Kempley, Gloucestershire

Description
Kempley, a parish in Gloucestershire, adjacent to Herefordshire, 5 miles NW of Newent, and 2 W of Dymock station on the G.W.R. Post town, Gloucester; money order and telegraph office, Dymock. Acreage, 1593; population, 272. The manor and much of the land belong to Earl Beauchamp. Stonehouse, formerly the manor house, which was a large building of the 16th century, has been pulled down and a modern farmhouse erected on its site. It contained some fine old carving of the time of James I., now removed to Madresfield Court, the seat of Earl Beauchamp. Cider and perry are largely made. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £14: 4: with residence. Patron, Earl Beauchamp. The church is an ancient Norman building of the 12th century. The chancel has some interesting mural paintings of coeval date with the church, representing the vision of St John as recorded in the Apocalypse. They are considered to be the oldest in England, and were discovered in 1872 beneath several coats of whitewash. There are also some more mural paintings of a later date in the nave. A fine Norman arch divides the nave and the chancel. There are no aisles, and the tower is Early English. A bequest by Mrs Elizabeth Pyndar of £3 to the vicar of the parish for administering Holy Communion once a month is almost unique for its date, 1751. There is a school largely supported by Earl Beauchamp, and a Baptist chapel.