St Andrew's Church, Sapiston
Encyclopedia
St Andrew's Church, Sapiston, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Sapiston
, Suffolk
, England . It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. It stands at the end of a track to the south of the village, adjacent to Grange Farm and near to a ford crossing the Black Bourne stream. The church served what became a deserted medieval village
south doorway which dates from the 12th century. The remainder of the nave, the chancel and the tower date from the 14th century. The church underwent a restoration
in 1847. The parish
of Sapiston was combined with that of Honington
in 1972. Two years later St Andrew's was declared redundant and was vested
in the Redundant Churches Fund (the forerunner of the Churches Conservation Trust).
, with some ragstone
. The steeply pitched roofs are tiled. Its plan consists of a nave
with a south porch, a chancel
and a west tower. The tower is in three stages, separated by string courses, without buttress
es. It has an internal staircase and an embattled
parapet
. In the top stage are two-light bell openings with Y-tracery
. The south porch dates from the 15th century, and has a plain doorway and two two-light windows in each side wall. It is floored with medieval
coffin lids. The south doorway has two orders of columns, and three orders in the round-headed arch. The inner order of the arch is plain, and the outer two orders are decorated with acanthus leaves
, which is an unusual motif in Suffolk. Above the arch is a weathered stone carved with the image of a face, probably human. Along the south wall of the church are two two-light windows with Y-tracery, and another two-light window with a Tudor arch. In the south wall of the chancel is a single-light window, and a doorway with pointed arch. The east window has three lights with reticulated tracery.
. Above this are traces of a wall painting. This depicts the martyr
dom of Saint Edmund
. Around the walls are benches, two of which are smaller with low seats, which were probably intended for children. The octagonal font
dates form the 13th century; it is plain and has a damaged Jacobean
cover. In the chancel is a piscina
with an ogee
head, and a blocked south window. The church contains a memorial to the poet Robert Bloomfield
, and the royal arms
of George II
. The four bells have been dismounted; three of them are dated 1591, 1608 and 1730.
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 the village of Sapiston
Sapiston
Sapiston is a small village in the county of Suffolk in England, UK located near the Suffolk-Norfolk border. It is in northern Suffolk lying on the river Blackbourn...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the 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 I 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...
. It stands at the end of a track to the south of the village, adjacent to Grange Farm and near to a ford crossing the Black Bourne stream. The church served what became a deserted medieval village
Deserted medieval village
In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convention is to regard the site as deserted; if there are more...
History
The oldest part of the church is the 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...
south doorway which dates from the 12th century. The remainder of the nave, the chancel and the tower date from the 14th century. The church underwent a restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1847. The parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Sapiston was combined with that of Honington
Honington, Suffolk
Honington is a small village in the county of Suffolk in England, located near the county's border with Norfolk border. The village lies on the River Blackbourn, approximately 8 miles from Bury St Edmunds and 6 miles from Thetford, Norfolk....
in 1972. Two years later St Andrew's was declared redundant and 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 Redundant Churches Fund (the forerunner of the Churches Conservation Trust).
Exterior
The church is constructed in flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
, with some ragstone
Rag-stone
Rag-stone is a name given by some architectural writers to work done with stones which are quarried in thin pieces, such as the Horsham sandstone, Yorkshire stone, the slate stones, but this is more properly flag or slab work. By rag-stone, near London, is meant an excellent material from the...
. The steeply pitched roofs are tiled. Its plan consists of a nave
Nave
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...
with a south porch, 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...
and a west tower. The tower is in three stages, separated by string courses, without buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. It has an internal staircase and an embattled
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...
. In the top stage are two-light bell openings with Y-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:...
. The south porch dates from the 15th century, and has a plain doorway and two two-light windows in each side wall. It is floored with 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...
coffin lids. The south doorway has two orders of columns, and three orders in the round-headed arch. The inner order of the arch is plain, and the outer two orders are decorated with acanthus leaves
Acanthus (ornament)
The acanthus is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration.-Architecture:In architecture, an ornament is carved into stone or wood to resemble leaves from the Mediterranean species of the Acanthus genus of plants, which have deeply cut leaves with some similarity to...
, which is an unusual motif in Suffolk. Above the arch is a weathered stone carved with the image of a face, probably human. Along the south wall of the church are two two-light windows with Y-tracery, and another two-light window with a Tudor arch. In the south wall of the chancel is a single-light window, and a doorway with pointed arch. The east window has three lights with reticulated tracery.
Interior
Inside the church, on the north wall of the nave, are the remains of an Easter SepulchreEaster Sepulchre
An Easter Sepulchre is a feature of English church architecture .-Description:The Easter Sepulchre is an arched recess generally in the north wall of the chancel, in which from Good Friday to Easter day were deposited the crucifix and sacred elements in commemoration of Christ's entombment and...
. Above this are traces of a wall painting. This depicts the martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
dom of Saint Edmund
Edmund the Martyr
St Edmund the Martyr was a king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.D'Evelyn, Charlotte, and Mill, Anna J., , 1956. Reprinted 1967...
. Around the walls are benches, two of which are smaller with low seats, which were probably intended for children. The octagonal 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:...
dates form the 13th century; it is plain and has a damaged Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
cover. In the chancel is a 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...
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, and a blocked south window. The church contains a memorial to the poet Robert Bloomfield
Robert Bloomfield
Robert Bloomfield was an English labouring class poet whose work is appreciated in the context of other self-educated writers such as Stephen Duck, Mary Collier and John Clare.-Life:...
, and the royal arms
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion...
of George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
. The four bells have been dismounted; three of them are dated 1591, 1608 and 1730.