Etton. CHURCH : ST STEPHEN
Heading towards Etton from neighbouring Maxey an animal crossed in front of me. It was either a Weasel or a Stoat. I am ashamed to say that I can't tell the difference. It should be evident which is which as a Weasel is weasily recognisable and a Stoat is stotally different! I apologise for that joke, now on with the write up!
If you have been travelling up the A15 towards Bourne and get to
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the Glinton and Northborough area and see a church spire on your left hand side then that would belong to the church of St Stephen at Etton. Etton has a church and a pub (rather a good one as well I am told) but apart from that it is mostly farming. Chances are that, unless you were going to the pub there, you would have little reason to visit. A shame this as there is something at the church of St Stephen at Etton that is, as far as I am aware, unique in this area.
More of that a little later. Firstly, it has to be said though that this church is pretty much battered and bruised. No criticism implied there at all. It just is. Broken gargoyles on the South wall and several boarded up windows on the North side. Vandalism I would suspect, sad anywhere but particularly so in a small picturesque village. The porch was not only locked but padlocked. Sad but not unique!
Church grounds are kept very nice and there are the usual assortment of cherubs on the gravstones. However, something very nice here is a slate grave to a former church wardern with the surname of Ellis. This had a carved representation of the church of St Stephen on it. Really lovely. Wasn't so sure of a the idea of using what I thought was a childs stone coffin as a planter though.
Now, for the "unique" to this area feature of this church mentioned earlier. Part way up the tower is a very old windows, with a series of carved figures on a Corbel table above the archway of that window. On the right hand side of these figures is a haman figure in a laying position. I was intrigued by this, not having seen anything like it before, so I did a little piece of internet research when I was home. I found this carving at Etton listed on a web site which deals with things called Sheela Na Gigs.
These are carvings that are occasionally found on Norman churches. They are normally erotic in nature and normally feature an old hag holding open her Vulva. By their nature, these are grotesque in nature and would have been carved to symbolise fertility. Fascinating and rare.
Just a quick stay here and then it was back on the cycle and a short mile and a half peddle to nearby Northborough.
