Weathervane Wednesday ~ An Ancestral Church Found by Accident

I post another in a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry, New Hampshire area, but now I've found interesting weather vanes all across New England and across the globe.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting.  Often my readers tip me off to some very unique or unusual weathervanes, too!  If you know a great weather vane near you, let me know if you'd like to have it featured on this blog.

Today's weather vane was photographed in England.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #332?  Scroll down to find the answer.

This gilded weathercock is on top of the steeple of St. Martin's church in Dorking, Surrey, England.  We photographed it while stopping in Dorking with the Mayflower Historic Sites Tour a few weeks ago, to see the home of William Mullins, a Mayflower passenger.  I remembered that I had several ancestors who lived and were married in Dorking at St. Martin's, and we saw the church near the Mullins home.

The weathercock is an ancient Christian symbol, and can be seen on many churches in Europe, and in early colonial era churches in the United States. This church dates from the 1100s, and replaced an older building. The 210 foot spire was added in the 1870s, so the weathercock may not be as old as the rest of the building.  In the photograph we noticed a ladder up to the weathervane, so it might be undergoing repairs or gilding this year. It is a three dimensional weathercock, with spread wings. 

My 9th great grandparents, Roger Bassett and Ann Holland were married here at St. Martin's church in Dorking on 27 April 1623.  My 8th great grandfather, William Bassett was baptized here on 30 May 1624, and he came to the New World at age 11 in 1635, with his mother and stepfather, Hugh Burt, who settled in Lynn, Massachusetts.  

Click here for my BASSETT surname blog post:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/05/surname-saturday-bassett-of-lynn.html  


The St. Martin's, Dorking website:
http://www.stmartinsdorking.org/welcome-to-our-church/index.html  

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!  

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~  An Ancestral Church Found by Accident", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 29, 2017, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/11/weathervane-wednesday-ancestral-church_29.html: accessed [access date]).