AN ENGLISH CHURCH RAMBLE

England is uniquely fortunate in possessing a wonderful collection of Parish Churches many of them from the medieval period. Their features and beauties have been chronicled exhaustively and expertly by Pevsner, Betjeman, Clifton-Taylor and most recently by Simon Jenkins, all of whose guides are indispensible. I would just like to touch on some aspects which particularly appeal to me, without claiming any scholarly knowledge, only confessing the wayward enthusiasm of an amateur of churches.

I suppose what gives older English churches their distinctive character is their Stone, most brilliantly oolitic limestone, but also sandstone in the North and granite in Cornwall – whatever was the available material. The limestone may be combined with flint to create charming flushwork as seen at Long Melford in Suffolk, mainly built in flint

Long Melford, Suffolk, Flint and Limestone Flushwork

Inside the church one sometimes finds stone carving of consummate quality notably of the Capitals of columns – the Leaves of Southwell are the most famous, but the Minster there is a cathedral, not a parish church and thus outside our scope – but a good example are the capitals at Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire.

Capitals at Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire

Fine stonework is also evident in window Tracery, most strikingly in Jesse Windows depicting the family tree of Christ, starting with Jesse, the father of King David. A favourite is the window at Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire.

Jesse Window, Dorchester Abbey

Although there is still too much banal and dark Victorian stained glass in Anglican churches, the best Glass is astonishing. The set of 28 16^th century Tudor windows at Fairford, Gloucestershire depicting Biblical characters rival some of the best in Europe.

Anna and Joachim, Fairford, Gloucestershire

Another internal joy is Woodwork. The Victorian woodcarver Gibbs Rogers produced lovely swags and screens at sumptuous St Mary-at-Hill in Billingsgate in the City, often mistaken for the work of the master Grinling Gibbons. Sadly a severe fire in 1988 badly damaged the church and the Gibbs Rogers work has not been reinstated. But fine wood carving can be seen at 14^th century Trunch Church in Norfolk:

Leg of Baptismal Font Canopy, Trunch, Norfolk

Choir stalls are often much enlivened by Misericords the under-ledge of tip-up seats which gave the occupier welcome support when having to stand for a long time. The misericords were carved, sometimes by apprentices, with grotesques or naturalistic scenes, not usually religious in character. The best sets of misericords are found in the cathedrals like Chester, but there is a splendid set of 20 at 14^th century Nantwich, St Mary in Cheshire.

A Lion and a Wyvern fight, attended by bat-like Grotesques

 Misericord at Nantwich, St Mary, Cheshire

Worthy local families or wealthy guilds wanted to leave their mark on the parish church. In the lovely though architecturally complex church at Burford, Oxfordshire, by the Windrush, the unpopular Tanfield family raised their lavish Chantry Chapel and Memorial in 1625

Tanfield Memorial, Burford, Oxfordshire

English churches have been built over many years and different parts have different styles. Thus majestic St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol “The fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England” in the words of Queen Bess, is in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles. Flower and Ball ornamentation from the Decorated period is most evident in the flamboyant North Porch, a riot of ostentation.

North Porch, St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol

Tower and Spire, St Wulfram's, Grantham

England enjoys wonderful church Towers and Spires and from the same Decorated period comes the splendid spire of St Wulfram’s Grantham in Lincolnshire – “the finest spire in England” claims Jenkins. John Ruskin supposedly swooned in rapture when he first saw it! Grantham is ever associated with Margaret Thatcher, (nee Roberts), whose father ran a local grocery store. Alderman Roberts was a Methodist lay-preacher, so maybe Maggie only visited the church on formal occasions but its spire may have been a latent inspirational influence.

The larger English parish churches are usually cruciform in shape and are built with an East end altar, notionally facing Jerusalem, known as Orientation. The Anglicans were often insistent on this, although there are odd exceptions. Famously the Knights Templar built The Temple Church, off the Strand in London with its circular end as a copy of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, so Orientation was superfluous. A striking circular-ended church is the 1792 St Chad’s, Shrewsbury.

St Chad's Shrewsbury, Shropshire

Islam takes Orientation very seriously and all mosques must face towards Mecca. A “Mihrab”, usually crescent-shaped, is built into the fabric of the mosque and points towards Mecca with considerable accuracy. This lack of Orientation partly explains why Muslims often did not easily convert captured Christian churches for their own use, such as the Haghia Sophia in Constantinople – the buildings were liturgically unsatisfactory.

Blind Arcading, St Mary Woolnoth, City of London

If I were to pick a favourite church in England I would probably plump for a prominent but rather overlooked church in the City of London, St Mary Woolnoth. This is a masterpiece by Wren’s pupil Nicholas Hawksmoor and was completed in 1716. The rusticated façade and original 2-tower design give an impression of massiveness, supplemented by brilliant use of Blind Arcading to provide interest and convey strength on the North (Lombard Street) side. Internally the church is compact and of modest size, more suitable for a baptism than a wedding, with a blue star-decorated roof and a baroque baldaquin sheltering the 10 Commandments at the East end.

St Mary Woolnoth, City of London

With Bank Underground station beneath it and the ever-busy City bustling around, many scarcely give this imposing church a second glance or think about the precariousness of human life.

But “Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return” and my final ramble is to those fascinating church-yards attached to our older churches. Cemeteries are somewhat depressing places but reading tombstones is rather like reading history books - there is so much to learn. In any event I particularly admire Chest Tombs, much used in the late 17^th and 18^th centuries. There are examples in Burford but the best selection is in the small Cotswold town of Northleach with its fine 15^th century church, richly endowed by the prosperous wool merchants of those years.

17th century Chest Tomb, Northleach, Gloucestershire

With the tomb exuberantly carved on every surface, it is surely an impressive final resting-place. It would almost be a pleasure to be buried beneath such a tomb!

SMD

7.07.12

Text copyright: Sidney Donald 2012