St Mary, Wiggenhall St Mary, Norfolk
Simon Jenkins has noticed that the church buildings of the Ouse delta variety in all probability the best concentration of late-medieval craftsmanship in England. Of course, any cathedral would give them a run for their dollars, but you know what he indicates. Here, there are at the very least a dozen or else nameless and workaday villages with merely massive church buildings, quite a few of them replete with wonders in stone and wood. There is remarkably little medieval glass, and barely a wall-portray at all perhaps the purely natural puritanism of the Fen persons dispatched these, but noticed a useful use to the benches and the fonts. The greatest and grandest church buildings are at Walpole St Peter and Terrington St Clement, but neither are significantly whole of treasures. St Peter is a single of the most gorgeous architectural files of the late medieval interval, and St Clement is comprehensive of gentle and existence but in this article at Wiggenhall St Mary is the ideal assortment of 15th and 16th century benches in Norfolk, possibly in England.
There are four Wiggenhalls: St Peter, St Germans, St Mary and St Mary Magdalene, now identified just as Magdalen. All of the villages are smaller, Magdalen staying the largest, and are mostly approached up slim straight streets in the fens. All four church buildings sit near to the banking companies of the Ouse – these financial institutions have been raised, for the reason that the h2o amount is now larger than the surrounding land, but the towers nonetheless type startling landmarks for any boat heading upstream from Lynn. St Peter is a damage, and St Mary is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Rely on. It sits to the north of Magdalen with a couple of big houses for business.
As with all CCT church buildings, St Mary is effectively-saved. The rendering of the nave and chancel has a short while ago been renewed and painted. They conceal a key of this church, the amount of money of brick used in its design. The only expanse of brick continue to visible is the upper section of the tower. The squatness of the tower belies its peak, and stair turrets lean deliciously into it in the north-west and south-west corners, coming out as castellated turrets at the best.
So, we might presume that the top 3rd of the tower is modern day with the late medieval rebuilding – but the builders retained the Early English doorway on the two sides of the church. The south porch is large, but purposeful there is very little of the elaborate decoration you come across at Walpole St Peter. Also purposeful is the considerable late Victorian restoration by George Street – all the roofs are his.
You phase inside of to an inside that is at after big but a minimal claustrophobic. This is simply because of the sheer quantity of woodwork – range immediately after assortment of sound, extended, benches with large bench ends. Street’s crown-posted roof looks to push down to fulfill them without their pierced and traceried backs they would feel oppressive. The dust in the air and the murky gentle from the east window provides a feeling, just for a second, of becoming underwater. There is a stillness, as if we have disturbed a little something that had extensive remained undisturbed, as if we have been the first people to enter right here for ages.
The nave was crammed with benches in two phases to begin with in the mid-15th century, and then yet again in the early 16th century. The more recent benches are individuals in the aisles. Benches are a symptom of what I have appear to believe of as a proto-Reformation perhaps a century ahead of the actual one particular, there is a key shift in the English Church from personal devotions to corporate acts of worship. This looks to have been partly a reaction to the Black Death, and a concentration of the mind on producing it through purgatory the breaking up of the old estates introduced forth a new wealthy center class, who were most concerned that their souls really should be prayed for. Part of their challenge was a reinforcing of orthodox Catholic doctrine during the 15th century, vast perpendicular home windows replaced the wall paintings, filling the church buildings with mild, and the excellent roods had been lifted up to aim people’s minds on the central doctrine of the Christian religion. Aspects of Catholic doctrine – the sacraments, the will work of mercy, the deadly sins – appeared in glass and stone. Benches filled the rebuilt churches – no extended have been there shadowy corners where by old women could notify their beads, and the plowman his Paternoster, as Mass progressed. The initially pulpits appeared, and with the coming of the pulpit the Priest left his chancel and entered the domain of the people, having it over. All eyes ended up fixed on him now.
The bench finishes at Wiggenhall St Mary are advanced. Tiers crop up each aspect flanking a substantial market, which consists of a figure. The tiers every rise to a 2nd and 3rd determine, which are in some cases similar. Over all rises the solid poppyhead. You can spend an pleasant 50 % hour just pottering about making an attempt to detect them. Lots of are in Tudor gown, and are seated in everyday attitudes. Some have rosaries. Some are Saints, others signify animals, Labours of the Months, virtues or Christian symbols.
Relatively in distinction, there is an elegant Laudian font go over with trim pillars, and the day 1624. I puzzled if the pelican in her piety on top was a later addition. As at many regional churches, there is an early-16th century latten lectern, an eagle supported at the toes by a few minimal grinning lions. The Jacobean pulpit even now retains its hourglass stand. Smatterings of medieval glass are in the upper lights of the north aisle home windows. The royal arms are dated 1791, and inform us that the churchwarden that calendar year was J SUTTRBY.
There is an elegant parclose display in the south aisle which now has the elaborate memorial tomb of Sir Henry Kerville and his spouse. They lie facet by side, palms in pious attitudes of prayer.He died in 1624 most shifting are the two little figures underneath them, 1 in swaddling clothes these are their little ones who died ahead of them.
The east finish of the nave was intended for height, for the excellent rood to draw everyone’s notice. Potentially to support accentuate this, the chancel arch is curiously narrow, and there are just eight panels on the dado of the display screen, 4 figures on just about every aspect flanking the entrance. From the north they are: St Mary of Magdala, St Dorothy, St Margaret, St Scholastica (twin sister of St Benedict), St Catherine, St Barbara, the Blessed Virgin and youngster, and St John the Baptist. The chancel is comparatively easy and vacant, left in its 19th century outfits. The dirty inexperienced glass of the east window is overpowering. For a minute, you might be anyplace. And then you turn back again and see these extensive ranges of medieval benches again they actually are most outstanding.
A hallmark of Churches Conservation Trust churches is that they are cleared of litter but that is unattainable right here, of training course, since the clutter is the thing you appear to see. They are intriguing, interesting but this church is curiously missing in atmosphere, particularly if you have just occur from Wiggenhall St Germans or Walpole St Peter. It is lifeless you could be in no doubt that it is redundant, and now small far more than a museum.
Posted by Simon Knott on 2016-09-15 18:59:11
Tagged: , Wiggenhall , St , Mary , Norfolk , East Anglia , church
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