THE CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, ICOMB
The church of St Mary the Virgin was built in the mid-13th century and the present south porch and doorway of the church are Early English and date from 1249. The church tower was built much later in the 16th century and has a gabled saddleback roof and domestic Tudor windows with straight heads. The font is a fine example of the Perpendicular style and is adorned with quatrefoils and tracery.
Near the altar there is colourful Godwin encaustic tiling on the floor.
The south transept of the church is a chantry chapel containing the tomb and effigy of Sir John Blaket who died in 1431. The effigy of Sir John rests on a tomb chest with seven canopied and buttressed niches. These niches contain sculptured figures of the Trinity, a kneeling knight and lady, angels with shields, St. John the Baptist, and St. Michael. Sir John fought with Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt.
The beautiful stained glass east window is of the triple lancet type. The glass by James Powell & Sons dates from 1900 and depicts the Risen Christ and the Nativity. Mary is in blue and St. John is in green.
ANCIENT PARISHES
Preceding the Norman Conquest and until England's break with Rome (1533-7), ancient parishes (groups of villages or hamlets and their adjacent lands existed for ecclesiastical functions, whilst Vills (townships) and Manors dealt with the secular government matters.
These parishes could be identified as a conglomeration of ancient rights which became associated with a specific area, such as the area over which a clergyman had jurisdiction. As a result of the Hundred Years War there was a decline in the administrative status of England's feudal system, the Vill and Manor ceased their local government functions, but the parish, as a ecclesiastical unit, remained (Jackson, 1966, p.2).
The dissolution of the monasteries led to the ancient parish being left with the duty of relieving its own poor, starting in Elizabeth I's reign with the first Poor Relief Act (1597). This involved the appointment of Overseers and levying parishioners and meant the ancient parish began performing both secular and ecclesiastical roles.
The adoption of the parish as an administrative unit by the Government during the sixteenth century aided the development of public services for both urban and rural areas. Authority of urban parishes was ceded to urban districts and boroughs as they developed, but rural parishes still retain some administrative qualities, such as the parish council. There were, in 1965, around 111,000 parishes within England and Wales (Jackson, 1966, p.3).