St John the Baptist Church, Inglesham
Encyclopedia
St John the Baptist Church in Inglesham
, Swindon
, Wiltshire
, England, has Anglo-Saxon
origins but most of the current structure was built around 1205. Much of the church has not changed since the medieval era. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is now a redundant church
in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. It was declared redundant on 1 April 1980 and was vested
in the Trust on 28 October 1981.
The church is just above the surrounding water meadows next to the confluence of the River Thames
, River Coln
and the Thames and Severn Canal
. St John's was a particular favourite of John Betjeman
an English poet, writer and broadcaster who was a founding member of the Victorian Society and Poets Laureate. Richard Taylor
presenter of BBC Four
's Churches: How To Read Them picked Inglesham as his favourite of the hundreds of churches he visited for the television programme, saying "It was a totally unassuming building, sat in the middle of the countryside. But, despite its humble appearance, inside, this church told the story of over 1,000 years of religious history – from Anglo-Saxon carvings on one wall, to medieval wall paintings on another and then passages from the Bible etched elsewhere from the Reformation." The programme also presented resistance by a local artist, William Morris
, a founder of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
against Victorian redevelopment as a story of local campaigning in the 1880s.
Much of the fabric of the building is from the 13th century, but includes remains of an earlier church on the site. The interior includes wall paintings spanning over 600 years and often one of top of the other up to seven layers thick. There is also a carving of the Mother and Child which dates from the Anglo-Saxon era. Until 1910 the carving was on the outside of the church attached to the south wall and used as a sundial
. There are also historic box pew
s, pulpit
and memorials.
. In 1231 Pope Gregory IX
granted a licence, appropriating the church at Inglesham, amongst others, to the abbey of Beaulieu at the request of Henry III
.
In 1355 the manors of Inglesham was granted a hospital in honour of the Annunciation of St. Mary, Newark.
In the 1880s a major restoration
of the church was planned. William Morris
, an English textile design
er, artist, writer, and socialist
associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
and the English Arts and Crafts Movement
, who lived 10 miles (16.1 km) miles away at Kelmscott
in Oxfordshire
, campaigned to save the building without unsympathetic alterations. This resulted not just in support but also and unusually a fund-raising campaign by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
(SPAB). The Society was established in 1877 and its manifesto, which Morris wrote, set out its principles ‘to stave off decay by daily care … and otherwise to resist all tampering with either the fabric or ornament of the building as it stands’.
They employed J.T. Micklethwaite to oversee the work during 1888 and 1889. Oswald Birchall undertook a survey of the church which enabled Morris and John Henry Middleton to prepare a report for SPAB in 1885 suggesting the repairs be funded as the rector George Woodbury Spooner said that it was beyond the means of the parishioners.
Further restoration by Percival Hartland Thomas was carried out in 1933 to replace the remains of the reredos
from around 1330 in the chancel.
The church was declared redundant
in 1979 and vested in the Redundant Churches Fund (which has since become the Churches Conservation Trust
) in 1981.
ed lights, on the west gable of the nave
. It contains two bells dated 1717, which were made by made by Abraham Rudhall the founder of Rudhall of Gloucester
. The masonry is limewashed, and surmounted by a parapet
and head spouts. The walls are 26 inches (66 cm) thick and 21 feet (6.4 m) high. The church has an 25 by 13 ft (7.6 by 4 ) aisle
d nave and an aisleless 21 by 12 ft (6.4 by 3.7 ) chancel
. The chancel replaced a previous one which was 12 feet (3.7 m) square and has a roof which includes tie beams which may date back to the 13th century. The nave has mediaeval queen post
and wind brace roof, which is supported by two respond
s and a central pier
.
The 15th century cross outside the church has three steps to a high plinth with a pyramid stop-chamfer
surmounted by a tall shaft with pyramid stop-chamfer and crested capping.
dating from the 13th to the early 19th centuries, some of which are illustrated in Professor E.W. Tristram's English Wall Painting of the Fourteenth Century. Tristram notes that fragments of a reredos survive with paintings of four saints on them, and he also comments on "crosses of rather elaborate design". Some wall paintings are on crumbling plaster behind painted post-Reformation
texts, in places the paint is up to seven layers thick. There are 15th century angels above the chancel arch and an early 14th century Doom
on the east wall of the north aisle
. Victorian texts include the Ten commandments
, the Apostles' Creed
and the Lord's Prayer
. Restoration work on the paintings in 2010 led to access to the church being restricted.
There is a 42 by 24 in (106.7 by 61 cm) carving of the Mother and Child in the south wall which dates from the time of the Anglo-Saxons
. Until 1910 the carving was on the outside of the church attached to the south wall and used as a sundial
. An incised meridian and other lines were added along with a hole for the gnomon
of a scratch dial. Its original position in the church is not known, but may have been above the alter.
There are also parclose screens between the Carolean
style box pews that date from the Commonwealth era
and a hanging pyx
. The font
is from the 15th century while the Jacobean
pulpit and tester
are from around 1630. There is a Tournai
marble
slab with a knight in the chancel which dates from around 1300. The piscina
is from the 13th century with a trefoil
ed head, a shelf and a circular basin.
On the floor of the chancel is a 10 feet (3 m) black marble slab that once held the brass
of a 14th century knight with a basinet, sword and four shields.
Inglesham
Inglesham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swindon, Wiltshire. The village is just off the A361 road about south-west of Lechlade in Gloucestershire...
, Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England, has Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing...
origins but most of the current structure was built around 1205. Much of the church has not changed since the medieval era. 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 now a redundant church
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...
in 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 was declared redundant on 1 April 1980 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 Trust on 28 October 1981.
The church is just above the surrounding water meadows next to the confluence of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, River Coln
River Coln
The River Coln is a river in Gloucestershire, England. It rises at Brockhampton to the east of Cheltenham, and flows in a south/south-easterly direction through the Cotswold Hills via Andoversford, Withington, Fossbridge, Bibury, Coln St Aldwyns and Fairford...
and the Thames and Severn Canal
Thames and Severn Canal
The Thames and Severn Canal is a canal in Gloucestershire in the south of England, which was completed in 1789. It was conceived as part of a canal route from Bristol to London. At its eastern end, it connects to the River Thames at Inglesham Lock near Lechlade, while at its western end, it...
. St John's was a particular favourite of John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
an English poet, writer and broadcaster who was a founding member of the Victorian Society and Poets Laureate. Richard Taylor
Richard Taylor (author)
Richard Taylor is an author and a practising lawyer best known for his books on Christian imagery and symbolism.Taylor was born in London, where he attended Highgate School...
presenter of BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
's Churches: How To Read Them picked Inglesham as his favourite of the hundreds of churches he visited for the television programme, saying "It was a totally unassuming building, sat in the middle of the countryside. But, despite its humble appearance, inside, this church told the story of over 1,000 years of religious history – from Anglo-Saxon carvings on one wall, to medieval wall paintings on another and then passages from the Bible etched elsewhere from the Reformation." The programme also presented resistance by a local artist, William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
, a founder of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings was founded by William Morris, Philip Webb and J.J.Stevenson, and other notable members of the Pre Raphaelite brotherhood, in 1877, to oppose what they saw as the insensitive renovation of ancient buildings then occurring in Victorian...
against Victorian redevelopment as a story of local campaigning in the 1880s.
Much of the fabric of the building is from the 13th century, but includes remains of an earlier church on the site. The interior includes wall paintings spanning over 600 years and often one of top of the other up to seven layers thick. There is also a carving of the Mother and Child which dates from the Anglo-Saxon era. Until 1910 the carving was on the outside of the church attached to the south wall and used as a sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
. There are also historic box pew
Box pew
Box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th century.-History in England:...
s, 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...
and memorials.
History
In 1205 King John gave the church to the Cistercian monks of Beaulieu AbbeyBeaulieu Abbey
Beaulieu Abbey, , was a Cistercian abbey located in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1203-1204 by King John and peopled by 30 monks sent from the abbey of Cîteaux in France, the mother house of the Cistercian order...
. In 1231 Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...
granted a licence, appropriating the church at Inglesham, amongst others, to the abbey of Beaulieu at the request of Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
.
In 1355 the manors of Inglesham was granted a hospital in honour of the Annunciation of St. Mary, Newark.
In the 1880s a major 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...
of the church was planned. William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
, an English textile design
Textile design
Textile design is the process of creating designs and structures for knitted, woven, non-woven or embellishments of fabrics.Textile designing involves producing patterns for cloth used in clothing, household textiles and decorative textiles such as carpets. The field encompasses the actual pattern...
er, artist, writer, and socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
and the English Arts and Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
, who lived 10 miles (16.1 km) miles away at Kelmscott
Kelmscott
Kelmscott is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, about east of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire.-Parish church:...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, campaigned to save the building without unsympathetic alterations. This resulted not just in support but also and unusually a fund-raising campaign by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings was founded by William Morris, Philip Webb and J.J.Stevenson, and other notable members of the Pre Raphaelite brotherhood, in 1877, to oppose what they saw as the insensitive renovation of ancient buildings then occurring in Victorian...
(SPAB). The Society was established in 1877 and its manifesto, which Morris wrote, set out its principles ‘to stave off decay by daily care … and otherwise to resist all tampering with either the fabric or ornament of the building as it stands’.
They employed J.T. Micklethwaite to oversee the work during 1888 and 1889. Oswald Birchall undertook a survey of the church which enabled Morris and John Henry Middleton to prepare a report for SPAB in 1885 suggesting the repairs be funded as the rector George Woodbury Spooner said that it was beyond the means of the parishioners.
Further restoration by Percival Hartland Thomas was carried out in 1933 to replace the remains of the reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
from around 1330 in the chancel.
The church was declared redundant
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...
in 1979 and vested in the Redundant Churches Fund (which has since become 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...
) in 1981.
Architecture
The small church has no tower, but does have a 13th century double bellcote, with pointed trefoilTrefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
ed lights, on the west gable of the 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...
. It contains two bells dated 1717, which were made by made by Abraham Rudhall the founder of Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester
Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 produced over 5,000 bells. The business was founded by Abraham Rudhall and the earliest ring of bells he cast was for St Nicholas' Church, Oddington in 1684. He came to be...
. The masonry is limewashed, and surmounted by a 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...
and head spouts. The walls are 26 inches (66 cm) thick and 21 feet (6.4 m) high. The church has an 25 by 13 ft (7.6 by 4 ) 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...
d nave and an aisleless 21 by 12 ft (6.4 by 3.7 ) 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...
. The chancel replaced a previous one which was 12 feet (3.7 m) square and has a roof which includes tie beams which may date back to the 13th century. The nave has mediaeval queen post
Queen post
A queen post is a supporting post designed to span longer openings than a king post. A king post uses one central supporting post, whereas the queen post uses two.-Architecture:...
and wind brace roof, which is supported by two respond
Respond
A respond is a half-pier or half-pillar which is bonded into a wall and designed to carry the springer at one end of an arch....
s and a central pier
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...
.
The 15th century cross outside the church has three steps to a high plinth with a pyramid stop-chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
surmounted by a tall shaft with pyramid stop-chamfer and crested capping.
Interior
The interior of the church contains wall paintingsMural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
dating from the 13th to the early 19th centuries, some of which are illustrated in Professor E.W. Tristram's English Wall Painting of the Fourteenth Century. Tristram notes that fragments of a reredos survive with paintings of four saints on them, and he also comments on "crosses of rather elaborate design". Some wall paintings are on crumbling plaster behind painted post-Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
texts, in places the paint is up to seven layers thick. There are 15th century angels above the chancel arch and an early 14th century Doom
Doom (painting)
A Doom is a traditional English term for a painting or other image of the Last Judgment, an event in Christian eschatology. Christ judges souls, and then sends them to either Heaven or Hell...
on the east wall of the 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...
. Victorian texts include the Ten commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
, the Apostles' Creed
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed , sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol"...
and the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
. Restoration work on the paintings in 2010 led to access to the church being restricted.
There is a 42 by 24 in (106.7 by 61 cm) carving of the Mother and Child in the south wall which dates from the time of the Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
. Until 1910 the carving was on the outside of the church attached to the south wall and used as a sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
. An incised meridian and other lines were added along with a hole for the gnomon
Gnomon
The gnomon is the part of a sundial that casts the shadow. Gnomon is an ancient Greek word meaning "indicator", "one who discerns," or "that which reveals."It has come to be used for a variety of purposes in mathematics and other fields....
of a scratch dial. Its original position in the church is not known, but may have been above the alter.
There are also parclose screens between the Carolean
Restoration style
Restoration style, also known as Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style (from the Latin Carolus (Charles), refers to the decorative arts popular in England from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to the late 1680s after...
style box pews that date from the Commonwealth era
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
and a hanging pyx
Pyx
A pyx or pix is a small round container used in the Catholic, Old Catholic and Anglican Churches to carry the consecrated host , to the sick or invalid or those otherwise unable to come to a church in order to receive Holy Communion...
. 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 from the 15th century while the 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:...
pulpit and tester
Sounding board
A sound board, or soundboard, is the surface of a string instrument that the strings vibrate against, usually via some sort of bridge. The resonant properties of the sound board and the interior of the instrument greatly increase loudness over the string alone.The sound board operates by the...
are from around 1630. There is a Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
slab with a knight in the chancel which dates from around 1300. The 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...
is from the 13th century with a trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
ed head, a shelf and a circular basin.
On the floor of the chancel is a 10 feet (3 m) black marble slab that once held the brass
Monumental brass
Monumental brass is a species of engraved sepulchral memorial which in the early part of the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood...
of a 14th century knight with a basinet, sword and four shields.