St Margaret's Church, Abbotsley
Encyclopedia
St Margaret's Church, Abbotsley, is a partly redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Abbotsley
, Cambridgeshire
, 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 centre of the village, to the south of the B1046 road.
, a chancel
and a south aisle
. About twenty years later a north aisle was added. Towards the end of the 14th century the tower was built, the nave was extended and the clerestory
was added. A clock was added to the tower in the early 17th century. The church was restored
in 1854. A further restoration was carried out in 1861 by William Butterfield
, in the process of which the chancel, north vestry and north porch were rebuilt. The tower was restored in 1884. Although the church is now vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust, its chancel is still used as a parish church
.
, with dressings in stone and clunch
. It is roofed in stone and lead. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a north porch, a chancel with a north vestry, and a west tower. The tower is in four stages. It is set on a plinth
, and has four buttress
es and a staircase at the southwest angle. In the lowest stage is a west door, above which is a three-light window. The third stage contains one-light windows in the north and west walls, and a quartrefoil window in the south wall. There is a two-light bell opening on each side of the top stage. The summit has a battlement
ed parapet
, with gargoyle
s in the centre of each side. At the corners, rather than pinnacle
s, there are statues of kings. These are said to represent the English kings Harold
and William the Conqueror, and the Scottish kings Macbeth and Malcolm III
.
The north aisle has a 14th-century two-light window in the west wall, and two similar windows in the north wall. Also in the north wall is a doorway, and a niche
with a pointed head. In the east wall is a 15th-century three-light window, and two brackets supported by carved angels. The clerestory has five two-light square-headed windows on each side. In the north wall of the chancel are a two-light window and a small door. The west wall of the vestry contains a re-set 15th-century niche with a crocket
ed canopy
, and another bracket supported by angels. The chancel east window has three lights, and in the south wall is a two-light window. In the east wall of the south aisle is a three-light window. The south wall contains two two-light windows, and a doorway with a 16th-century stoup
to its east. In the west wall is another two-light window.
have four bays. The piers
of the north arcade consist of four grouped shafts, while those of the south arcade are octagonal. In the south wall of the chancel is a piscina
and a sedilia
. In the south wall of the south aisle is an elaborately carved tomb recess dating from the 14th century. Above the recess are two coats of arms
. The 13th-century font
consists of a tapering octagonal limestone
bowl set on an octagonal base. Under the chancel arch is a 16th-century oak screen with three bays, including the central opening. The ring
consists of five bells, the oldest being dated 1575.
. The tomb is listed Grade II.
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 Abbotsley
Abbotsley
Abbotsley is a village and civil parish within the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is three miles from St Neots and 14 miles from the county town of Cambridge...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, 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 centre of the village, to the south of the B1046 road.
History
The earliest record of a church on the site is in about 1138, but the earliest surviving fabric in the present church dates from about 1300–10. The church at that time consisted of a 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...
, 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 south 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...
. About twenty years later a north aisle was added. Towards the end of the 14th century the tower was built, the nave was extended and 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...
was added. A clock was added to the tower in the early 17th century. The church was restored
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 1854. A further restoration was carried out in 1861 by William Butterfield
William Butterfield
William Butterfield was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement . He is noted for his use of polychromy-Biography:...
, in the process of which the chancel, north vestry and north porch were rebuilt. The tower was restored in 1884. Although the church is now 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, its chancel is still used as a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
.
Exterior
The church is constructed mainly in pebblestonePebble
A pebble is a clast of rock with a particle size of 4 to 64 millimetres based on the Krumbein phi scale of sedimentology. Pebbles are generally considered to be larger than granules and smaller than cobbles . A rock made predominantly of pebbles is termed a conglomerate...
, with dressings in stone and clunch
Clunch
Clunch is a term for traditional building material used mainly in eastern England and Normandy. It is a term which encompasses a wide variety of materials, often locally variable....
. It is roofed in stone and lead. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a north porch, a chancel with a north vestry, and a west tower. The tower is in four stages. It is set on a plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
, and has four buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es and a staircase at the southwest angle. In the lowest stage is a west door, above which is a three-light window. The third stage contains one-light windows in the north and west walls, and a quartrefoil window in the south wall. There is a two-light bell opening on each side of the top stage. The summit has a battlement
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...
ed 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...
, with gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s in the centre of each side. At the corners, rather than pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s, there are statues of kings. These are said to represent the English kings Harold
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
and William the Conqueror, and the Scottish kings Macbeth and Malcolm III
Malcolm III of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...
.
The north aisle has a 14th-century two-light window in the west wall, and two similar windows in the north wall. Also in the north wall is a doorway, and a niche
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
with a pointed head. In the east wall is a 15th-century three-light window, and two brackets supported by carved angels. The clerestory has five two-light square-headed windows on each side. In the north wall of the chancel are a two-light window and a small door. The west wall of the vestry contains a re-set 15th-century niche with a crocket
Crocket
A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....
ed canopy
Canopy (building)
A canopy is an overhead roof or else a structure over which a fabric or metal covering is attached, able to provide shade or shelter. A canopy can also be a tent, generally without a floor....
, and another bracket supported by angels. The chancel east window has three lights, and in the south wall is a two-light window. In the east wall of the south aisle is a three-light window. The south wall contains two two-light windows, and a doorway with a 16th-century stoup
Holy water font
A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is used in Catholic Church and Lutheran churches, as well as some Anglican churches to make the Sign of the Cross using the holy water upon entrance and exit...
to its east. In the west wall is another two-light window.
Interior
Both arcadesArcade (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....
have four bays. The 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...
of the north arcade consist of four grouped shafts, while those of the south arcade are octagonal. In the south wall of 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...
and a sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
. In the south wall of the south aisle is an elaborately carved tomb recess dating from the 14th century. Above the recess are two coats of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
. The 13th-century 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:...
consists of a tapering octagonal limestone
Limestone
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....
bowl set on an octagonal base. Under the chancel arch is a 16th-century oak screen with three bays, including the central opening. 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 five bells, the oldest being dated 1575.
External features
In the churchyard is a table tomb dated 1688. It is constructed in limestone and on its sides are panels carved with emblems of mortalityMemento mori
Memento mori is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die". It names a genre of artistic work which varies widely, but which all share the same purpose: to remind people of their own mortality...
. The tomb is listed Grade II.