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The first reference to the Church which has been found is
in the Doomsday Hantescrire which mentions 1086. It
appears likely that the Church was enlarged in 1160.
Further repairs and extensions seem to have been carried
out in 1561 and 1645. In 1833 alterations probably
included the replacement of the then narrow Norman
archway between the Nave and the Chancel with the
existing pointed archway. Between 1851 and 1861 a tower
at the west end was demolished and the Nave lengthened
from 28 to 45 feet, the old corner stone being exactly
where the south door now stands. The Church was entirely
re-roofed, new butresses built, the stone work of the
windows repaired and an entire new east window inserted.
Tradition has it that the south door was added because
the very low north door knocked off the top hats of the
yeoman farmers as they entered the Church.
The oldest work now existing is the North Arcade of the
Nave of about 1160, consisting of two bays with semi-circular
arches of single order, chamfered on angles, square
scallop capitals and round columns with moulded bases.
Also of interest are the fourteenth century net tracery
and trefoil lights on the north and south sides of the
Chancel and a curious stone bracket - a corbal of three
engaged shafts with foliage - more like fourteenth
century French work than anything English. The bracket
appears to be very ancient and was formerly an image
bracket on the north side of the east window. This is now
on the left of the south door as you go in.
The window
depicting Joan of Arc (left) and St Elizabeth
There are three bells dated 1655, 1660 and 1705 the
latter is the treble and bears the inscription 'Samuel
Knight made mee 1705'. In about 1825 a cricket team from
Medstead played West Meon away. A member of the team
spotted a bell lying in a farmyard. It was agreed that,
if Medstead won, the bell was the prize. it was duly
brought back and (after being used for some years to call
labourers from the fields) is now one of the three. In
1966 the bells were rehung, the Chancel roof stripped and
made sound and some of the old grave stones used to
replace Victorian floor tiles in the area between the
Chancel and the Nave (these having been removed from the
Churchyard in 1947 to facilitate mowing).
The organ was installed in 1883. The Church gate was
erected in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond
Jubilee and the clock marks the coronation of King George
V. The Font is modern and was moved to its present
position from inside the south door in 1966 to increase
the seating capacity. The east window was almost
completely rebuilt in 1972. The hanging candelabra were
made in 1977.
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