St Martin's Church, Waithe
Encyclopedia
St Martin's Church, Waithe, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Waithe
, Lincolnshire
, 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 in open countryside near the A16 road between Grimsby
and Louth
.
of Louth
, for the Haigh family, local landowners. By the time it was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust in the 2000s, the building was in a state of decay and it had been vandalised. Some of the bell openings were near to collapse. The site was overgrown and the interior contained debris and bat guano
. Repairs started in October 2005 and cost nearly £350,000.
, and the 19th-century restoration
is in Early English style. The church is constructed in local limestone
and ironstone
, the roofs being a mixture of clay tiles and Welsh slate
. Its plan consists of a two-bay
nave
with north and south aisle
s, a small south transept
, a chancel
in the form of an apse
, and a central tower at the crossing between the nave and the chancel. The tower is in three stages with a plain parapet
. The north wall contains a lancet window
over which is a cinquefoil window. The bell openings in the top stage are paired; the lights being separated by a shaft with a cushion capital
. The west wall of the church contains four lancet windows and a window in the shape of a vesica
. In the north wall of the north aisle are two lancet windows, with a similar window in its east wall. There are five lancets around the apse of the chancel, and another in the east wall of the south transept. In the south wall of the transept is a doorway with a pointed moulded
arch flanked by buttress
es. In the gable
above the doorway is a lancet window, also with a moulded head. In the south wall of the south aisle are two further lancet windows.
. The walls of the aisles and nave consist of bands of red brick and ashlar
stone. Around the tops of the walls are tiles containing texts. The tower arches are round-headed. In the south wall of the tower is a marble
plaque recording the restoration
of the church in 1861. Around the chancel apse is blind arcading consisting of marble shafts and limestone arches with decorated capitals, rising from a string course. The reredos
, chancel floor and chancel walls are covered with elaborately decorated Minton tiles. Some of the stained glass is by Ward and Hughes
, and the rest is by Powell. The fittings date from the 1861 restoration and include a carved font
, a stone pulpit
on a marble base, and a full set of pitch pine
pews. Beneath the altar is the Haigh family mausoleum
.
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 Waithe
Waithe
Waithe is a hamlet and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the A16, south from Holton-le-Clay and north from North Thoresby....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, 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 in open countryside near the A16 road between Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
and Louth
Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...
.
History
The building originates from the 10th century, with additions and alterations carried out in the 11th and 13th centuries. It was restored in 1861 by James FowlerJames Fowler (architect)
James Fowler JP, FRIBA, known as “Fowler of Louth”, was an English ecclesiastical architect of the Victorian Age chiefly associated with the restoration and renovation of churches....
of Louth
Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...
, for the Haigh family, local landowners. By the time it 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 in the 2000s, the building was in a state of decay and it had been vandalised. Some of the bell openings were near to collapse. The site was overgrown and the interior contained debris and bat guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
. Repairs started in October 2005 and cost nearly £350,000.
Exterior
The tower is SaxonAnglo-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...
, and the 19th-century 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...
is in Early English style. The church is constructed in local 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....
and 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 being a mixture of clay tiles and Welsh slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
. Its plan consists of a two-bay
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:...
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 north and 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...
s, a small south 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...
, 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...
in the form of an apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
, and a central tower at the crossing between the nave and the chancel. The tower is in three stages with a plain 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...
. The north wall contains 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...
over which is a cinquefoil window. The bell openings in the top stage are paired; the lights being separated by a shaft with a cushion capital
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...
. The west wall of the church contains four lancet windows and a window in the shape of a vesica
Vesica piscis
The vesica piscis is a shape that is the intersection of two circles with the same radius, intersecting in such a way that the center of each circle lies on the circumference of the other. The name literally means the "bladder of a fish" in Latin...
. In the north wall of the north aisle are two lancet windows, with a similar window in its east wall. There are five lancets around the apse of the chancel, and another in the east wall of the south transept. In the south wall of the transept is a doorway with a pointed moulded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
arch flanked 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 gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
above the doorway is a lancet window, also with a moulded head. In the south wall of the south aisle are two further lancet windows.
Interior
The nave is separated from the aisles by two-bay 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....
. The walls of the aisles and nave consist of bands of red brick and 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...
stone. Around the tops of the walls are tiles containing texts. The tower arches are round-headed. In the south wall of the tower is a 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...
plaque recording the 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 in 1861. Around the chancel apse is blind arcading consisting of marble shafts and limestone arches with decorated capitals, rising from a string course. 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....
, chancel floor and chancel walls are covered with elaborately decorated Minton tiles. Some of the stained glass is by Ward and Hughes
Ward and Hughes
Ward and Hughes was the name of an English company producing stained glass windows. They began in 1836 as Ward and Nixon.Perhaps the most prestigious stained glass commission of the 19th century, the re-glazing of East Window of Lincoln Cathedral, went to Ward and Nixon in 1855...
, and the rest is by Powell. The fittings date from the 1861 restoration and include a carved 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:...
, a stone 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...
on a marble base, and a full set of pitch pine
Pitch Pine
The Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, is a small-to-medium sized pine, native to eastern North America. This species occasionally hybridizes with other pine species such as Loblolly Pine , Shortleaf Pine , and Pond Pine The Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, is a small-to-medium sized (6-30 meters or 20-100 feet)...
pews. Beneath the altar is the Haigh family mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
.