St George’s, Brinsop

One of ‘England’s Thousand Best Churches’ according to the author Simon Jenkins, this small church, set on a fortified site next to a lake in the shadow of Credenhill Iron Age Fort, contains work from every century since the 12th. A fine Tympanum of St. George and voussoirs around the doors are 12thcentury Herefordshire School. There is mediaeval glass, including a dramatic figure of St. George, the remains of murals and a rood screen. There are tombs and memorial brasses from around the 17thy century, a fine 18th century memorial to the Dansey family. 19th century work includes windows and graves including some associated with William Wordsworth and his family, (who used to visit the area often).

The 20th century work by Ninian Comper, ‘the greatest church beautifier since Christopher Wren’, is especially notable. Comper had mediaeval ideas about the nature of churches and his work at Brinsop is more than individual artefacts and includes a dramatic war memorial window, a Reredos, rood screen figures, a gilded ceilure, needlework and ironmongery.

The church is full of dragons for kids to look for and in the field outside is the well where the dragon lived before it was (allegedly) killed by St. George.