Note 144 — Chapter VIII

A century later the steeple of St. Mary's was struck by lightning, which occasioned so unreasoning a panic amongst the worshippers that they resolved to abandon the church altogether. In vain did the Squire (then, as now, one of the Allix family)[144] offer to repair the damage, which was but slight, at his own charge. Nothing would serve but dismantling St. Mary's and using its spoil towards the rebuilding of St. Cyriac's, in the shape of a hideous brick tabernacle, of the worst Georgian style, attached to the ancient tower. St. Mary's would have been entirely pulled down had not the ancient masonry proved so solid that the work of demolition did not pay the local builder who got the job. As it was, it remained a ruin for yet another century, and it was not till the end of the nineteenth that it was restored—still under Allix auspices. Now it is once more the place of worship, and contains a specially well-executed rood-screen. But the beautiful spire which crowned the whole steeple still awaits replacement. The Georgian St. Cyriac's yet stands, and is used as a parish museum.