director’s choice
churches of the church of england
DIRECTOR’S CHOICE
churches of the church of england Janet Gough
DIRECTOR’S CHOICE
churches of the church of england Janet Gough
St Cedd’s remote Celtic mission church
Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall or ad Vincula, Bradwell-on-Sea (Diocese of Chelmsford) 650s: one of the earliest surviving church buildings in England Open daily; see website for details www.bradwellchapel.org Postcode: CM0 7PY
St Peter’s chapel is an isolated single-cell building, with few windows and a backdrop of the flat Essex coast. King Sigbert of the East Saxons asked the Irish-trained monks of Lindisfarne to send a Christian mission to Essex. So in 653 Cedd, later to become bishop of the East Saxons, sailed from Northumbria and landed on the peninsula at Bradwell, where he set up a monastic community in the ruins of the Roman fort. His stone church used materials from the fort: inside the chapel the Roman tiles that originally formed the chancel arch are still visible. Cedd’s church was modelled with a round-ended or apsidal east end still marked in the ground. Bede tells us that Cedd went out from Bradwell to establish other Christian centres at Mersea, Tilbury and Upminster. Later Cedd became interpreter at the Synod of Whitby (664), where the decision was taken to follow the Roman and not the Celtic tradition of Christianity in England, so this church is a rare survival of the Celtic Christian Church in England. William the Conqueror’s Domesday survey recorded a settled community around the chapel, but during the Middle Ages this moved inland, leaving the chapel isolated. For three hundred years it was used as a barn. In 1920 the chapel was restored as a Christian place of worship and taken under the care of Chelmsford Cathedral: today a chaplain conducts Eucharist services, special Sunday evening services in the summer and there are many informal events. Always open and much visited by walkers, St Peter’s is a Christian place of sending out ‘formed in order to be sent’, just as in St Cedd’s time.
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Anglo-Saxon
above: St Peter’s was one of the first churches to complete its roof repairs with funding from the Government’s Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund, with beautiful specially commissioned tiles. right: It is a gentle halfmile walk to the church.
Anglo-Saxon
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St Cedd’s remote Celtic mission church
Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall or ad Vincula, Bradwell-on-Sea (Diocese of Chelmsford) 650s: one of the earliest surviving church buildings in England Open daily; see website for details www.bradwellchapel.org Postcode: CM0 7PY
St Peter’s chapel is an isolated single-cell building, with few windows and a backdrop of the flat Essex coast. King Sigbert of the East Saxons asked the Irish-trained monks of Lindisfarne to send a Christian mission to Essex. So in 653 Cedd, later to become bishop of the East Saxons, sailed from Northumbria and landed on the peninsula at Bradwell, where he set up a monastic community in the ruins of the Roman fort. His stone church used materials from the fort: inside the chapel the Roman tiles that originally formed the chancel arch are still visible. Cedd’s church was modelled with a round-ended or apsidal east end still marked in the ground. Bede tells us that Cedd went out from Bradwell to establish other Christian centres at Mersea, Tilbury and Upminster. Later Cedd became interpreter at the Synod of Whitby (664), where the decision was taken to follow the Roman and not the Celtic tradition of Christianity in England, so this church is a rare survival of the Celtic Christian Church in England. William the Conqueror’s Domesday survey recorded a settled community around the chapel, but during the Middle Ages this moved inland, leaving the chapel isolated. For three hundred years it was used as a barn. In 1920 the chapel was restored as a Christian place of worship and taken under the care of Chelmsford Cathedral: today a chaplain conducts Eucharist services, special Sunday evening services in the summer and there are many informal events. Always open and much visited by walkers, St Peter’s is a Christian place of sending out ‘formed in order to be sent’, just as in St Cedd’s time.
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Anglo-Saxon
above: St Peter’s was one of the first churches to complete its roof repairs with funding from the Government’s Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund, with beautiful specially commissioned tiles. right: It is a gentle halfmile walk to the church.
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Remote island church on the bank of the River Swale
St Thomas the Apostle, Isle of Harty, Sheppey (Diocese of Canterbury) Late eleventh-century origin, restored in 1878–80 by Joseph Clark Open daily www.achurchnearyou.com/harty-st-thomas-the-apostle Postcode: ME12 4BQ
The open door at Harty, combined with the sense of discovery at finding a church 3 miles off the main road, contributes to this church’s charm. Set in a peaceful remote position in the south-eastern corner of the Isle of Sheppey, overlooking the River Swale and surrounded by mudflats and waterways, this is a haven for birdwatchers and for visitors seeking peace and sanctuary. The church leaflet quotes a letter from Sir John Betjeman apologising for his absence: ‘I shall have to console myself with memories of the church in its splendid isolation, with sea birds wheeling by and the Thames so wide as to be open sea, and air so fresh as to be healthier than yoghurt.’ On approach this little building, with low-tiled eaves and stumpy shingled fifteenth-century west tower (supported internally by a wooden frame), is backlit by a shimmering expanse of water. St Thomas’s doesn’t boast the architectural grandeur of the island’s other churches, yet a round-headed north window and a south door, both now blocked, attest to its eleventh-century foundation. Although the church is much restored, the atmosphere inside is enhanced by oil lamps: there is no electricity. A mid-fourteenthcentury wooden rood screen separates the chancel, where, set in the east wall, is a late fourteenth-century gabled and pinnacled niche. Contents include a Flemish wood chest, stolen and returned in the 1980s, carved with figures of jousting knights, and two hidden brasses. Historically the priest was rowed by ferry to this secluded spot from the mainland. This is a rural church with challenges, like many others, yet it is valued by its island community, many of whom choose to marry here. A service is held each month and the church is opened daily by its few neighbours.
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norman
above: Fourteenth-century chancel screen in the nave. Evidence of volcanic tufa stone, rarely used after the early Norman period, demonstrates the Norman and possibly earlier origins of this and many other churches.
Remote island church on the bank of the River Swale
St Thomas the Apostle, Isle of Harty, Sheppey (Diocese of Canterbury) Late eleventh-century origin, restored in 1878–80 by Joseph Clark Open daily www.achurchnearyou.com/harty-st-thomas-the-apostle Postcode: ME12 4BQ
The open door at Harty, combined with the sense of discovery at finding a church 3 miles off the main road, contributes to this church’s charm. Set in a peaceful remote position in the south-eastern corner of the Isle of Sheppey, overlooking the River Swale and surrounded by mudflats and waterways, this is a haven for birdwatchers and for visitors seeking peace and sanctuary. The church leaflet quotes a letter from Sir John Betjeman apologising for his absence: ‘I shall have to console myself with memories of the church in its splendid isolation, with sea birds wheeling by and the Thames so wide as to be open sea, and air so fresh as to be healthier than yoghurt.’ On approach this little building, with low-tiled eaves and stumpy shingled fifteenth-century west tower (supported internally by a wooden frame), is backlit by a shimmering expanse of water. St Thomas’s doesn’t boast the architectural grandeur of the island’s other churches, yet a round-headed north window and a south door, both now blocked, attest to its eleventh-century foundation. Although the church is much restored, the atmosphere inside is enhanced by oil lamps: there is no electricity. A mid-fourteenthcentury wooden rood screen separates the chancel, where, set in the east wall, is a late fourteenth-century gabled and pinnacled niche. Contents include a Flemish wood chest, stolen and returned in the 1980s, carved with figures of jousting knights, and two hidden brasses. Historically the priest was rowed by ferry to this secluded spot from the mainland. This is a rural church with challenges, like many others, yet it is valued by its island community, many of whom choose to marry here. A service is held each month and the church is opened daily by its few neighbours.
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norman
above: Fourteenth-century chancel screen in the nave. Evidence of volcanic tufa stone, rarely used after the early Norman period, demonstrates the Norman and possibly earlier origins of this and many other churches.
Unassuming parish church with significant brasses and wall paintings
St George, Trotton (Diocese of Chichester) Constructed around 1300 in the Early English style Open daily www.achurchnearyou.com/trotton-st-george Postcode: GU31 5EN
Trotton parish church, beside the river Rother, is virtually unaltered since its construction. The Early English tower has thin lancet windows topped by a low, shingled splayed-foot spire. The church is a single oblong space with no aisles, clerestory or chancel divider (stone corbels suggest an earlier rood screen), and four bays with geometric tracery windows: a quatrefoil above two trefoiled lancets. The wooden roof survives with tie-beams, arch braces and collars. The simplicity of the church is offset by fourteenthcentury wall paintings, first rediscovered and revealed in 1904, covering the west end and parts of the north and south walls. The west wall (opposite) is a red monochrome Judgement Scene dominated by Christ sitting on a rainbow, above Moses with the Tablets of the Law. Underneath is Evil Man surrounded by the Seven Deadly Sins issuing from the jaws of dragons, and Good Man, in fourteenth-century dress, surrounded by roundels of the Seven Acts of Mercy, with a circular consecration cross at his right foot. Set in the nave floor is England’s earliest surviving fullsize female brass, of Lady Margaret Camoys (died 1310). A little hair escapes the tight triangle of her wimple and the naturalism of late Early English art is evident in the fall of her robes over her swaying right leg. Grander and more stylised is the double brass of Thomas Lord Camoys and his wife. Set under a beautiful double ogee-shaped cusped canopy, this is one of the largest and best-preserved brass monuments in the country. Thomas Camoys commanded Henry V’s left flank at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The church celebrated this anniversary with the current Lord Camoys in 2015.
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above: Brass of Thomas Lord Camoys (died 1419) and his wife on top of a stone tomb chest, decorated with shields and quatrefoils, directly in front of the altar.
Unassuming parish church with significant brasses and wall paintings
St George, Trotton (Diocese of Chichester) Constructed around 1300 in the Early English style Open daily www.achurchnearyou.com/trotton-st-george Postcode: GU31 5EN
Trotton parish church, beside the river Rother, is virtually unaltered since its construction. The Early English tower has thin lancet windows topped by a low, shingled splayed-foot spire. The church is a single oblong space with no aisles, clerestory or chancel divider (stone corbels suggest an earlier rood screen), and four bays with geometric tracery windows: a quatrefoil above two trefoiled lancets. The wooden roof survives with tie-beams, arch braces and collars. The simplicity of the church is offset by fourteenthcentury wall paintings, first rediscovered and revealed in 1904, covering the west end and parts of the north and south walls. The west wall (opposite) is a red monochrome Judgement Scene dominated by Christ sitting on a rainbow, above Moses with the Tablets of the Law. Underneath is Evil Man surrounded by the Seven Deadly Sins issuing from the jaws of dragons, and Good Man, in fourteenth-century dress, surrounded by roundels of the Seven Acts of Mercy, with a circular consecration cross at his right foot. Set in the nave floor is England’s earliest surviving fullsize female brass, of Lady Margaret Camoys (died 1310). A little hair escapes the tight triangle of her wimple and the naturalism of late Early English art is evident in the fall of her robes over her swaying right leg. Grander and more stylised is the double brass of Thomas Lord Camoys and his wife. Set under a beautiful double ogee-shaped cusped canopy, this is one of the largest and best-preserved brass monuments in the country. Thomas Camoys commanded Henry V’s left flank at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The church celebrated this anniversary with the current Lord Camoys in 2015.
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above: Brass of Thomas Lord Camoys (died 1419) and his wife on top of a stone tomb chest, decorated with shields and quatrefoils, directly in front of the altar.
Two vast medieval churches within one small market town
Beverley Minster, the Parish Church of St John and St Martin (Diocese of York)
St Mary, Beverley (Diocese of York)
Eighth-century foundation; mainly thirteenth and fifteenth centuries
Twelfth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
Open daily 9am to 5,30pm in summer, 9am to 4pm in winter www.beverleyminster.org.uk @Bev_Minster Postcode: HU17 0DP
Open Monday to Saturday 11am to 3pm www.stmarysbeverley.org @StMarysBeverley Postcode: HU17 8DL
Beverley is a medieval market town blessed with two historic parish churches of remarkable size, beauty and significance. Traditionally they have fulfilled different roles, the Minster of St John providing civic services and a ministry to the wider region, St Mary’s catering for the local community. Now the two churches are working together more closely than ever before to realise the potential of these extraordinary buildings. Standing at the southern edge of the historic town, the Minster Church of St John, although now a parish church, retains much of the prestige of its former status as a place of pilgrimage. The church is cruciform, with large transepts and twin towers that can be seen for miles around. Mostly thirteenth century but including the fifteenth-century Percy Chapel, it is
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opposite: Beverley Minster, nave. below: Beverley Minster and St Mary’s church seen from the racecourse to the south of the town.
considered one of the finest examples of medieval church architecture in the country. Treasures include the Frith Stool, associated with St John of Beverley himself, who founded the original monastery here in the eighth century, as well as carvings of medieval musicians, misericords, stained glass and a huge treadmill crane. St Mary’s is located just within the medieval north gate in the Georgian Quarter of the town. This church was founded in the twelfth century and richly endowed by the citizens and town guilds. It was enlarged in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and the tower was rebuilt in the early sixteenth century following its collapse. Highlights include the medieval painted Kings’ Ceiling (illustrated on pp. 2–3), misericords, the splendidly vaulted St Michael’s Chapel, a rabbit carving said to have inspired Lewis Carroll’s White Rabbit, and the Priest’s Room, which contains a small but fascinating museum that has been described as a ‘cabinet of curiosities’. Access to the museum needs to be arranged beforehand.
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Two vast medieval churches within one small market town
Beverley Minster, the Parish Church of St John and St Martin (Diocese of York)
St Mary, Beverley (Diocese of York)
Eighth-century foundation; mainly thirteenth and fifteenth centuries
Twelfth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
Open daily 9am to 5,30pm in summer, 9am to 4pm in winter www.beverleyminster.org.uk @Bev_Minster Postcode: HU17 0DP
Open Monday to Saturday 11am to 3pm www.stmarysbeverley.org @StMarysBeverley Postcode: HU17 8DL
Beverley is a medieval market town blessed with two historic parish churches of remarkable size, beauty and significance. Traditionally they have fulfilled different roles, the Minster of St John providing civic services and a ministry to the wider region, St Mary’s catering for the local community. Now the two churches are working together more closely than ever before to realise the potential of these extraordinary buildings. Standing at the southern edge of the historic town, the Minster Church of St John, although now a parish church, retains much of the prestige of its former status as a place of pilgrimage. The church is cruciform, with large transepts and twin towers that can be seen for miles around. Mostly thirteenth century but including the fifteenth-century Percy Chapel, it is
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MEDIEVAL
opposite: Beverley Minster, nave. below: Beverley Minster and St Mary’s church seen from the racecourse to the south of the town.
considered one of the finest examples of medieval church architecture in the country. Treasures include the Frith Stool, associated with St John of Beverley himself, who founded the original monastery here in the eighth century, as well as carvings of medieval musicians, misericords, stained glass and a huge treadmill crane. St Mary’s is located just within the medieval north gate in the Georgian Quarter of the town. This church was founded in the twelfth century and richly endowed by the citizens and town guilds. It was enlarged in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and the tower was rebuilt in the early sixteenth century following its collapse. Highlights include the medieval painted Kings’ Ceiling (illustrated on pp. 2–3), misericords, the splendidly vaulted St Michael’s Chapel, a rabbit carving said to have inspired Lewis Carroll’s White Rabbit, and the Priest’s Room, which contains a small but fascinating museum that has been described as a ‘cabinet of curiosities’. Access to the museum needs to be arranged beforehand.
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Waterfront church with organ once played by Handel
Holy Trinity, Gosport (Diocese of Portsmouth) Late seventeenth century, with modifications in every subsequent century Open most lunchtimes: see website for details www.holytrinitygosport.co.uk Postcode: PO12 1HL
Standing on the waterfront at Gosport, Holy Trinity, with its fine campanile tower, watches over the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. First built in 1696 and enlarged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was restored in 1887 by Sir Arthur Blomfield, who added the tower. The exterior looks like an Italianate red brick basilica. Inside, the Ionic columns of the original building, carved out of single oak trunks, still separate the aisle from the nave. While it retains these typical late seventeenth-century features, the building has a strong contemporary feel. This is achieved by the clear glazing, from 1959, white walls and dramatic early twenty-firstcentury reordering to allow for worship around an altar centrally placed in the nave. The church’s rich music programme, with regular concerts, owes much to its historic organ, originally from the Duke of Chandos’s estate in Edgware, where George Frideric Handel was the director of music. Handel would have played the instrument, which, extensively rebuilt, now sits to the north of the chancel. Although a twentieth-century block of flats sadly now impedes the waterfront view, the church makes a delightful excursion by four-minute passenger ferry from Portsmouth (ferries run approximately every ten minutes); looking back, you can glimpse the lantern of Portsmouth Cathedral.
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above: Organ case in the north aisle of the church, made for the Duke of Chandos by Abraham Jordan in 1720,
Waterfront church with organ once played by Handel
Holy Trinity, Gosport (Diocese of Portsmouth) Late seventeenth century, with modifications in every subsequent century Open most lunchtimes: see website for details www.holytrinitygosport.co.uk Postcode: PO12 1HL
Standing on the waterfront at Gosport, Holy Trinity, with its fine campanile tower, watches over the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. First built in 1696 and enlarged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was restored in 1887 by Sir Arthur Blomfield, who added the tower. The exterior looks like an Italianate red brick basilica. Inside, the Ionic columns of the original building, carved out of single oak trunks, still separate the aisle from the nave. While it retains these typical late seventeenth-century features, the building has a strong contemporary feel. This is achieved by the clear glazing, from 1959, white walls and dramatic early twenty-firstcentury reordering to allow for worship around an altar centrally placed in the nave. The church’s rich music programme, with regular concerts, owes much to its historic organ, originally from the Duke of Chandos’s estate in Edgware, where George Frideric Handel was the director of music. Handel would have played the instrument, which, extensively rebuilt, now sits to the north of the chancel. Although a twentieth-century block of flats sadly now impedes the waterfront view, the church makes a delightful excursion by four-minute passenger ferry from Portsmouth (ferries run approximately every ten minutes); looking back, you can glimpse the lantern of Portsmouth Cathedral.
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above: Organ case in the north aisle of the church, made for the Duke of Chandos by Abraham Jordan in 1720,
Vibrant Victorian visual inventiveness
St Peter, Hascombe (Diocese of Guildford) Henry Woodyer, 1864 Open daily 8am to 6pm www.achurchnearyou.com/hascombe-st-peter Postcode: GU8 4JD
For sheer visual delight the finest Victorian churches can rival the best buildings of any date in this country. The churches of Henry Woodyer are exemplary, displaying an imaginative handling of vernacular forms and, frequently, internal decoration of breathtaking richness and kaleidoscopic vibrancy of colour. St Peter’s at Hascombe is one of Woodyer’s loveliest. The exterior, Early English in style with some quirky details such as an east window pierced through a buttress, is charming and characterful, but the interior is unforgettable. Inside, every surface is covered in colour and pattern, from the nave walls, on which glittering fish leap in golden nets (St Peter was, of course, a fisherman), to the rood screen on which each roll of the moulding bears a different motif. It culminates in an astonishing chancel (see also image on back cover). Though Hascombe is a small village, worship is held in the church every Sunday. Every saint’s day is kept and the church is popular for weddings and concerts. above: Exterior designed Nearby is Woodyer’s own church, St Andrew at Grafham. in the Early English style. Woodyer built it as a memorial to his wife, whose jewels were opposite: Medieval used to ornament the communion vessels. Its interior once rood screen painted in the nineteenth-century rivalled Hascombe’s, but the walls were whitewashed in the chancel, with a gilded 1950s; however, it still boasts a brightly decorated chancel ceiling formed of deep ribs, like an upturned boat, ceiling and rood screen, and a superb floor-to-ceiling reredos and a reredos thronged depicting a great vine, springing from the cross, in which angels with saints and angels whose golden haloes sit like singing birds. Woodyer is buried in the churchyard. St glitter in the candelight. Michael and all Angels, Waterford, in the St Albans diocese (page 76), was also designed by Henry Woodyer.
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Vibrant Victorian visual inventiveness
St Peter, Hascombe (Diocese of Guildford) Henry Woodyer, 1864 Open daily 8am to 6pm www.achurchnearyou.com/hascombe-st-peter Postcode: GU8 4JD
For sheer visual delight the finest Victorian churches can rival the best buildings of any date in this country. The churches of Henry Woodyer are exemplary, displaying an imaginative handling of vernacular forms and, frequently, internal decoration of breathtaking richness and kaleidoscopic vibrancy of colour. St Peter’s at Hascombe is one of Woodyer’s loveliest. The exterior, Early English in style with some quirky details such as an east window pierced through a buttress, is charming and characterful, but the interior is unforgettable. Inside, every surface is covered in colour and pattern, from the nave walls, on which glittering fish leap in golden nets (St Peter was, of course, a fisherman), to the rood screen on which each roll of the moulding bears a different motif. It culminates in an astonishing chancel (see also image on back cover). Though Hascombe is a small village, worship is held in the church every Sunday. Every saint’s day is kept and the church is popular for weddings and concerts. above: Exterior designed Nearby is Woodyer’s own church, St Andrew at Grafham. in the Early English style. Woodyer built it as a memorial to his wife, whose jewels were opposite: Medieval used to ornament the communion vessels. Its interior once rood screen painted in the nineteenth-century rivalled Hascombe’s, but the walls were whitewashed in the chancel, with a gilded 1950s; however, it still boasts a brightly decorated chancel ceiling formed of deep ribs, like an upturned boat, ceiling and rood screen, and a superb floor-to-ceiling reredos and a reredos thronged depicting a great vine, springing from the cross, in which angels with saints and angels whose golden haloes sit like singing birds. Woodyer is buried in the churchyard. St glitter in the candelight. Michael and all Angels, Waterford, in the St Albans diocese (page 76), was also designed by Henry Woodyer.
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A church shaped by Empire
St Andrew and St Patrick, Elveden (Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich) Medieval, restored by John Norton, 1869; enlarged 1904–6 and 1922 by W.D. Caröe Open Wednesdays 10.30am to 3pm in June, July and August and by arrangement at other times (01842 890540) www.achurchnearyou.com/elveden-st-andrew-st-patrick Postcode: IP24 3TQ
St Andrew and St Patrick at Elveden, like St Peter’s church at Edensor (see page 70), is an estate church, serving the neighbouring Elveden Hall. Whereas Edensor reflects the history of one of the oldest-established families of the English aristocracy, however, Elveden was shaped by two figures who began their lives at the edges of the British Empire. The first was Duleep Singh, last of the Sikh maharajahs. He came to the throne at the age of five, in 1843, but was deposed aged ten when the British annexed the Punjab. He converted to Christianity and was sent into exile in Britain. He purchased the Elveden estate in 1863 and had its medieval flint church, dedicated to St Andrew, restored. Of the present church, the medieval building restored by Singh forms merely the south aisle and chapel. In 1894 the estate was bought by Edward Guinness (of the Irish brewing dynasty), later first Earl of Iveagh, who added the dedication to St Patrick and commissioned W.D. Caröe to enlarge the church. Caröe decorated the interior, with sumptuous richness, in a style that has been termed ‘Art Nouveau Gothic’: the result is extraordinary. The church is thronged with exquisite wood-carving and stonework, an alabaster reredos fills the entire east wall, and even the floor tiles are ornamented with emblems of the British nations. The beautiful bell tower and cloister to the south were built in memory of Lady Iveagh in 1922. Though the days of the great houses have passed, the Elveden estate continues to thrive and St Andrew and St Patrick still serves its community as the parish church.
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above: Maharajah Duleep Singh re-converted to Sikhism before his death in Paris in 1893 and is buried beside his wife and son in the churchyard at Elveden. The church
welcomes many Sikh visitors. The tower is connected to the church by a cloister, a grand entrance for the landowners next door.
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A church shaped by Empire
St Andrew and St Patrick, Elveden (Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich) Medieval, restored by John Norton, 1869; enlarged 1904–6 and 1922 by W.D. Caröe Open Wednesdays 10.30am to 3pm in June, July and August and by arrangement at other times (01842 890540) www.achurchnearyou.com/elveden-st-andrew-st-patrick Postcode: IP24 3TQ
St Andrew and St Patrick at Elveden, like St Peter’s church at Edensor (see page 70), is an estate church, serving the neighbouring Elveden Hall. Whereas Edensor reflects the history of one of the oldest-established families of the English aristocracy, however, Elveden was shaped by two figures who began their lives at the edges of the British Empire. The first was Duleep Singh, last of the Sikh maharajahs. He came to the throne at the age of five, in 1843, but was deposed aged ten when the British annexed the Punjab. He converted to Christianity and was sent into exile in Britain. He purchased the Elveden estate in 1863 and had its medieval flint church, dedicated to St Andrew, restored. Of the present church, the medieval building restored by Singh forms merely the south aisle and chapel. In 1894 the estate was bought by Edward Guinness (of the Irish brewing dynasty), later first Earl of Iveagh, who added the dedication to St Patrick and commissioned W.D. Caröe to enlarge the church. Caröe decorated the interior, with sumptuous richness, in a style that has been termed ‘Art Nouveau Gothic’: the result is extraordinary. The church is thronged with exquisite wood-carving and stonework, an alabaster reredos fills the entire east wall, and even the floor tiles are ornamented with emblems of the British nations. The beautiful bell tower and cloister to the south were built in memory of Lady Iveagh in 1922. Though the days of the great houses have passed, the Elveden estate continues to thrive and St Andrew and St Patrick still serves its community as the parish church.
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above: Maharajah Duleep Singh re-converted to Sikhism before his death in Paris in 1893 and is buried beside his wife and son in the churchyard at Elveden. The church
welcomes many Sikh visitors. The tower is connected to the church by a cloister, a grand entrance for the landowners next door.
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Italianate brick and concrete mission church
St Barnabas, Dalston (Diocese of London) Sir Charles Reilly, 1910 Usually open daily; tucked away, this hidden gem would benefit from better signage and additional opening hours www.saintbarnabasdalston.org.uk @StBarnysDalston Postcode: E8 2EA
In the tradition of English public schools, both St Barnabas and the mission building that entirely hides it from view were built to provide for the poor of East London – in this case by the Merchant Taylors’ School. It was a former student at the school who built the church some two decades after he had visited the mission. Charles Reilly designed many buildings but built surprisingly few; nevertheless, he is acknowledged to be a major figure in the history of British architecture, thanks to the influence he wielded as Director of the Liverpool School of Architecture. Although Britain’s modest Byzantine revival had almost run its course by the start of the twentieth century (Westminster Cathedral being a notable exception), it seems to have provided Reilly with the inspiration for St Barnabas with its round arches, vaulted nave and domed chancel. Unlike Westminster Cathedral, St Barnabas is almost completely lacking in adornment, although Reilly had always intended a chancel screen; this was finally installed in 1935, largely by Herbert Tyson Smith. The colourful paintwork and intricate detailing of the metalwork are in striking contrast to the rest of the interior, which is industrial in its starkness and volume, and seen by some above: Cross and as heralding the modernist movement. Reilly considered candlesticks by Liverpool it his best work. sculptor Herbert Tyson Smith. St Barnabas was closed for many years so it is good to opposite: Tyson Smith’s see that it now has a new lease of life, thanks to a team painted and gilded screen, from a sister church in Hackney, and ministers to the local added in 1935, divides the monumental unadorned artists, families and community. The mission hall has been chancel and nave. sensitively adapted for modern use and plays host to a wide range of activities, from community choir to life drawing.
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Italianate brick and concrete mission church
St Barnabas, Dalston (Diocese of London) Sir Charles Reilly, 1910 Usually open daily; tucked away, this hidden gem would benefit from better signage and additional opening hours www.saintbarnabasdalston.org.uk @StBarnysDalston Postcode: E8 2EA
In the tradition of English public schools, both St Barnabas and the mission building that entirely hides it from view were built to provide for the poor of East London – in this case by the Merchant Taylors’ School. It was a former student at the school who built the church some two decades after he had visited the mission. Charles Reilly designed many buildings but built surprisingly few; nevertheless, he is acknowledged to be a major figure in the history of British architecture, thanks to the influence he wielded as Director of the Liverpool School of Architecture. Although Britain’s modest Byzantine revival had almost run its course by the start of the twentieth century (Westminster Cathedral being a notable exception), it seems to have provided Reilly with the inspiration for St Barnabas with its round arches, vaulted nave and domed chancel. Unlike Westminster Cathedral, St Barnabas is almost completely lacking in adornment, although Reilly had always intended a chancel screen; this was finally installed in 1935, largely by Herbert Tyson Smith. The colourful paintwork and intricate detailing of the metalwork are in striking contrast to the rest of the interior, which is industrial in its starkness and volume, and seen by some above: Cross and as heralding the modernist movement. Reilly considered candlesticks by Liverpool it his best work. sculptor Herbert Tyson Smith. St Barnabas was closed for many years so it is good to opposite: Tyson Smith’s see that it now has a new lease of life, thanks to a team painted and gilded screen, from a sister church in Hackney, and ministers to the local added in 1935, divides the monumental unadorned artists, families and community. The mission hall has been chancel and nave. sensitively adapted for modern use and plays host to a wide range of activities, from community choir to life drawing.
THE T W ENTIETH CENTUR Y
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Architectural Styles Anglo-Saxon Simple in its structure and detailing, but nonetheless retaining features derived from classical architecture such as the semicircular arch. Rubble masonry, sometimes incorporating older material such as Roman brick, is more likely to be met with than neatly squared stones. Window openings are small and often placed asymmetrically rather than conforming to an overall pattern. Norman Originating in northern France and introduced to England on a wide scale following the Norman Conquest, it features massive round columns, thick stone walls and round arches, characteristically decorated with zigzag patterning and bold figural carving. It is also known as ‘English Romanesque’. The cruciform church with a square crossing tower became common in this period. Medieval ‘Gothic’ architecture was introduced to England from France at the end of the twelfth century and would hold sway for the next 400 years. More than just a shift in styles, Gothic represented a revolution in engineering. It is characterised by pointed arches, soaring heights, thinner walls and more
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and larger windows, often containing colourful stained glass. In England the Gothic style developed in three phases: Early English The earliest phase of Gothic saw the introduction of pointed arches and narrow, pointed lancet windows: these enabled taller and lighter buildings to be constructed. Carved decoration was spare and typified by crisp, stylised foliage. Decorated Over time, window tracery became more elaborate and carved decoration more naturalistic, evolving into what is called the Decorated Style. This phase of Gothic also featured more slender columns and the use of decorative ribbed vaulting. Perpendicular Unique to England, the Perpendicular style featured strong grids of vertical and horizontal lines, huge window surfaces, and even more elaborate vaulting, culminating in the fan vault. Post-Reformation The centuries following England’s break from the Roman Church saw a return to architectural forms derived from classical and Renaissance architecture, in a plethora of
C h u r c h e s o f t h e c h u r c h o f e Ng l a n d
Glossary styles from Jacobean to Baroque to Neoclassical. In the late eighteenth century there was a revival of interest in Gothic architecture for its romantic and literary associations, resulting in the fantastical style known as Strawberry Hill Gothick – the ‘k’ to distinguish it from medieval Gothic. Nineteenth century A more scholarly return to Gothic was driven by a desire to recapture the spirit, as well as the outward forms, of medieval art and architecture. Numerous new churches and additions to existing churches were built in the Gothic style in England’s expanding industrial towns and cities. The Arts and Crafts movement of the later nineteenth century opposed industrialisation and mass-production and promoted traditional craft skills: associated with William Morris and his followers, the movement was highly influential in the design of church furnishing and stained glass of the era. Twentieth and twenty-first centuries Since the Second World War, architects have taken advantage of the structural possibilities of modern materials to give churches new and striking forms.
boss: Decoratively carved block placed at the intersection of the ribs of a vault (q.v.). clerestory: Upper storey of the nave rising above the aisle roofs, with windows to bring light to the central parts of a church. column: Vertical structural element composed of a base, shaft and capital. Column capitals offer a simple means of differentiating the orders (or styles) of Classical architecture: Tuscan and Doric columns have plain capitals; Ionic capitals are characterised by coiled, scrolllike decorations; Corinthian capitals are ornamented with stylised acanthus leaves. corbel: Block projecting from a wall to support a roof beam. Often decoratively carved. crocket: Carved projection in the form of a bud, leaf or flower, in Gothic buildings often found, set at regular intervals, decorating the sides of gables, spires and pinnacles (q.v.). hammer-beam: Type of roofstructure. Hammer-beams are short beams that do not span the entire width of a roof. They are supported on curved braces from the wall; resting on the hammer-beams are posts or arched braces which support the rafters. Hammer-beam roofs are often highly decorated, sometimes with carved angels.
lancet: Tall, narrow, pointed window openings. Found singly or in pairs in Early English Gothic buildings, or in larger groups in more complex Gothic tracery (q.v.).
sedilia: Seats (usually three) on the south side of the chancel for officiating clergy. They are often recessed into the wall and may be decorated with elaborate canopies and pinnacles (q.v.).
lantern: Structure projecting from the roof of a building containing windows to light the interior; or a stage of a church tower that contains windows.
spandrel: The space between the curves of adjacent arches.
misericord: Projecting ledge on the underside of the hinged seat of a choir stall, on which clergy could perch when standing during long services – hence its name, meaning ‘have pity.’ Often richly decorated with carved foliage or allegorical figures. ogee: An S-shaped curve, convex at top and concave at bottom. pilaster: Representation in relief of a column (q.v.), projecting from the face of a wall. pinnacle: Tall, thin, spire-like decorative feature, frequently used to crown a buttress. Often ornamented with crockets (q.v.). portico: Porch with columns forming the entrance to a Classical building. reredos: Carved or painted panel behind an altar. rood screen: Decorated screen, topped with a cross, separating the chancel from the nave.
splayed-foot spire: If an octagonal spire is placed on a square tower, the corners of the tower will be left uncovered. To resolve this, each intermediate side of a splayed-foot spire is tapered to a point at its base to meet the corner of the tower. strapwork: Style of carved ornament popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, resembling pierced and interlaced leather straps. tester: Flat canopy above an altar, pulpit, etc. tracery: Moulded bars dividing a window or panel into parts. The successive phases of Gothic architecture can be distinguished by their windowtracery. Trefoil, quatrefoil and sexfoil are lobed tracery shapes, the number of their lobes being three, four and six respectively. vault: Arched roof or ceiling. A barrel vault is semicircular in section; lierne vaulting is composed of intersecting ribs forming decorative star-shaped patterns meeting at bosses (q.v.).
architectural styles / glossary
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Architectural Styles Anglo-Saxon Simple in its structure and detailing, but nonetheless retaining features derived from classical architecture such as the semicircular arch. Rubble masonry, sometimes incorporating older material such as Roman brick, is more likely to be met with than neatly squared stones. Window openings are small and often placed asymmetrically rather than conforming to an overall pattern. Norman Originating in northern France and introduced to England on a wide scale following the Norman Conquest, it features massive round columns, thick stone walls and round arches, characteristically decorated with zigzag patterning and bold figural carving. It is also known as ‘English Romanesque’. The cruciform church with a square crossing tower became common in this period. Medieval ‘Gothic’ architecture was introduced to England from France at the end of the twelfth century and would hold sway for the next 400 years. More than just a shift in styles, Gothic represented a revolution in engineering. It is characterised by pointed arches, soaring heights, thinner walls and more
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and larger windows, often containing colourful stained glass. In England the Gothic style developed in three phases: Early English The earliest phase of Gothic saw the introduction of pointed arches and narrow, pointed lancet windows: these enabled taller and lighter buildings to be constructed. Carved decoration was spare and typified by crisp, stylised foliage. Decorated Over time, window tracery became more elaborate and carved decoration more naturalistic, evolving into what is called the Decorated Style. This phase of Gothic also featured more slender columns and the use of decorative ribbed vaulting. Perpendicular Unique to England, the Perpendicular style featured strong grids of vertical and horizontal lines, huge window surfaces, and even more elaborate vaulting, culminating in the fan vault. Post-Reformation The centuries following England’s break from the Roman Church saw a return to architectural forms derived from classical and Renaissance architecture, in a plethora of
C h u r c h e s o f t h e c h u r c h o f e Ng l a n d
Glossary styles from Jacobean to Baroque to Neoclassical. In the late eighteenth century there was a revival of interest in Gothic architecture for its romantic and literary associations, resulting in the fantastical style known as Strawberry Hill Gothick – the ‘k’ to distinguish it from medieval Gothic. Nineteenth century A more scholarly return to Gothic was driven by a desire to recapture the spirit, as well as the outward forms, of medieval art and architecture. Numerous new churches and additions to existing churches were built in the Gothic style in England’s expanding industrial towns and cities. The Arts and Crafts movement of the later nineteenth century opposed industrialisation and mass-production and promoted traditional craft skills: associated with William Morris and his followers, the movement was highly influential in the design of church furnishing and stained glass of the era. Twentieth and twenty-first centuries Since the Second World War, architects have taken advantage of the structural possibilities of modern materials to give churches new and striking forms.
boss: Decoratively carved block placed at the intersection of the ribs of a vault (q.v.). clerestory: Upper storey of the nave rising above the aisle roofs, with windows to bring light to the central parts of a church. column: Vertical structural element composed of a base, shaft and capital. Column capitals offer a simple means of differentiating the orders (or styles) of Classical architecture: Tuscan and Doric columns have plain capitals; Ionic capitals are characterised by coiled, scrolllike decorations; Corinthian capitals are ornamented with stylised acanthus leaves. corbel: Block projecting from a wall to support a roof beam. Often decoratively carved. crocket: Carved projection in the form of a bud, leaf or flower, in Gothic buildings often found, set at regular intervals, decorating the sides of gables, spires and pinnacles (q.v.). hammer-beam: Type of roofstructure. Hammer-beams are short beams that do not span the entire width of a roof. They are supported on curved braces from the wall; resting on the hammer-beams are posts or arched braces which support the rafters. Hammer-beam roofs are often highly decorated, sometimes with carved angels.
lancet: Tall, narrow, pointed window openings. Found singly or in pairs in Early English Gothic buildings, or in larger groups in more complex Gothic tracery (q.v.).
sedilia: Seats (usually three) on the south side of the chancel for officiating clergy. They are often recessed into the wall and may be decorated with elaborate canopies and pinnacles (q.v.).
lantern: Structure projecting from the roof of a building containing windows to light the interior; or a stage of a church tower that contains windows.
spandrel: The space between the curves of adjacent arches.
misericord: Projecting ledge on the underside of the hinged seat of a choir stall, on which clergy could perch when standing during long services – hence its name, meaning ‘have pity.’ Often richly decorated with carved foliage or allegorical figures. ogee: An S-shaped curve, convex at top and concave at bottom. pilaster: Representation in relief of a column (q.v.), projecting from the face of a wall. pinnacle: Tall, thin, spire-like decorative feature, frequently used to crown a buttress. Often ornamented with crockets (q.v.). portico: Porch with columns forming the entrance to a Classical building. reredos: Carved or painted panel behind an altar. rood screen: Decorated screen, topped with a cross, separating the chancel from the nave.
splayed-foot spire: If an octagonal spire is placed on a square tower, the corners of the tower will be left uncovered. To resolve this, each intermediate side of a splayed-foot spire is tapered to a point at its base to meet the corner of the tower. strapwork: Style of carved ornament popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, resembling pierced and interlaced leather straps. tester: Flat canopy above an altar, pulpit, etc. tracery: Moulded bars dividing a window or panel into parts. The successive phases of Gothic architecture can be distinguished by their windowtracery. Trefoil, quatrefoil and sexfoil are lobed tracery shapes, the number of their lobes being three, four and six respectively. vault: Arched roof or ceiling. A barrel vault is semicircular in section; lierne vaulting is composed of intersecting ribs forming decorative star-shaped patterns meeting at bosses (q.v.).
architectural styles / glossary
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INDEX Alfred the Great 6 Athelstan, King of the Anglo-Saxons 14 Bath and Wells, Diocese of 40 Beauchamp, Richard, Earl of Warwick 38 Beaufort, Cardinal 24 Bellucci, Antonio 57 Betjeman, Sir John 16, 86 Birmingham, Diocese of 62 Blackburn, Diocese of 64 Bodley, George Frederick 72 Boleyn, Anne 44 Bristol, Diocese of 34 Brown, Ford Madox 76 Burlison & Grylls 32 Burne-Jones, Sir Edward 7, 14, 76, 78, 82 Butterfield, William 20 Camoys, Lady Margaret and Lord Thomas 26 Campbell, Colen 54 Canterbury, Diocese of 16 Carlisle, Diocese of 20 Caroë, William Douglas 80 Carroll, Lewis 31 Cavendishes, Dukes of Devonshire 70 Charles I 14, Chelmsford, Diocese of 10 Chester, Diocese of 36 Chichester, Diocese of 26 Churches Conservation Trust 74 Clayton & Bell 78 Coleridge, Samuel Taylor 28 Comper, Sir J. Ninian 22, 73 Coventry, Diocese of 38 Cromwell, Oliver, Lord Protector 7 Darling, Grace 12 Derby, Diocese of 70 De Senlis, Simon, Earl of Northampton 19 Durham, Diocese of 82 Edward VI 7, Elizabeth I 34, 38 Ely, Diocese of 44 Europe, Diocese of 78 Exeter, Diocese of 28
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Gibbons, Grinling 52 Gibbs, Evelyn 88 Gibbs, James 56, 62 Gloucester, Diocese of 42 Grandisson, John, Bishop of Exeter 28 Guildford, Diocese of 68 Guinness, Edward, Earl of Iveagh 80 Handel, George Frederic 50 Hardman & Co. 33 Hawksmoor, Nicholas 52 Heaney, Seamus 92 Henry I 24 Henry II 24 Henry V 26 Henry VI 44 Henry VII 42 Henry VIII 7, 42, 44, 52 Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester 24 Hereford, Diocese of 58 Hicks, W.S. 12 Kempe, Charles Eamer 19, 33, 73 Leeds, Diocese of 86 Leicester, Diocese of 60 Lichfield, Diocese of 48 Lincoln, Diocese of 32 Liverpool, Diocese of 72 London, Diocese of 84 Manchester, Diocese of 74 Matilda, Empress 24 Medland, James 74 Milton, John 7 Moore, Temple Lushington 86 Morris, William, & Co. 7, 19, 73, 76, 82, 94 Morris, Roger 54 Newcastle, Diocese of 12 Nicholson, Sir Charles 33 Norwich, Diocese of 22 Oxford, Diocese of 92 Pace, George 82 Palladio, Antonio 48, 54 Paxton, Sir Joseph 70 Pearson, John Loughborough 73 Peterborough, Diocese of 18 Piper, John 90 Portsmouth, Diocese of 50
Powell & Sons 76 Prior, Edward Schroeder 82 Reilly, Sir Charles 85 Repton, Humphry 14 Reyntiens, Patrick 90 Richard I 18 Rickman, Thomas 64 Rochester, Diocese of 54 Rossetti, Dante Gabriel 76 Rysbrack, John 8,14, 56 St Aidan 12 St Albans, Diocese of 76 St Augustine of Canterbury 6 St Bede, ‘The Venerable’ 10, 12 St Cedd 10 St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, Diocese of 80 St John of Beverley 31 Salisbury, Diocese of 46 Scott, Sir (George) Gilbert 19, 70 Sheffield, Diocese of 90 Sigbert, King of the East Saxons 10 Singh, Duleep 81 Soane, Sir John 14 Sodor and Man, Diocese of 66 Southwark, Diocese of 52 Southwell and Nottingham, Diocese of 88 Stammers, Harry front flap, 90 Stephen, King 24 Street, George Edmund 73, 78 Tallis, Thomas 53 Taylor, Henry 74 Thornhill, Sir James 52 Tijou, Jean 52 Trollope, Anthony 24 Truro, Diocese of 14 Wailes, William 20 Walpole, Sir Horace 58 West, Benjamin 62 William I, the Conqueror 6, 10 Winchester, Diocese of 24 Wolfe, James, Major General 53 Woodyer, Henry 7, 58, 76 Worcester, Diocese of 56 Wren, Sir Christopher 48 York, Diocese of 30