Dedication : None                                    Simon Jenkins: **                        Principal Features : Unadorned Norman church in isolated setting

Buried in the countryside high in the Clee Hills, Heath is just about the plainest, simplest church you will ever see - and therein lies its attraction. If you are capable of mentally blocking out presence of the wooden pews it really is possible to stand inside this gloomy unlit place and imagine oneself in the c12 when it was built. There are subtle traces of earthworks north of the church which indicate that this was a more substantial settlement in c12 than it is today. Nevertheless, by 1327 there were only seven families living here - plague exacted a heavy toll  - so it is hardly surprising that the church is unchanged.. 

The date of its building is not precisely known, but around 1150 seems likely. At this point it might be worth making a comparison with, for example, the elaborate architectural cornucopia of Kilpeck which is 40 miles away and which was built 10 years earlier than Heath. What a difference a rich benefactor made then - as it does now.

This is a double-cell structure. The south door has some basic chevron ornamentation. The hinges themselves may well be Norman. There is a Gothic window behind the pulpit.

There are traces of mediaeval painting and biblical texts  to be seen on the walls. How much remains to be uncovered, I don’t know.

A casual visitor would hardly find this remote place worth a visit. There must

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The south door with its decoration and (probably) original hinges.

The west end with the font and original Norman windows.

Looking towards the east end and the hefty chancel arch. Don’t be fooled by the flash photography - this is a gloomy place!

Chancel arch.

Unidentified painting on the south wall of the nave.

Some of the crude but nevertheless interesting wall painting that has been uncovered.

The simplicity of the architecture is reflected in the sparse furnishings as we see in this crude bench end.

The c14 and c15 wall paintings are complemented by post-reformation bibllical texts.

In an area renowned for its elaborate Norman fonts, here is one outstanding in its simplicity. It is badly weathered but we can still discern crude arch shapes at the top of the bowl.

The North side manages the near-impossible by being even plainer than the south! Note the crude rectangular window which is just about the only post-Norman development. Note the narrowness of the Norman slit windows and imagine how dark this church would have been without the new window!

The west end. Note the string course.