Green man gazeteer

Abingdon, Church of St Helen Two Victorian Green Men appear as window stops on the exterior, one disgorging foliage, the other a leafy face recalling the theatre masks of tragic drama. Thanks to Gillian Harrison for identifying them.

Abingdon, Church of St Nicholas Six beautiful Victorian Green Men are carved into the tracery of the choir by Chapman of Hanworth, Norfolk. They date to 1880 when the church was refurbished. Another face is high on a tie-beam across the nave, probably from the same period of restoration. One (or perhaps two) badly eroded Green Men are situated on the exterior parapet on the south wall of the nave, in all likelihood Victorian. Thanks to Dick Barnes and Gillian Harrison for much of the information above.

Aston Tirrold, Church of St Michael A brightly-painted Green Man of 1852 presides to the right of the chancel arch, facing the arms of Magdalen College, the church's patron, to the left. Thanks to Ruth Wylie for identifying this site.

Bampton, Church of St Mary the Virgin Two 12th-century Green Man faces, much weathered by time, guard the south doorway of this great church, leaves curling up and back from their mouths. In the chancel, a ferocious wood-carved Green Man peers out from a misericord, dating from 1509-11. In the Horde Chapel a wall memorial tablet, flanked by grotesque foliate masks, commemorates Thomas Cooke who died in 1669.

Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock Two superb Green Man doorknockers guard the entrance to this great house, built for the first Duke of Marlborough in 1705-22. The palace boasts other notable 18th-century Green Men. At least one stone-carved image, weeping foliage, can be seen among the grotesque heads that adorn pinnacles atop the East Gate. Inside the entrance hall, little gilded heads scowl from the lanterns; there are leaf masks in the wrought iron firedogs in the dining hall; and mannerist heads on the legs of a cabinet elsewhere.

Broughton Castle Two wonderfully expressive Green Men can be seen in the castle's Groined Passage - one an oak leaf-coiffed man, the other a snoutier, animal effigy. The arches have corbels carved with a further wealth of mythological creatures. The Green Man and other images all date back to the 14th century when the original manor house was built. Green Man figures have also been reported in Broughton's church, which was closed at the time of our visit.

Burford, Church of St John the Baptist This great Cotswold church dates from the Norman period but was much remodelled in the 15th century. A Green Man corbel is sited high inside the tower. In the Chapel of St Mary and St Anne is a remarkable tomb memorial to John Osbaldeston (d.1624) and his wife, framed by vase-shaped caryatids, male and female, with foliate draperies. A Green Man and Green Woman?

Chadlington, Church of St Nicholas A tranquil Green Man is carved on the exterior of this 13th-century church. He can be seen on the end wall of nave, north side, paired with a somnolent, bearded figure on the south side. The nose of the Green Man forms the trunk of a tree from which leaves sprout upwards, as eyebrows. The second bearded head does not appear to be foliate, but might almost be a representation of the same Green Man, sleeping in winter.

Charney Bassett, Church of St Peter Reader Sue Wales writes: "Our local church, St Peter's, Charney Bassett, has a doorway with 12 heads sprouting foliage from their mouths. Several of the heads have cat-like characteristics. The carvings are round the main doorway, which is probably early 12th century."

Chipping Norton, Church of St Mary the Virgin In this ferocious image, vegetation streams from the Green Man's nostrils to create a stylish moustache. The magnificent face can be seen among the carved bosses in the roof of the 14th-century porch (one of only three hexagonal porches in the country).

Cumnor, Church of St Michael In the choir are nine late mediaeval poppy head' bench-ends, including bearded heads of two Green Men with oak leaves for headgear. Both appear to have had their noses cut off - perhaps legacies from February 1644 when Cromwell's troops occupied the church and carried off its weathercock.

Dorchester, Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul Inside this great abbey church, not far from the lead font, a 14th-century Green Man appears on a south east corner corbel. He dates from the same time as the beautiful Jesse Window whose undulating branches, sculpted with foliage, depict Christ's descent from the Tree.

East Hagbourne, Church of St Andrew This church is rich in interest, with many carved grotesques inside and out. The exterior, south aisle cornice dates from the 15th century and features a Green Man wearing late mediaeval headgear, with foliage issuing from his mouth. Thanks to Rosemary Howden for the information.

East Hendred, Church of St Augustine The perpendicular tower's exterior west window is flanked by a pair of Green Men, one disgorging foliage the other with a branch of foliage issuing from its neck. Or is that a hand, waving a branch? The two figures are contemporary with the original 16th-century building. Thanks to Rosemary Howden for the information.

Ewelme, Church of St Mary A Green Man adorns the exterior north wall frieze, above the first buttress to the east of the north porch. The carving is contemporary with the original church and dates from the 15th century. Thanks to Rosemary Howden for the information.

Eynsham, Church of St Leonard Carved beneath the rim of the font, amid a knobbly mass of foliage, a baleful Green Man scowls out, disgorging vegetation. Guidebooks refer to the font as 15th century, adding that it may be a capital from the old abbey of Eynsham (founded 1005 and rebuilt 1109).

Fritwell, Church of St Olave The 12th-century south porch has a tympanum with two handsome Green Beasts. The guide describes them as "feeding from the Tree of Life or Knowledge" but they look to us as if they are disgorging rather than consuming! They may derive from the makara of Indian tradition.

Fulbrook, Church of St James the Great Thanks to John Hoyle for pointing us to the splendid roof bosses in this church. One wood-carved Green Man pokes out a tongue from the boss closest to the chancel arch. Two other roof bosses also depict foliate heads. The church dates from the Norman period, with remodelling in the 13th century; the dates of the Green Men have yet to be ascertained.

Great Rollright, Church of St Andrew Around the top of the porch, and extending east and west round the exterior of the south aisle, runs a corbel table of 47 carvings: human faces, grotesques, animals and rosettes, probably dating from the 14th century. A Green Man and Green Woman flank the westernmost window. The Green Man has deteriorated badly in the past hundred years (indeed, it has worsened noticeably within living memory, a resident told us). But the female figure, with her branch of oak and acorns, is clearly delineated - a rare example of a mediaeval Green Woman in Oxfordshire.

Iffley, Church of St Mary A magnificent Norman church from around 1170 AD, teeming with sculpted images. A Green Man is among the carved figures in the exceptionally well preserved south doorway. Elsewhere, with the superb zig-zag and beakhead ornamentation, are many representations of a cat-like face, disgorging beaded ribbons, much associated with the Green Man of Norman times. This may derive from the kirttimukha of Indian tradition.

Kelmscott, Church of St George The site is especially known through connections with William Morris, who lies buried in the churchyard. Inside, one of the 15th-century corbel heads supporting the roof depicts a face with garlanded hair and vegetation streaming from the mouth.

Kidlington, Church of St Mary A Green Man supports the niche on the north wall of the nave, more or less opposite the south door through which you enter the church. The niche is Tudor - there is a Tudor Rose within. Thanks to John Amor, church guide, for identifying the figure.

Little Milton, Church of St James An anguished Victorian Green Man - practically gagged by foliage -adorns the exterior of the church, which was built in 1844 by John Hayward of Exeter.

Merton, Church of St Swithun A memorial to Elizabeth Poole (d.1621) bears Green Man motifs, both male and female. There are marked similarities between this and the Pleydell memorial at Sparsholt, inviting speculation that they were the work of the same mason. In both cases, the foliate hair is perforated with small holes, a feature occasionally seen in Green Man carvings elsewhere. Were the holes to hold flowers or greenery to adorn the face?

North Leigh, Church of St Mary The Wilcote Chapel, at the eastern end of the north aisle, has 15th-century stained glass windows adorned with lion-like faces, disgorging foliage. Mediaeval images of the Green Man are rare in stained glass -and the chapel boasts no fewer than 12 heads. Many thanks to Ruth Wylie for directing us to this and other sites.

Shipton-under-Wychwood, Church of St Mary the Virgin The 15th-century font is decorated with eight carvings, three of which are images of the Green Man. Another motif shows the bear and ragged staff, badge of the Warwick family, indicating that the font was given by them to the church. Among the remaining images one shows the rose en soleil, a badge of Edward IV which dates the font to between 1461 and 1470 when the King and Richard Neville, known as Warwick the Kingmaker, were allies.

South Moreton, Church of St John the Baptist An exterior window stop features a Green Man with fiercely bulging eyes - apparently 19th century, perhaps from about 1849 when the bellcote was added to the church?

South Leigh, Church of St James the Great A Green Man is sculpted outside, over the west door; the bald head and spouting leaves have some affinities with the figure on Eynsham's church font.

With thanks to Heather Horner.

Sparsholt, Church of the Holy Rood Extraordinary memorials are to be found in a church slumbering in the Vale of the White Horse. In the chancel recess is a 14th-century knight, overlooked by two half-human beasts who stream foliage their mouths. In the nave is a wall monument commemorating John Pleydell (1591) and his wife Bridget (1623). A chubby Green Man presides low down in the middle, while below, two foliate female heads help support the whole - further rare examples of the Green Woman in Oxfordshire.

Sutton Courtenay, Church of All Saints A mischievous Green Man of the cat mask type presides to the left of the chancel arch. He dates from the Late Norman era. Thanks to Green Man enthusiast Mike Harding for directing us to this site.

West Hanney, Church of St James the Great Is it a face? A 12th-century carved capital to the right of the entrance depicts a leafy pattern strongly suggestive of a foliate mask with a beaded band issuing from the mouth'. Inside the church are exotic foliate dragons carved in the 19th century chancel screen.

Woolstone, Church of All Saints Built directly under White Horse Hill, the church dates from 1195 and was somewhat enlarged around 1230. Two grotesque heads are situated on either side of the chancel arch, to the north a foliate lion, to the south a man from whose mouth and nostrils issue what might be vegetation - or is it fabric? On a boss in the roof of the chancel itself is a wood-carved Green Man with protruding tongue, weeping foliage. The roof timbers are thought to be 15th-century work. Outside, a tiny stone head presides over an arch in the south wall. Thanks to Brien O'Rourke for pointing us to this site.

UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS All Souls Two foliate heads look down on Radcliffe Square, dates to be confirmed.

Balliol Reported Green Man ceiling bosses in the Old Hall.

Bodleian Library The beautiful Divinity School built 1427-83 has a magnificent fan-vaulted ceiling boasting three Green Man heads. Various stone-carved Green Men grace the exterior of the Bodleian, many dating to the late 1950s when the exterior was restored by the London firm, Bradfords Ltd.

Brasenose The exterior here is liberally sprinkled with Green Man faces. A fine example, with leaves sprouting from mouth and eyebrows, is centrally placed over the main gate on Radcliffe Square. Heading towards High Street, you can see another carved into the wooden door of a side entrance, between two splendid gilded fauns. Yet more Green Man faces can be seen on the doors and door surrounds of Brasenose's High Street front, the work of Thomas Graham Jackson, completed in 1887-1911.

Christ Church Oxford grandest college is also an epicentre of Green Man imagery. Foliate faces loom all about; from walls, columns, roof bosses and door surrounds. Four wood-carved Green Men disgorge foliage from the 16th-century choir stalls in the Latin Chapel. Exquisite carvings can be seen on the 13th-century tomb of St Frideswide in Christ Church Cathedral. Made in 1289, the shrine is the cathedral's oldest monument, and shows three serene stone faces peeping out from behind exquisitely carved foliage. Images of a Green Woman? Or perhaps of St Frideswide herself, hiding in the woods from her unwanted suitor?

Examination Schools The foliate face of a lion looks down on scholars as they enter to take their exams. Situated on High Street, the building was designed by Victorian architect Thomas Graham Jackson.

Exeter A Green Man looks down over Broad Street, in all likelihood Victorian or later.

Jesus Two Green Men survey Ship Street from the walls of Jesus College (above Russell & Bromley), one wearing an especially sardonic expression. They apparently date from the time of a Victorian or later rebuilding.

Magdalen College The great 15th-century college is festooned with gargoyles, but not all are as old as might be thought. The Green Man carvings on St Swithun's Building are Victorian, dating from 1882.

Merton High up in the college chapel, five superb late 13th-century Green Men adorn corbels at the bases of the roof pillars. All are in varying states of anguish, two of them with flowering plants bursting from a nostril. A Green Man also looks out on to Merton Street, and other foliate faces adorn the quads.

New College Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham, New College has a youthful Green Man in the entrance porch. Situated among the ceiling bosses, he seems to be weeping foliage. Another Green Man, radiating vegetation, adorns a roof boss at the approach to the chapel. But New College is chiefly remarkable for its countless wood-carved images. In the chapel the Green Man can be seen on several of the 14th-century misericords (carved images underneath the seats). And he is a recurrent motif in the hall panelling which dates from 1533-5.

Oriel Victorian Empire-builder Cecil Rhodes was an undergraduate at this 14th-century college and left a large bequest to the establishment. With the money, the High Street front was rebuilt in 1909-11 by Basil Chamneys; besides a central tribute to the benefactor, the front also bears large foliate heads which appear to be portraits of Rhodes himself - as a Green Man.

Pembroke Two Green Man faces look out over Pembroke Square from a college founded in 1624 by James I. Inside the porch, three more Green Men look down from the roof bosses.

St John's College An astonishing variety of grotesques adorn Canterbury Quad, designed by London architect Adam Browne. They were commissioned by Archbishop Laud, who was President of the college from 1611-21 and include many carvings identifiable as Green Men.

Oxford (City) Church of St Mary the Virgin This grand church on the High was for centuries, the place where the university had its seat of government and staged its official ceremonies. Spandrels of the 15th-century sedilia feature two Green Men. Thanks to Ruth Wylie for identifying this site.

St Martin's, Church of Standing at Carfax in the centre of the city, St Martin's was long the Town Church of Oxford. From the battlements of the 13th-century tower, a Green Man looks down the High Street, dating from the time of the 19th-century restoration.

Town Hall Built by Victorian architect Henry T Hare, Oxford's Town Hall was opened in 1897. Many bearded heads adorn the neo-Jacobean exterior. Among them are effigies of the Green Man, sometimes sticking out a leafy tongue. Inside are more foliate heads, and a wealth of Green Beasts - lions and rams - who disgorge bouquets of flowers from the gallery of the main hall.