St Andrew's Church, Cranford
Encyclopedia
St Andrew's Church, Cranford, is a redundant
Anglican
church in Cranford St Andrew
, Northamptonshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church stands in the park of Cranford Hall, to the southwest of the house.
arcade
surviving from that time. The tower was added during the following century, at which time the church was largely rebuilt, and a north chapel was added. Further building took place in the 14th century when the clerestory
and porch were added, and new windows were inserted. The south chapel was added in the following century. In 1674 the south chapel was refaced with ashlar
. In 1847 a north transept
was added to form a family pew for the Robinsons of Cranford Hall. The church was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 1 December 1996.
rubble
, part of which is rendered
, and some of the dressings are in ironstone
. The roofs are covered in lead. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory, a north aisle
, a south porch and a north transept, a chancel
with north and south chapels, and a west tower. The tower is in two stages with a tall lower stage and supported by buttress
es. In the lower stage is a steeply pointed west doorway, with a lancet window
above it, and small stair lights to its left. On the south side is another lancet window. In the upper stage on each side are two-light bell openings with Decorated tracery
and quatrefoil heads, over which are three plain corbel
s, and a lancet window. On the south side the central corbel is replaced by a clock face. On the summit of the tower is a castellated
parapet
.
There are also castellated parapets on the chancel and the porch, and plain parapets on the nave and chapels. In the south wall of the nave are a two-light square-headed Perpendicular window to the left of the porch, and a three-light window under a pointed arch on the right. In the wall of the south chapel is a doorway with an ogee
head, over which is a stone dated 1674, and a two-light window. At the east end of the south chapel is a two-light window, the east window of the chancel contains a three-light Perpendicular window, and in the east wall of the north chapel is another three-light Perpendicular window. On the north side of the north chapel is a three-light window. The 19th-century north transept is in Perpendicular style. In the north aisle is a three-light window, and a two-light square-headed Perpendicular window.
in style and consists of three bays
. The arches are round-headed and are carried on cylindrical piers
with plain capitals
. In the north chapel is a medieval
piscina
. The east window contains fragments of medieval and 17th-century glass. The pulpit
dates from the 19th century and contains re-set 16th-century Flemish panels depicting biblical scenes. The font
is octagonal and plain. In the church are memorials to members of the Fossebrok (or Fosbroke) and Robinson families. The two-manual
organ was built in 1883 by Trustam & Co of Bedford
. The ring
consists of four bells. Two of these were cast in 1624 by William Haulsey, the third was cast in 1683 by Tobias III Norris, and the fourth dates from 1718 and was cast by Thomas I Eayre. In the 1930s, when the church was still in use, its plate was described as including a cup from about 1570, a paten
of 1813, and flagon
of 1835.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in Cranford St Andrew
Cranford St Andrew
Cranford St Andrew is a settlement in the civil parish of Cranford, Northamptonshire, England. It neighbours Cranford St John....
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. The church stands in the park of Cranford Hall, to the southwest of the house.
History
St Andrew's dates from the later part of the 12th century, the naveNave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
surviving from that time. The tower was added during the following century, at which time the church was largely rebuilt, and a north chapel was added. Further building took place in the 14th century when the clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
and porch were added, and new windows were inserted. The south chapel was added in the following century. In 1674 the south chapel was refaced with ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
. In 1847 a north transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
was added to form a family pew for the Robinsons of Cranford Hall. The church was vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 1 December 1996.
Exterior
The church is constructed in limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
rubble
Rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
, part of which is rendered
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
, and some of the dressings are in ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
. The roofs are covered in lead. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory, a north aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
, a south porch and a north transept, a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
with north and south chapels, and a west tower. The tower is in two stages with a tall lower stage and supported by buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. In the lower stage is a steeply pointed west doorway, with a lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
above it, and small stair lights to its left. On the south side is another lancet window. In the upper stage on each side are two-light bell openings with Decorated tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
and quatrefoil heads, over which are three plain corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s, and a lancet window. On the south side the central corbel is replaced by a clock face. On the summit of the tower is a castellated
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
.
There are also castellated parapets on the chancel and the porch, and plain parapets on the nave and chapels. In the south wall of the nave are a two-light square-headed Perpendicular window to the left of the porch, and a three-light window under a pointed arch on the right. In the wall of the south chapel is a doorway with an ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
head, over which is a stone dated 1674, and a two-light window. At the east end of the south chapel is a two-light window, the east window of the chancel contains a three-light Perpendicular window, and in the east wall of the north chapel is another three-light Perpendicular window. On the north side of the north chapel is a three-light window. The 19th-century north transept is in Perpendicular style. In the north aisle is a three-light window, and a two-light square-headed Perpendicular window.
Interior
The arcade between the nave and the north aisle is NormanNorman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
in style and consists of three bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
. The arches are round-headed and are carried on cylindrical piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
with plain capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
. In the north chapel is a medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
. The east window contains fragments of medieval and 17th-century glass. The pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
dates from the 19th century and contains re-set 16th-century Flemish panels depicting biblical scenes. The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
is octagonal and plain. In the church are memorials to members of the Fossebrok (or Fosbroke) and Robinson families. The two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ was built in 1883 by Trustam & Co of Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
. The ring
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
consists of four bells. Two of these were cast in 1624 by William Haulsey, the third was cast in 1683 by Tobias III Norris, and the fourth dates from 1718 and was cast by Thomas I Eayre. In the 1930s, when the church was still in use, its plate was described as including a cup from about 1570, a paten
Paten
A paten, or diskos, is a small plate, usually made of silver or gold, used to hold Eucharistic bread which is to be consecrated. It is generally used during the service itself, while the reserved hosts are stored in the Tabernacle in a ciborium....
of 1813, and flagon
Flagon
A flagon is a large leather, metal or ceramic vessel, commonly a pitcher, often used for drink, whether this be water, ale, or something else.-Christian use:...
of 1835.