retains a number of original windows with moulded frames and mullions. The main chimney-stack has panelled faces. Inside the building are some exposed ceiling-beams, and the staircase has moulded newels with shaped tops and moulded handrails.

Condition—Poor.

^b(3). Lower Buckland, house and barn, about ½ m. S.S.W. of the church. The House is of two storeys with attics; the walls are timber-framed and the roofs are tiled. It was built early in the 17th century on a T-shaped plan with the cross-wing at the N. end. Some of the timber-framing and ceiling-beams are exposed, and there are two original windows, one with a moulded frame and the other with diamond-shaped mullions.

The Barn, E. of the house, is of the 17th century and timber-framed, but has been much altered.

Condition—Good.

^b(4). Westend Farm, house, 750 yards W.N.W. of the church, is of two storeys with cellars and attics; the walls are mainly of stone, and the roofs are covered with tiles and slates. It was built early in the 17th century, and is of T-shaped plan with the cross-wing at the S. end; the cross-wing is a later addition. Inside the building are some exposed ceiling-beams, and the staircase has turned balusters and a square newel with a shaped top. There are some original panelled doors.

Condition—Good.

^b(5). Cottage (Plate 29), 30 yards N.E. of (4), is of two storeys; the walls are of stone and the roof of stone slates. The lower western part is of late 14th-century origin, but the rest of the cottage was built c. 1700. In the original part is a crutch-truss with a collar and braces forming a pointed arch; above the collar the timbers are cut to form a trefoil. Some of the ceiling-beams are exposed, and there is a little 17th-century panelling.

Condition—Poor.

Unclassified

^a(6). Uphampton Camp is on a hill-top (623 ft.) 1,100 yards N.E. of the church. The work is named Uphampton Camp on the O.S. maps. In Camden's Britannia (ed. Gough, Vol. III) mention is made of a camp in Docklow. Apart from this there is now no definite evidence of a camp existing here. Such work as may be seen simply consists of two terraces on the N. scarp of the hill, without sign of ditch or rampart. The depth of the field lynchets in the immediately surrounding fields, together with signs of scarps and field-banks, etc., in the fields immediately E. and N. of the site, suggest that this was the centre of considerable agricultural activity, though the two terraces in their present state hardly conform with the usual layout of cultivation lynchets. It is possible that, as was suggested at Westington Camp, Grendon Bishop, the works here may never have been completed.

Condition—Poor.