ST THOMAS. 1902 by Freeman & Ogilvy. - PLATE. Cup and Cover of 1782; Paten bought in Armenia; Almsdish with repoussé representation of Adam and Eve, probably Flemish.
Mee didn't bother.
Friday, 18 January 2013
Upshire
St Thomas is a deeply uninspiring building made worse by failing light.
ST THOMAS. 1902 by Freeman & Ogilvy. - PLATE. Cup and Cover of 1782; Paten bought in Armenia; Almsdish with repoussé representation of Adam and Eve, probably Flemish.
ST THOMAS. 1902 by Freeman & Ogilvy. - PLATE. Cup and Cover of 1782; Paten bought in Armenia; Almsdish with repoussé representation of Adam and Eve, probably Flemish.
Abridge
I thought I'd found Holy Trinity but in fact photographed the Evangelical church which is an altogether different beast. I must have gone straight past it without noticing.
UPDATE: passed through Abridge the other day and recorded Holy Trinity - yay.
HOLY TRINITY. Small uninteresting brick church of 1833, enlarged by R. W. Edis in 1877.
Quite a pretty village centre along the main road, with one half-timbered, gabled house, and (in a good position facing the traveller, as he approaches from the E) the Early Victorian BLUE BOAR. It has quoins and a Tuscan porch.
Mee doesn't mention it.
UPDATE: passed through Abridge the other day and recorded Holy Trinity - yay.
HOLY TRINITY. Small uninteresting brick church of 1833, enlarged by R. W. Edis in 1877.
Quite a pretty village centre along the main road, with one half-timbered, gabled house, and (in a good position facing the traveller, as he approaches from the E) the Early Victorian BLUE BOAR. It has quoins and a Tuscan porch.
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| Evangelical Church |
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| Holy Trinity |
Mee doesn't mention it.
Noak Hill
I am definitely getting soft in the head. Built in 1841-2 St Thomas should not be my cup of tea at all but I really rather liked it. I wish I'd got inside as Mee makes it sound interesting, rather to my surprise.
ST THOMAS. 1841-2 by Blore. Red brick, with transepts. Octagonal SW turret. The main windows with transomes. Not in a style usual in the 40s.
ST THOMAS. 1841-2 by Blore. Red brick, with transepts. Octagonal SW turret. The main windows with transomes. Not in a style usual in the 40s.
NOAK HILL. It looks across at the trees in Pyrgo Park, where kings and queens came to stay, and we come to it for a few treasures in its 19th century church, wood and glass about 300 years old, mostly brought here from the Continent. Both in wood and in glass there are strikingly vivid pictures of the Crucifixion by old craftsmen. The one in wood is on the chancel wall, and also shows Christ bearing the Cross. It is sombre and perhaps a little grotesque, but full of quaint realism, and is said to come from a monastery at Florence. The other is in the east window, an intensely realistic scene with Our Lord between the two thieves, the Madonna and three other Marys, John, two horsemen, and soldiers holding the spear and sponge. The window also has full-length figures of Peter and John the Baptist, and a group of the Madonna with Zacharias and Elizabeth. In other windows are French , heraldic medallions of the 16th century, panels of Saul with Doeg the Edomite, The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging, and Doubting Thomas. We see also the badge of Jane Seymour, with a bird springing from flowers set in a round tower, and two medallions with the heraldry of Anne Boleyn. All this old colour the church has to brighten it, and it glows too with the yivid hues of coats-of-arms in all the nave windows.
Little Warley
St Peter was an unscheduled visit but as I passed it on my way to Noak Hill I stopped. This pretty church both architecturally and location wise sits besides the busy A127 and is kept locked with no keyholder listed (to be fair there's nowhere to list a keyholder as there's no noticeboard).
Sadly someone had smashed the south east chancel window, presumably in an attempt to gain access, which provides a point for both sides of the argument but, given that it was patently obvious there was nothing worth stealing here, if the church was unlocked the someone wouldn't have smashed the window.
It's worth noting that a search on Flickr shows that when Whipper_snapper visited in Jan 2007 someone had smashed the same window
It has some interesting monuments locked inside.
ST PETER. A small church. Brick W tower of 1718 with chequer pattern, diagonal buttresses and parapet. C15 stone nave with some windows with Perp tracery. Early C16 brick chancel, heavily buttressed (later) on the N side. The E wall is early C19. S porch of timber c. 1500. Nave roof with tie-beams and king-posts. - BOX-PEWS, C17. - PLATE. Cup of 1564 with band of ornament. - MONUMENTS. Brass with demi-figure of Anne Terrell d. 1592. - Sir Denner Strutt and his wife d. 1641. Standing wall monument. Recumbent effigies on shelves, the wife behind and above the husband. Big baldacchino and coarsely carved putti lifting up the curtains. - Lady Strutt d. 1658. Standing wall monument. Semi-reclining figure in a shroud; cheek propped on elbow. - Father Time, early C17 alabaster figure, reclining, from a lost monument.
Sadly someone had smashed the south east chancel window, presumably in an attempt to gain access, which provides a point for both sides of the argument but, given that it was patently obvious there was nothing worth stealing here, if the church was unlocked the someone wouldn't have smashed the window.
It's worth noting that a search on Flickr shows that when Whipper_snapper visited in Jan 2007 someone had smashed the same window
It has some interesting monuments locked inside.
ST PETER. A small church. Brick W tower of 1718 with chequer pattern, diagonal buttresses and parapet. C15 stone nave with some windows with Perp tracery. Early C16 brick chancel, heavily buttressed (later) on the N side. The E wall is early C19. S porch of timber c. 1500. Nave roof with tie-beams and king-posts. - BOX-PEWS, C17. - PLATE. Cup of 1564 with band of ornament. - MONUMENTS. Brass with demi-figure of Anne Terrell d. 1592. - Sir Denner Strutt and his wife d. 1641. Standing wall monument. Recumbent effigies on shelves, the wife behind and above the husband. Big baldacchino and coarsely carved putti lifting up the curtains. - Lady Strutt d. 1658. Standing wall monument. Semi-reclining figure in a shroud; cheek propped on elbow. - Father Time, early C17 alabaster figure, reclining, from a lost monument.
LITTLE WARLEY. The woods about it rise and fall with the hills, and a row of pretty cottages lines the edge of a breezy common from which are fine views, while the old church stands by the hall on the arterial road to Southend. Built entirely of brick in the 16th century, the hall has great charm, especially the side facing the church, with black bricks making a rich pattern and a two-storeyed porch with a crow stepped gable. Rising above the high pitched roof are twin chimney shafts with spirals. The small church is a patchwork of materials, a 16th century chancel and 18th century tower of brick having been added to a nave of grey and white stone. We come in by a 15th century door, and are charmed with two cherubs holding back a canopy over the striking tomb of Sir Denner Strutt, who lies in armour below the figure of his first wife, with his second wife close by. Sir Denner sat in the first Parliament of Charles Stuart. On the wall is the brass portrait of a lady in Elizabethan dress, wife in turn to Davye Hamner and John Terrell. In a niche is a quaint alabaster figure of Father Time.
Simon K -
This was the real low point of the day. An utterly depressing location, cut off from its parish by the A127. Red brick, small, neglected, with a view of one of the county's most important 16th Century memorials through the window. Not in safe hands. A dog barking from the neighbouring ranch-style house, the roar of traffic from the dual carriageway. Rain falling heavily. This was the point at which I wondered - what the f*** am I doing here?
Fortunately, the next church, Great Warley, would more than make up for this dismal place.
Flickr.
Simon K -
I had been looking forward to coming here on the Ride and Stride event, and cycled eight miles out of my way to visit it, only to find it locked without a keyholder notice, and not taking part in the event. I hope they never have the gall to apply for a grant.
Fortunately, the next church, Great Warley, would more than make up for this dismal place.
Flickr.
Ramsden Crays
Hidden away at the end of a single track lane St Mary is a redundant church converted into a domestic property.
ST MARY. 1871 except for the belfry, with broach spire. It stands on four posts with heavy braces from N to S. The building of 1871 makes use of some C15 windows.
ST MARY. 1871 except for the belfry, with broach spire. It stands on four posts with heavy braces from N to S. The building of 1871 makes use of some C15 windows.
Ramsden Bellhouse
St Mary the Virgin - locked no keyholder.
ST MARY. 1880, except for the S porch and the belfry. The porch may be as early as the C14, with coarse timbers. Braces from the doorway. The belfry stands on four posts with heavy braces from N to S. Weatherboarded aisles on N, S, and W. Original C15 timber doorway. The spire is hipped. The roofs of chancel and nave are also C15 or early C16. - FONT COVER, c. 1700. - CHEST. Heavily iron-bound, 7 ft long. - CHAIRS. Three in chancel, thickly carved, early C18. - PLATE. Cup with bands of ornament, 1562, and Paten of the same period.
ST MARY. 1880, except for the S porch and the belfry. The porch may be as early as the C14, with coarse timbers. Braces from the doorway. The belfry stands on four posts with heavy braces from N to S. Weatherboarded aisles on N, S, and W. Original C15 timber doorway. The spire is hipped. The roofs of chancel and nave are also C15 or early C16. - FONT COVER, c. 1700. - CHEST. Heavily iron-bound, 7 ft long. - CHAIRS. Three in chancel, thickly carved, early C18. - PLATE. Cup with bands of ornament, 1562, and Paten of the same period.
RAMSDEN BELLHOUSE. Its name comes from the Bellhus family, but it might well have come from the 15th century wooden tower and spire of the church, an example of the astonishing timberwork for which Essex is famous. It is almost the only part of the church not rebuilt, and for over four centuries has kept its huge beams inside, its oak doorway carved with a rose and a shield, its door with hinges older still, and its belfry steps with their unshaped treads. The nave roof is just as old, and a beam in the chancel is enriched with twisted foliage. From the 14th century are the rafters and bargeboards of the porch and a beautiful little piscina arch with tiny quatrefoils in the spandrels. There are three chairs elaborately carved in the 17th century, when the graceful cover was made for the 15th century font; and there is a big medieval chest six feet long, the lid so heavy that it is in two parts each with two handles.
God’s Acre charms us here with a cluster of elms higher than the weathercock, and standing in their shade we have a lovely view over rolling meadowland. Under a gravestone carved with an hour glass lies one whom we may perhaps call the most remarkable child in the village, Anthony Child who died an old man in 1726. He had lived under seven rulers, six kings and Oliver Cromwell, and missed the eighth only by a year.
God’s Acre charms us here with a cluster of elms higher than the weathercock, and standing in their shade we have a lovely view over rolling meadowland. Under a gravestone carved with an hour glass lies one whom we may perhaps call the most remarkable child in the village, Anthony Child who died an old man in 1726. He had lived under seven rulers, six kings and Oliver Cromwell, and missed the eighth only by a year.
Runwell
I had high hopes for St Mary as there appeared to be no reason for it not to be open, but sadly it was locked.
ST MARY. The best thing about the church is the two porches, timber structures of the C15. The side openings are arched and cusped. Over the gateway is a king-post. The main difference between N and S is that the one has quatrefoils, the other trefoils in the spandrels of the arches. W tower with diagonal buttresses, battlements and a recessed spire. Higher stair turret. Nave and chancel (lengthened in 1907) in one. Double Hagioscope. S arcade of four bays with short circular piers and double-chamfered arches - the only reminder of the C13 in a church otherwise entirely Perp. - SCREEN. By W. F. Unsworth, 1909. - POOR-BOX. Oak, hollowed-out, iron-bound. - PLATE. Cup with band of ornament, and Paten, both of 1562. - MONUMENT. Brasses of Eustace Sulyard d. 1547 and wife d. 1587. Kneeling figures between pilasters carrying a pediment. - Mr Gunnis also mentions a signed tablet to Edward Sulyard, 1692, by Thomas Cartwright, jun.
ST MARY. The best thing about the church is the two porches, timber structures of the C15. The side openings are arched and cusped. Over the gateway is a king-post. The main difference between N and S is that the one has quatrefoils, the other trefoils in the spandrels of the arches. W tower with diagonal buttresses, battlements and a recessed spire. Higher stair turret. Nave and chancel (lengthened in 1907) in one. Double Hagioscope. S arcade of four bays with short circular piers and double-chamfered arches - the only reminder of the C13 in a church otherwise entirely Perp. - SCREEN. By W. F. Unsworth, 1909. - POOR-BOX. Oak, hollowed-out, iron-bound. - PLATE. Cup with band of ornament, and Paten, both of 1562. - MONUMENT. Brasses of Eustace Sulyard d. 1547 and wife d. 1587. Kneeling figures between pilasters carrying a pediment. - Mr Gunnis also mentions a signed tablet to Edward Sulyard, 1692, by Thomas Cartwright, jun.
RUNWELL. It stands on the low hills near the River Crouch. Its church tower is 15th century but the round columns of the arcades are from a church which was a place of pilgrimage in Thomas Becket’s day. The timbering of the porches is enriched with Tudor roses, and the name of one of the benefactors, John Talbot, is on a beam. One of the doors is original, hinges and all, and on the inside is a curious burnt mark looking as if it had been made by a red-hot hand; the old folk will tell you that it is the mark of the devil’s hand when he was shut in the church by an ancient priest. On the chancel walls are brasses of Eustace Sulyard and his wife in rufif, facing each other over a prayer desk, and there are other monuments to the Sulyards, the last of the line being Sir Edmund, who was buried here in 1692. They lived at Fleming’s, a farm with a lovely Elizabethan wing still standing. There is a poor-box hollowed out from a block of oak, yellow flowers in medieval glass, and a scratch sundial saved from the earlier church. In a chapel is a vividly coloured oak statue of the Madonna.
Nevendon
I mistook St Peter for a Victorian built church but it is in fact old.
ST PETER. Small. Nave with two C14 doorways, chancel with some renewed C13 lancets. Roofs C15. Belfry resting on tie-beams instead of posts.
ST PETER. Small. Nave with two C14 doorways, chancel with some renewed C13 lancets. Roofs C15. Belfry resting on tie-beams instead of posts.
NEVENDON. It keeps its peace a little apart from the great Southend road. At a bend in the lane we come to its ancient church, with the lychgate between two friendly barns, the vicarage garden next door, all charming with pines and chestnuts and limes. A little wooden bell turret sits on the nave, which is 600 years old and has had faces watching by its doors all the time. The chancel with its lancet windows is a century older, and the roofs were looking down on the worshippers when Columbus was sailing the Atlantic. The modern pulpit and panelling take their place with a quiet charm; but out of place when we called seemed a big shell-case (though engraved with the names of those who fought in the Great War).
North Benfleet
All Saints looked more promising - farmyard position, duckpond and an old church - but sadly it has been abandoned and is in of danger of collapse (part of the tower is fenced off) and is woefully neglected. It's not the worst I've seen but give it a few more years and it will be a shell; to me it's a shame the CCT hasn't taken control even though Pevsner is somewhat dismissive:
ALL SAINTS. Away from the village but close to the moated site of North Benfleet Hall which was recently pulled down. The church is small and of little interest outside, except for one early C16 brick window of two lights with panel tracery. The brick tower of 1903 does not betray the timber construction of the belfry inside, with braces between the posts from E to W as well as from N to S. Trellis-struts higher up. and this heavy timbering in its turn does not betray a window of c. 1200 hidden in the Norman W wall of the nave. -- FONT. Of the C13 Purbeck type, square bowl, each side with six shallow blank pointed arches.- PLATE. Cup of 1506 with a band of ornament; Cover of 1564.
ALL SAINTS. Away from the village but close to the moated site of North Benfleet Hall which was recently pulled down. The church is small and of little interest outside, except for one early C16 brick window of two lights with panel tracery. The brick tower of 1903 does not betray the timber construction of the belfry inside, with braces between the posts from E to W as well as from N to S. Trellis-struts higher up. and this heavy timbering in its turn does not betray a window of c. 1200 hidden in the Norman W wall of the nave. -- FONT. Of the C13 Purbeck type, square bowl, each side with six shallow blank pointed arches.- PLATE. Cup of 1506 with a band of ornament; Cover of 1564.
NORTH BENFLEET. Here stands a farmhouse of ancient wonder and delight, one of its wings having survived, roof timbers and all, from the 15th century. The middle block and another wing were made new in the 16th century, and the entrance door has big strap-hinges and many an interesting detail of Stuart times. A great pond, all that is left of its moat, lies between it and a crowd of barns and haystacks. By them is the church, with a few of its original stones still seen, though in the west wall behind the massive timbering is a round-headed window of 1200, now blocked outside by a modern tower. The font is 13th century, the two bells are 15th, and the communion cup, with a band of engraved ornament, was first used in the spacious days of Queen Elizabeth. At the entrance to the 16th century porch is a tombstone with this curious inscription:
Sacred to the memory of John Cole, a soldier of Waterloo.
At the celebrated command, Up Guards and at ’em, he was wounded
by a musket ball but heroically persevered till the victory. He died
in this parish April 10, 1836, aged 51, bequeathing his medal to
the curate, whose last act was the erection of this tablet.
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Daws Heath
Well this is a first - today I did a finishing off run of the outer reaches of the south eastern quadrant covering village churches from near Southend on Sea, past Basildon, up to Brentwood and finishing near Epping before heading home. Similar to last week my expectations were low but I was amazed to find that all of the ten churches visited were locked with no keyholder listed - on no other trip have I found all the churches so uninviting and I will save my comments for Little Warley a little later down the line.
Understandably St Michael & All Saints was missed by Pevsner & Mee for the simple fact that it didn't exist in their day; a ski chalet building, I made a mistake including it on a visit.
Understandably St Michael & All Saints was missed by Pevsner & Mee for the simple fact that it didn't exist in their day; a ski chalet building, I made a mistake including it on a visit.
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Steeple
St Lawrence & All Saints was my last planned visit of the day, although I was going home via Woodham Walter to see the glass I'd missed previously, and was another disappointment being a locked rather ugly Victorian built church.
ST LAURENCE. 1884. Nave and chancel, belfry. In the late E.E. style with cusped lancets. The remarkable thing is that the architect, F. Chancellor, who built the church, using materials of the preceding medieval church, has indulged in an orgy of mixing into his brown stone walls bricks entirely at random and in all directions. Even the window dressings are not completely of brick, but use the brick intermittently without any principle but that of variety. Inside, the W end is divided off by a circular pier into two bays.
STANESGATE PRIORY. The priory was Cluniac, founded probably early in the C12. Of all that the Royal Commission could still describe in 1923, only one wall remains now visible.
ST LAURENCE. 1884. Nave and chancel, belfry. In the late E.E. style with cusped lancets. The remarkable thing is that the architect, F. Chancellor, who built the church, using materials of the preceding medieval church, has indulged in an orgy of mixing into his brown stone walls bricks entirely at random and in all directions. Even the window dressings are not completely of brick, but use the brick intermittently without any principle but that of variety. Inside, the W end is divided off by a circular pier into two bays.
STANESGATE PRIORY. The priory was Cluniac, founded probably early in the C12. Of all that the Royal Commission could still describe in 1923, only one wall remains now visible.
Arthur missed it.
Mayland
St Barnabas is a template Victorian built lego construct in a beautiful setting which replaced an older church which became seriously dilapidated and was demolished.
ST BARNABAS. 1867 by the younger Hardwick (GR). Nave and chancel only. E.E. with cusped lancets and a bellcote on the E gable of the nave, an unusual motif. Tall S porch. - PLATE. Paten of 1568; Cup with two bands of ornament, probably of the same date.
ST BARNABAS. 1867 by the younger Hardwick (GR). Nave and chancel only. E.E. with cusped lancets and a bellcote on the E gable of the nave, an unusual motif. Tall S porch. - PLATE. Paten of 1568; Cup with two bands of ornament, probably of the same date.
Monday, 14 January 2013
Latchingdon
There are two churches of Latchingdon, St Michael, which is redundant and now a private residence, and Christ Church which seems to be teetering on the edge of redundancy (although that might be judging a parish by its cover) and which did not imbue me with a desire to gain access - actually I wanted to get out of the area ASAP.
ST MICHAEL. Just the nave and a S porch. In the N wall a four-light brick Window of 1618, still with the lights ending in four-centred arches. At the W end a four-post structure for a belfry which has disappeared.
Christ Church, 1857 by St Aubyn (GR).
ST MICHAEL. Just the nave and a S porch. In the N wall a four-light brick Window of 1618, still with the lights ending in four-centred arches. At the W end a four-post structure for a belfry which has disappeared.
Christ Church, 1857 by St Aubyn (GR).
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| St Michael |
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| Christ Church |
Another one Mee missed.
Simon K -
The next church was the real goal of my journey. Knowing how horrible Latchingdon was I was a bit uncertain about the setting of the next, but I needn't have worried.
Flickr.
Simon K -
Locked, no keyholder. Latchingdon is the largest and least attractive place on the western part of the peninsula, an ugly mile or so of kebab shops, off-licences, petrol stations. The church is from the 1860s by JP St Aubyn, but is big and characterless, and apparently of little interest. It is always locked - I had actually tried the door once before on my way to Bradwell last summer. Not really sure why I bothered this time. However, photographing it meant I could count it as a visited church.
Flickr.
Purleigh
All Saints, on the face of it, looked to be the highlight of the day - the exterior, apart from an ill conceived and poorly designed meeting room, promised so much but inside was a disappointment despite a good pulpit, some OK Nicholson glass and the repositioned Moses and Aaron reredos portraits (a first for me which led to some research and new understanding) it was all a bit underwhelming.
ALL SAINTS. Ambitious embattled W tower with angle buttresses with three set-offs, bands of flint and stone, and also some flint and stone chequerwork. The windows indicate a C14 date. Restored in 1892 with American money, in memory of Lawrence Washington, rector from 1632 to 1643. Brick S porch with a four-centred doorhead and two-light W and E windows. Early C14 chancel, see the intersected and cusped three-light E window and the similar two-light N and S windows, also the Sedilia and Piscina, where however ogee arches occur at the tops of the cusping. Nave arcades with thick short octagonal piers and double-chamfered arches. Those of the S arcade die against the vertical continuation of the piers. - PULPIT. Elegant piece of c. 1700 ; staircase with twisted balusters, nicely framed panels and garlands hanging down the angles. - COMMUNION RAIL. Early C18? The balusters not twisted, but no longer of C17 forms. - REREDOS. 1758. Now dismantled. The large paintings of Moses and Aaron by one I. Fairchild. - CHANDELIER. Brass; given in 1758. - STAINED GLASS. Early C14 tabernacles in the heads of the chancel N and S windows. Later C14 tabernacles in a S aisle window. - PLATE. Fine set of c. 1760 with gadroon ornament.
ALL SAINTS. Ambitious embattled W tower with angle buttresses with three set-offs, bands of flint and stone, and also some flint and stone chequerwork. The windows indicate a C14 date. Restored in 1892 with American money, in memory of Lawrence Washington, rector from 1632 to 1643. Brick S porch with a four-centred doorhead and two-light W and E windows. Early C14 chancel, see the intersected and cusped three-light E window and the similar two-light N and S windows, also the Sedilia and Piscina, where however ogee arches occur at the tops of the cusping. Nave arcades with thick short octagonal piers and double-chamfered arches. Those of the S arcade die against the vertical continuation of the piers. - PULPIT. Elegant piece of c. 1700 ; staircase with twisted balusters, nicely framed panels and garlands hanging down the angles. - COMMUNION RAIL. Early C18? The balusters not twisted, but no longer of C17 forms. - REREDOS. 1758. Now dismantled. The large paintings of Moses and Aaron by one I. Fairchild. - CHANDELIER. Brass; given in 1758. - STAINED GLASS. Early C14 tabernacles in the heads of the chancel N and S windows. Later C14 tabernacles in a S aisle window. - PLATE. Fine set of c. 1760 with gadroon ornament.
PURLEIGH. It is a hilltop village to which Americans come, for here preached Lawrence Washington, the great-great-grand-father of the Father of the United States for ten years, he was thrust out of Purleigh in 1643, and his son John sailed for Virginia in 1657. The 14th century church he knew is a handsome place and has been carefully restored by American friends in memory of the Washingtons. We found a portrait of George Washington and his mother hanging on the walls.
The tower is made beautiful by bands of knapped fiints, and little flint crosses ornament the buttresses. Both tower and chancel have bands of 14th century bricks with glazed surfaces, rare examples of early brickwork. The bricks in the porch are Tudor, and the porch shelters a door with iron strap-hinges which has been opening and shutting for 600 years. All this time a leopard has been looking down from one of the windows, shining in the sunlight of 600 summers. A modern window has the portrait of John Wycliffe, and two great oil paintings of Moses and Aaron hang on the walls. The pulpit was made in Queen Anne’s reign, and one of the preachers, Provost Hawkins, preached from it for 55 years last century.
Simon K -
From Mundon, I was planning to cycle back to Hatfield Peveril station rather than Chelmsford, and I pottered westwards to Purleigh.
James Bettley in the revised Pevsner observes cheerily that the church is well-sited on the top of what is, in these parts, a considerable hill. It certainly is. I could see it like a castle from a mile or so off, and entering the pretty village the road began to climb steeply. I slogged on in low gear into what turned out to be a very pretty village, very atmospheric, and the first place I'd visited to day that I could imagine wanting to live.
In the middle of the village is the church. Open. A big church - the first big church since Great Baddow, the first big church to be open. Entirely East Anglian in style, but built in the Kent fashion from layered flint and greenstone.
The interior full of light, only a few windows all of good quality by AK Nicholson. An unfair comparison after Mundon, of course, but strangely lacking in atmosphere. The hill beyond was even steeper, and I was glad I had approached from the east and not the west. A couple of miles further on brought me to the Chelmsford to Maldon road, and as I crossed it the landscape changed completely - now it was the Essex I remembered from bike rides last year, rich and green, hedgerows, pretty villages and the like.
The tower is made beautiful by bands of knapped fiints, and little flint crosses ornament the buttresses. Both tower and chancel have bands of 14th century bricks with glazed surfaces, rare examples of early brickwork. The bricks in the porch are Tudor, and the porch shelters a door with iron strap-hinges which has been opening and shutting for 600 years. All this time a leopard has been looking down from one of the windows, shining in the sunlight of 600 summers. A modern window has the portrait of John Wycliffe, and two great oil paintings of Moses and Aaron hang on the walls. The pulpit was made in Queen Anne’s reign, and one of the preachers, Provost Hawkins, preached from it for 55 years last century.
Simon K -
From Mundon, I was planning to cycle back to Hatfield Peveril station rather than Chelmsford, and I pottered westwards to Purleigh.
James Bettley in the revised Pevsner observes cheerily that the church is well-sited on the top of what is, in these parts, a considerable hill. It certainly is. I could see it like a castle from a mile or so off, and entering the pretty village the road began to climb steeply. I slogged on in low gear into what turned out to be a very pretty village, very atmospheric, and the first place I'd visited to day that I could imagine wanting to live.
In the middle of the village is the church. Open. A big church - the first big church since Great Baddow, the first big church to be open. Entirely East Anglian in style, but built in the Kent fashion from layered flint and greenstone.
The interior full of light, only a few windows all of good quality by AK Nicholson. An unfair comparison after Mundon, of course, but strangely lacking in atmosphere. The hill beyond was even steeper, and I was glad I had approached from the east and not the west. A couple of miles further on brought me to the Chelmsford to Maldon road, and as I crossed it the landscape changed completely - now it was the Essex I remembered from bike rides last year, rich and green, hedgerows, pretty villages and the like.
Stow Marie
SS Mary & Margaret is an astonishing building - part original flint and rubble wall augmented by, what I took to be, Tudor brickwork; it seems to have collapsed and then been repaired in the C16th retaining those bits that were sound.
There's not a huge amount of interest here but it's a lovely building and open, which probably added a huge plus to the draw, and the alter paintings, Mary Browne brass and Della Robbia memorial are all lovely; so whilst probably not a top ten of Essex certainly in contention for best of the day and looking at the west end photo certainly best in show.
I think Pevsner's rather harsh:
ST MARY AND ST MARGARET. Chancel taller than the nave. The nave is C15 (see the N window of three lights with panel tracery) but was heightened in brick early in the C16 to which the trefoil-arched corbel frieze and the stepped E gable belong. - BRASS. Mary Browne d. 1602, nothing special.
There's not a huge amount of interest here but it's a lovely building and open, which probably added a huge plus to the draw, and the alter paintings, Mary Browne brass and Della Robbia memorial are all lovely; so whilst probably not a top ten of Essex certainly in contention for best of the day and looking at the west end photo certainly best in show.
I think Pevsner's rather harsh:
ST MARY AND ST MARGARET. Chancel taller than the nave. The nave is C15 (see the N window of three lights with panel tracery) but was heightened in brick early in the C16 to which the trefoil-arched corbel frieze and the stepped E gable belong. - BRASS. Mary Browne d. 1602, nothing special.
STOW MARIES. It is a small place on the low hills above the Crouch, with a lovely God’s Acre of trees and roses. A vivid red cross glows from the wooden bell-turret of the 15th century church, in contrast with the soft red corbel table crowning the nave wall below. Angels are playing viols in the headstops of the windows. There is a medieval niche in the wall now filled by a saint.
In the chancel is a brass portrait of Mary Browne, a village lady of the days of Queen Elizabeth, with little portraits of her three sons and four daughters. The stately wooden reredos dominating the sanctuary is a peace memorial and has three paintings of three Annunciations: the Annunciation of the coming of John to Zacharias, the Annunciation by Gabriel to the Madonna, and the Angel’s Annunciation to the women at the Tomb that Christ was risen. They are charming in their silvery colouring, and the setting is helped by the absence of a window in the background. The font is 15th century.
Simon K -
I turned back to the church. A typical Essex rural church with a
bellcote and little nave, but a large chancel tacked on as a 15th
Century afterthought. A sign on the door said Peace and quiet await within which was nice. Another sign said this church is always open.
I stepped in to a delightful anglo-catholic interior, very simple with its statues. The building has sunk so that the benches slope down from the middle to the outside walls, as at Welney in Norfolk, although rather more dramatically as the church is so little. It is absolutely delightful. A notice on the inside of the door said most of us need an open church at some time in our lives.
This church went straight into my top 20 Essex churches.
I was heading down to the Crouch estuary, and it hadn't occurred to me that the road my tiny lane would shoot me out onto was the main road between Burnham-on-Crouch and the rest of the world. I was only on it for a mile or so, but it was a relief to get off into my stop, North Fambridge.
In the chancel is a brass portrait of Mary Browne, a village lady of the days of Queen Elizabeth, with little portraits of her three sons and four daughters. The stately wooden reredos dominating the sanctuary is a peace memorial and has three paintings of three Annunciations: the Annunciation of the coming of John to Zacharias, the Annunciation by Gabriel to the Madonna, and the Angel’s Annunciation to the women at the Tomb that Christ was risen. They are charming in their silvery colouring, and the setting is helped by the absence of a window in the background. The font is 15th century.
Simon K -
Stow Maries - the second word is pronounced to rhyme with 'car ease' -
itself is a disappointing village, mostly bungalows and hideous
ranch-style villas, but out on the edge of it is an utterly enchanting
little church overlooking a steep bluff, with all south-east Essex
spread out below. It was breathtaking - being Essex, there wasn't much
to see in the wide plain below, but as I stood there (and I kid you
not) four early monoplanes in bright colours flew in formation across
the valley. I've no idea where they came from, an airshow presumably,
but having just come from the remains of the old Stow Maries RFC
station it was an atmospheric moment.
I stepped in to a delightful anglo-catholic interior, very simple with its statues. The building has sunk so that the benches slope down from the middle to the outside walls, as at Welney in Norfolk, although rather more dramatically as the church is so little. It is absolutely delightful. A notice on the inside of the door said most of us need an open church at some time in our lives.
This church went straight into my top 20 Essex churches.
I was heading down to the Crouch estuary, and it hadn't occurred to me that the road my tiny lane would shoot me out onto was the main road between Burnham-on-Crouch and the rest of the world. I was only on it for a mile or so, but it was a relief to get off into my stop, North Fambridge.
Althorne
St Andrew is an imposing building with a large tower, squat nave and short chancel and is simply stunning and locked, however keyholders are listed but were out when I called. St Andrew felt like it had more to offer inside and I left feeling profoundly disappointed.
UPDATE 20/08/15: Had to make a delivery just up the road today and stopped off on my way home and the keyholder was in. Very disappointing inside as it has been thoroughly airbrushed and there is little of interest. I saw no sign of the brass and thought Pevsner very harsh on the font - I thought it rather good of its kind.
ST ANDREW. Nave, chancel, and W tower - all Perp. The W tower is of flint and stone and has diagonal buttresses. The battlements have a trellis pattern of ashlar against the flint ground. Above the W door is an inscription which reads as follows: ‘Orate pro animabus dominorum Iohannis Wylson et Iohannis Hyll quorum animabus propicietur dens amen.’ They no doubt paid for the building of the tower. The nave is of flint, embattled, the chancel lower and of brick. - FONT. Octagonal, Perp, with fleurons on the foot, panel tracery on the stern, and on the bowl figures of angels, saints, a baptism, the martyrdom of St Andrew, etc. The figure carving is thoroughly bad. - BRASS to William Hyklott d. 1508 ‘which paide for the werkemanship of the wall of this churche’.
UPDATE 20/08/15: Had to make a delivery just up the road today and stopped off on my way home and the keyholder was in. Very disappointing inside as it has been thoroughly airbrushed and there is little of interest. I saw no sign of the brass and thought Pevsner very harsh on the font - I thought it rather good of its kind.
ST ANDREW. Nave, chancel, and W tower - all Perp. The W tower is of flint and stone and has diagonal buttresses. The battlements have a trellis pattern of ashlar against the flint ground. Above the W door is an inscription which reads as follows: ‘Orate pro animabus dominorum Iohannis Wylson et Iohannis Hyll quorum animabus propicietur dens amen.’ They no doubt paid for the building of the tower. The nave is of flint, embattled, the chancel lower and of brick. - FONT. Octagonal, Perp, with fleurons on the foot, panel tracery on the stern, and on the bowl figures of angels, saints, a baptism, the martyrdom of St Andrew, etc. The figure carving is thoroughly bad. - BRASS to William Hyklott d. 1508 ‘which paide for the werkemanship of the wall of this churche’.
ALTHORNE. Charming here it is to see the white-sailed boats coming up the wide estuary with the flowing tide, and delightful to come to the church by the grassy lane. In the church is a gem which should draw every traveller this way - a font exquisitely carved about the year 1400, recording for all time the costume worn by kings and queens and ordinary people of that age. The panels of the bowl are cut deep to throw the figures in strong relief. Here is a seraph feathered from crown to foot, and stately withal; here is a royal prince at a font with a priest baptising him; in another panel stands a king with his queen beside him, plucking at her gown as if to curtsy.
The church is 14th century, the tower 15th, its embattled parapet enriched with flints in a trellis work of stone giving it great beauty. On a nave buttress is a medieval scratch dial. An inscription below a portrait brass tells us that this is William Hyklott, who paid for the wall of the church; he is with two daughters, one dressed as a nun, and engraved with them are a delightful Madonna and Child.
Flickr.
The church is 14th century, the tower 15th, its embattled parapet enriched with flints in a trellis work of stone giving it great beauty. On a nave buttress is a medieval scratch dial. An inscription below a portrait brass tells us that this is William Hyklott, who paid for the wall of the church; he is with two daughters, one dressed as a nun, and engraved with them are a delightful Madonna and Child.
Flickr.
South Fambridge
All Saints is a Victorian kit church of remarkable ugliness and no merit, stuck in the middle of nowhere - personally I'm surprised it's extant and in use.
This popped up om my screen saver today [Oct 2017] and I found I actually really rather liked its oddity.
ALL SAINTS. Just a chapel. Nave and chancel only. Yellow brick with lancets. Bellcote. Built in 1846.
This popped up om my screen saver today [Oct 2017] and I found I actually really rather liked its oddity.
ALL SAINTS. Just a chapel. Nave and chancel only. Yellow brick with lancets. Bellcote. Built in 1846.
Mee ignored it.
Ashingdon
St Andrew has a fascinating tower and an even more fascinating "open door" scheme which operates between 2 and 4pm, except Sundays when it's either open all day or shut - the notice doesn't explain, from Easter to the end of September and is thereafter locked. Presumably the opening hours reflect Ashingdon's tourist trade high points rather than any thought through "open door" scheme. This is a shame as I loved the exterior and felt there was possibly something special here but I'm not likely to go again unless it happens to be en route to somewhere else so I'm unlikely to find out if the interior lives up to expectations.
ST ANDREW. Nave and chancel with a small W tower only about half the width of the nave. The tower has diagonal buttresses and a pyramid roof. The brick S window in the nave is c18, but the brick E wall of the chancel, as shown by the black diapering, is of c. 1500. This is also the date of the two-light brick window on the N side of the chancel, and may be the date of the timber S porch, a relatively plain specimen. The nave must be earlier, see the window on the N side which has Y-tracery. Such windows are usually of c. 1300. The chancel must belong to the same moment. Its arch has the original N respond left (trefoiled in plan with moulded capital). C15 to C16 roofs in nave and chancel. - PLATE. Cup of 1564 with band of ornament; Cup on baluster stem of 1640, Pattern of the late C17.
ST ANDREW. Nave and chancel with a small W tower only about half the width of the nave. The tower has diagonal buttresses and a pyramid roof. The brick S window in the nave is c18, but the brick E wall of the chancel, as shown by the black diapering, is of c. 1500. This is also the date of the two-light brick window on the N side of the chancel, and may be the date of the timber S porch, a relatively plain specimen. The nave must be earlier, see the window on the N side which has Y-tracery. Such windows are usually of c. 1300. The chancel must belong to the same moment. Its arch has the original N respond left (trefoiled in plan with moulded capital). C15 to C16 roofs in nave and chancel. - PLATE. Cup of 1564 with band of ornament; Cup on baluster stem of 1640, Pattern of the late C17.
ASHINGDON. A narrow lane climbs past an old barn to trees clustering on a hilltop, and brings us to the scene over the great valley in which the course of history was changed before the Conqueror came. In the shade of these trees stands a church with Roman tiles in its walls, probably the very walls built by King Canute in celebration of his victory. His church was pulled down and built up again 600 years ago; its tower is 50 years younger than the rest of it, very quaint with a tiny saddleback astride the red tiles of the low pyramid roof. We enter by the timbered porch, under a 400-year-old roof, noticing a stone cut with a rough sundial; it may have told the time to the 14th century builders. The church is small, the nave 25 feet long, and the chancel 21. The nave and chancel roofs are 15th and 16th century.
One of the most captivating possessions of Ashingdon is the smallest, a silver penny with portraits of Canute and Earl Godwin. A 14th century window in the chancel has in modern glass a portrait of Stigand, the first priest on this hilltop, and the coin and the portrait recall the historic event in the valley of the Crouch below. This is what happened.
Where now flit the white-sailed yachts of the holiday-makers there lay 900 years ago the longships of the invading army of the Danish king. Canute had fought many losing battles up and down England and had been slowly driven back on his ships. Here he was at last with the King of England, Edmund Ironside, hot on his heels with all his host. To be able to embark in safety Canute had to stand and fight. As the decisive morning broke the Saxons drew up on the slopes of Ashingdon Hill. Canute marched his men to the level ground between this hill and the swampy plain by the Crouch; the Saxons charged down; and the Danes wavered and were about to turn; but at this critical moment the heart of the Saxon Ealdorman Eadric failed, and he fled with his men. So, in the words of the Saxon Chronicle, he betrayed his lord and king and all the people of English kin.
Then it was that fortune turned for the Danes, and Canute won his great victory. Instead of sailing home to Denmark, he followed Edmund Ironside into Gloucestershire where, close to the old Saxon village of Deerhurst, they divided the kingdom and arranged for Canute’s succession as King of all England. Canute did not forget the scene of his triumph, and four years after, in 1020, he built a minster here with Stigand as priest. Little could Stigand have foreseen, as he ministered in the little church on this hilltop, that as archbishop he was to crown the Conqueror, that five popes would excommununicate him, and that, deprived at last of his see by pope and king together, he would starve to death in a prison cell.
One of the most captivating possessions of Ashingdon is the smallest, a silver penny with portraits of Canute and Earl Godwin. A 14th century window in the chancel has in modern glass a portrait of Stigand, the first priest on this hilltop, and the coin and the portrait recall the historic event in the valley of the Crouch below. This is what happened.
Where now flit the white-sailed yachts of the holiday-makers there lay 900 years ago the longships of the invading army of the Danish king. Canute had fought many losing battles up and down England and had been slowly driven back on his ships. Here he was at last with the King of England, Edmund Ironside, hot on his heels with all his host. To be able to embark in safety Canute had to stand and fight. As the decisive morning broke the Saxons drew up on the slopes of Ashingdon Hill. Canute marched his men to the level ground between this hill and the swampy plain by the Crouch; the Saxons charged down; and the Danes wavered and were about to turn; but at this critical moment the heart of the Saxon Ealdorman Eadric failed, and he fled with his men. So, in the words of the Saxon Chronicle, he betrayed his lord and king and all the people of English kin.
Then it was that fortune turned for the Danes, and Canute won his great victory. Instead of sailing home to Denmark, he followed Edmund Ironside into Gloucestershire where, close to the old Saxon village of Deerhurst, they divided the kingdom and arranged for Canute’s succession as King of all England. Canute did not forget the scene of his triumph, and four years after, in 1020, he built a minster here with Stigand as priest. Little could Stigand have foreseen, as he ministered in the little church on this hilltop, that as archbishop he was to crown the Conqueror, that five popes would excommununicate him, and that, deprived at last of his see by pope and king together, he would starve to death in a prison cell.
Hawkwell
A New Year and a new visitation taking in nine churches on the Dengie
peninsular and further south thus finishing a string of churches to the
far south east of my catchment area. I set off with low expectations
and was not altogether disappointed.
Having said that St Mary was open, and had a sign indicating that this was the usual state of affairs for which all credit, however it has been heavily over restored and little of interest is retained although I did like the nave roof, the bell turret (most unlike me) and an orthodox looking crucifix.
ST MARY. Small, of nave and chancel (C14) with a belfry (C15). The low-side-window on the S side of the chancel is original. The belfry rests on four oak posts with cross-beams supported by arched braces. - PLATE. Cup of 1662.
HAWKWELL. The timber bell-turret of its little church is about 500 years old and has a quaint spire, borne on massive beams and curved braces which are a striking feature in the west of the nave. The door with its strap-hinges and cinque-foil handle-plate is a fine example of wood and ironwork of the 15th century. In a window to those who did not come home from the Great War are vigorous figures of St Nicholas and St George.
Having said that St Mary was open, and had a sign indicating that this was the usual state of affairs for which all credit, however it has been heavily over restored and little of interest is retained although I did like the nave roof, the bell turret (most unlike me) and an orthodox looking crucifix.
ST MARY. Small, of nave and chancel (C14) with a belfry (C15). The low-side-window on the S side of the chancel is original. The belfry rests on four oak posts with cross-beams supported by arched braces. - PLATE. Cup of 1662.
HAWKWELL. The timber bell-turret of its little church is about 500 years old and has a quaint spire, borne on massive beams and curved braces which are a striking feature in the west of the nave. The door with its strap-hinges and cinque-foil handle-plate is a fine example of wood and ironwork of the 15th century. In a window to those who did not come home from the Great War are vigorous figures of St Nicholas and St George.
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