St Michael and St Martin's Church, Eastleach Martin
Encyclopedia
St Michael and St Martin's Church, Eastleach Martin, is a redundant
Anglican
church in Eastleach Martin, Gloucestershire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church stands close to the River Leach
which divides Eastleach Martin from its twin village of Eastleach Turville. Eastleach Turville's Church of St Andrew stands only 180 metres away from the Church of St Michael and St Martin.
in 1120. The chancel
was added to the church during the following century, followed by the transept
in the 14th century. In the early 19th century the churchman John Keble
, later a founding member of the Oxford Movement
, was curate
to the church. The nearby clapper bridge
crossing the River Leach is named "Keble's Bridge" after him. The church was restored
in 1880 and re-roofed in 1886. The church was declared redundant on 1 May 1981, and was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 24 November 1982.
limestone
, with a stone slate roof. Its plan consists of a nave
with a south porch and a north transept, a chancel
and a west tower. The south doorway dates from the 12th century and is in Norman
style with a rounded arch. The porch dates from the following century, and has a pointed arch, a gable
, and a sundial
finial
. In the east wall of the porch is a niche
with a trefoil
head. To the right of the porch is a 13th-century two-light window. In the north wall of the nave is a square-headed blocked doorway, and a blocked window with a pointed arch to its right at a higher level. The tower is in two stages with a hipped roof
and a tall weathervane finial. It has diagonal buttress
es, and a Perpendicular west window. In the upper stage, the bell openings are small and square. There is a stair turret
set at an angle on the north side of the tower. The transept has a five-light north window and three-light windows on the east and west sides; all these windows have Decorated tracery
. On the gable at the east end of the nave are the remains of a bellcote. The east window of the chancel has three lights with Early English tracery, above which is a niche. The north and south walls of the chancel contain lancet window
s. The interior of the church is limewashed
. It contains a piscina
with a trefoil head, a hexagonal timber pulpit
with Jacobean
panelling
, and an octagonal stone font
dating from the 15th century. Some of the windows contain fragments of medieval
stained glass.
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 Eastleach Martin, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, 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...
. The church stands close to the River Leach
River Leach
The River Leach is a river tributary to the River Thames, in England which runs mostly in Gloucestershire. It is approximately 18 miles long, springing from the limestone uplands of the Cotswolds. In parts of its course it becomes a seasonal bourn, only running above ground when there is...
which divides Eastleach Martin from its twin village of Eastleach Turville. Eastleach Turville's Church of St Andrew stands only 180 metres away from the Church of St Michael and St Martin.
History
The church was founded in the 12th century by Richard Fitzpons, whose son granted it to Great Malvern PrioryGreat Malvern Priory
Great Malvern Priory in Malvern, Worcestershire, England, was a Benedictine monastery c.1075-1540 and is now an Anglican parish church.-History:...
in 1120. The 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...
was added to the church during the following century, followed by the 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...
in the 14th century. In the early 19th century the churchman John Keble
John Keble
John Keble was an English churchman and poet, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, and gave his name to Keble College, Oxford.-Early life:...
, later a founding member of the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
, was curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
to the church. The nearby clapper bridge
Clapper bridge
A clapper bridge is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of Devon and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom including Snowdonia and Anglesey...
crossing the River Leach is named "Keble's Bridge" after him. 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 1880 and re-roofed in 1886. The church was declared redundant on 1 May 1981, 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 Churches Conservation Trust on 24 November 1982.
Architecture
The church is constructed in random rubbleRubble
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...
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....
, with a stone slate roof. 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 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...
and a west tower. The south doorway dates from the 12th century and is in Norman
Norman 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...
style with a rounded arch. The porch dates from the following century, and has a pointed arch, a 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...
, and 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...
finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
. In the east wall of the porch is 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 trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
head. To the right of the porch is a 13th-century two-light window. In the north wall of the nave is a square-headed blocked doorway, and a blocked window with a pointed arch to its right at a higher level. The tower is in two stages with a hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
and a tall weathervane finial. It has diagonal 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 Perpendicular west window. In the upper stage, the bell openings are small and square. There is a stair turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
set at an angle on the north side of the tower. The transept has a five-light north window and three-light windows on the east and west sides; all these windows have 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:...
. On the gable at the east end of the nave are the remains of a bellcote. The east window of the chancel has three lights with Early English tracery, above which is a niche. The north and south walls of the chancel contain 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...
s. The interior of the church is limewashed
Whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a very low-cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk . Various other additives are also used...
. It contains 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 a trefoil head, a hexagonal timber 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...
with 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:...
panelling
Panelling
Panelling is a wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials....
, and an octagonal stone 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:...
dating from the 15th century. Some of the windows contain fragments of 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...
stained glass.