I was previous at St John 1 chilly Boxing Day early morning, on one of individuals dutiful excursions to see Mom at Christmas. At just just after dawn, it was locked, but looked a good church and a person to revisit.
So it was previous Thursday, touring again to Suffolk, I arrived at Saxmundham as the sunshine was setting, location the wonderful church tower bathed in warm golden mild.
As I stopped to acquire a shot of the tower, I was unaware of the vicar hoping to get earlier in his car, but he was affected person as I go my shot.
He was waiting for me at the porch, and suggested I hurry inside to see the windows that were illuminated by the sunshine, this I did.
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Saxmundham is a fine city about midway between Ipswich and Lowestoft. The A12 now bypasses it, which was unfortunate for a even though simply because, like numerous little towns in that scenario, it dropped the passing trade which experienced been a single of the causes for its existence. Saxmundham, or ‘Sax’ as locals contact it, grew to prominence in the 18th and 19th generations, and it nonetheless has the character of a Victorian railway town, in particular about the station. But it is not a vacationer town, not like its excellent rival Framlingham, or ‘Fram’, just throughout the A12.
I like Saxmundham a great deal there is an air of resilience about the spot, and any small town with two next hand bookshops ought to have a little something heading for it. What it does pass up is a dominating medieval church, since St John the Baptist is absent from the principal road on the road to Leiston.
The graveyard is a fantastic location, comprehensive of the headstones of 18th and 19th century worthies. Most well known is the headstone to John Noller, which has its own sundial.
There is a crisp 19th century experience to the church, because it was issue to an 1870s restoration at the palms of Diocesan architect Richard Phipson. On the other hand, Phipson was much more delicate to the need to maintain medieval survivals than his successor Herbert Environmentally friendly, and so the church has plenty of appealing points to see. However, Phipson wasn’t higher than building them more medieval than they presently ended up, and so the font, one of the ideal Suffolk examples of the 15th century East Anglian type, is carefully recut. There are intense minor wild guys close to the foundation, and 1 of the shields capabilities the instruments of the enthusiasm.
Most likely the most exciting survival below, and a uncommon a person, can be viewed in the most easterly home windows of each of the clerestories. These are the stone corbel ledges that after supported the canopy of honour more than the rood. They are equally carved elaborately, and the northern a person is castellated. Sancta Johnannes, Ora Professional Nobis (‘St John pray for us’) is carved in a banner along that on the south aspect.
Irrespective of these medieval survivals, the most vital creative artefacts in this article are in the east window of the south aisle. This is a assortment of ovals of 17th century glass considered to appear from Innsbruck, depicting Saints and biblical scenes. It is of great high quality, and interesting to glimpse at. In truth, apart from the very poor east window there is a excellent selection of Victorian glass here as properly. I spent about 50 % an hour documenting it all meticulously, and then lost the memory card from my camera that had all the photographs on. And so, I will have to go again. Sorry.
Simon Knott
www.suffolkchurches.co.british isles/saxmundham.html
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The church is a great deal changed from the authentic church which was recorded in the Domesday Study of 1086. Very little evidence of this Norman or probably Saxon church continues to be, although some masonry to be found in the reduce stage of the tower may perhaps be of this date.
We also know that the church had a South porch that contained a straightforward 11th century doorway. Sadly, the porch and doorway disappeared in a main restoration and rebuilding in 1873. Having said that, we do have a image of the porch from an etching in 1848.
Much of the church that we see nowadays stems from the 19th century restoration but the church continue to incorporates several first objects of an before date.
The Western tower (14th century) has diagonal buttresses at its western angles. The two gentle belfry windows and the very similar west window are in the Decorated design of the early 14th century. The restored west doorway is also of this date, despite the fact that some of the masonry in the decreased part of the tower is organized differently from the relaxation and may well have formed component of the 11th century church.
The clock was given in 1880 and was restored in 1938. The parapet has lovely 15th century flint panelling (flushwork) with traceried panels. Beneath it is a band of bouquets (flearons) and carved heads, in addition to a significant head at the centre of the west side and a gargoyle head on the south side.
The tower is house to a peal of six bells. Three of these bells have been forged c. 1480-1 510 by John Kebyll of London. A different was manufactured in 1609 by Brend, the Norwich bell-founder, and the tenor, weighing 8cwt.3qtr.7Ib, is by Lester and Pack of Whitechapel, built in 1762. The ring was finished by the addition of a new treble bell by John Warner of London in 1880. The next bell was recast in 1938, and the bells were being rehung in new oak frames by Bowell of Ipswich.
A gem in the crown that is St John’s can be observed in the churchyard on the tombstone of John Noller (1725), which can be located south west of the church methods and in eight yards. The east and west faces of the tombstone are compact, inclined rectangular recesses which form a uncomplicated and imaginative sundial. Every single sundial requires a pointer or gnomon projecting in entrance of the dial to forged a shadow on to a marked scale. Any these types of projection very low down on a tombstone would surely, sooner or later on, be ruined. To avoid this taking place, the designer of John Noller’s headstone hit upon the ingenious thought of building the edge of the headstone’s area the gnomon and received the relative projection by recessing the dial.
As the stone faces east and west, he carved a morning dial on just one facet (east encounter) and an evening a single on the other (west deal with). If you search in the recesses on each faces you will see the hour markings 1,2,3,4,5 on the west recess and 7,8,9,10,11 on the east recess. 12 o’clock is not marked for the reason that at the moment of midday each dial is absolutely in shadow.
You will also detect that the dials are not upright on the stone but at a slant. The upper edge which functions as the gnomon is so slanted as to position specifically to the north star, or in other words, be parallel with the earth’s axis.
And why was it completed? Properly, we are not sure, but just as some clocks are marked with tile inscription “Tempus fugit” or time flies, so this headstone with its sundial marking the passing of time also reminds us, the dwelling, that our time before long passes. Or maybe it was choosing up on a further thought about time from the Bible:
“There is a time for all the things, and a season for each individual
activity below heaven: a time to be born and a time to die,”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)
The Nave
The Font c 1400
This is a typical East Anglian layout with octagonal panelled bowl carved with lions interspersed with angels holding shields on which are displayed the devices of the Enthusiasm (East), the Cross (South), the emblem of the Trinity (West) and the three crowns of East Anglia (North). The bowl of the font is unique.
The Nave c 1500
Internally the making is harmonious, light-weight and perfectly-proportioned. The aisles are divided from the nave by 15th century (Perpendicular) arcades of four bays, with octagonal piers which have moulded capitals and bases. These are topped by 6 two light clerestorey windows.
At the West conclude of the nave is the comparatively modern-day glazed gallery, from which the church’s peal of 6 bells are rung. The west window of the tower ringing chamber is made up of the only piece of medieval glass, the head of an angel, to survive in this church. Previously mentioned the ringing chamber is a large Sanctus bell window, which in mediaeval periods allowed the ringer of the Sanctus bell to see about the Rood Display to the major altar.
Stained Glass
The 19th century stained glass through the church is of curiosity due to the fact of the topics represented as very well as the makers and artists involved.
The West window of the North aisle is described in The Well-liked Guidebook to Suffolk Churches as currently being “a relatively terrible item of Ward and Hughes and features an outlandishly dressed centurion”. What else can be stated? Splendor is of course in the eye of the beholder.
The East window of the North aisle depicting two angels against patterned quarries is of curiosity for the reason that of its community connections. It was made and painted by Mary and Bessie McKean of Saxmundham in 1872 and mounted by Mr Howlett, a Saxmundham glazier.
The Victorian tour de force is definitely the West window of the South aisle, developed by the Dowager Marchioness of Waterford, a friend of the poet John Ruskin, and a well recognised artist and ebook illustrator. The glass is by O’Connor and Taylor and illustrates Jesus’s ascension into heaven, in excellent color. Jesus stands in the centre, and the disciples kneel on possibly facet. The drama of the scene is increased by the high-quality of the artist’s work and in certain the facial capabilities.
Pews and Pulpit
The current pews and pulpit date from the restoration of 1873 and are built from New Zealand kaurie pine. They replace the old box pews which had been so tall that several people utilizing them could neither see nor be observed.
The whole of the nave is crowned with a splendid 15th century solitary-hammerbeam arch braced roof, with castellated hammers and wood demi-figures as corbels below the wall posts.
For the duration of the Georgian period, or maybe ahead of, the roof was lined in with a flat plaster ceiling. A church information guide of 1855 states that at the time only the “ends” of the roof ended up obvious below the ceiling and that the full interior was disfigured by galleries.
Fortunately the ceiling was taken off in 1932 to expose this splendid roof. It has been restored and the wall plates have been renewed, as have many of the other timbers. The historic woodwork is much less brown in overall look than the modern. The figures beneath the wall posts are primarily initial.
The Chancel
One particular of the most exclusive functions of St John’s is its weeping chancel. If you stand in the nave centre aisle and search in the direction of the altar, you will observe that the Chancel is constructed at a pronounced angle to the nave. This is pretty prevalent in churches constructed in the form of a cross (cruciform) but is pretty unusual in a church of this sort. The key aspect is not the angle, which is substantially better than regular, but that it is to the South.
Other church buildings with weeping chancels incline to the North, representing Jesus on the cross with his head to the penitent thief on his appropriate. Right here it is to his still left, signifying that Jesus died for the impenitent as very well as the penitent. Saxmundham church is 1 of the number of in Europe to have this element.
The Chancel arch and the two bay arcade North and South have been changed as aspect of the 1873 restoration, but we consider that the restorers copied the first sorts (Decorated model)
The organ by Albert Pease of Hackney was put in below in the early 1950s. It has two manuals, pedals and 15 speaking stops.
www.saxmundham.org/aboutsax/parishchurch.html
Posted by Jelltex on 2016-11-14 17:45:11
Tagged: , St. John the Baptist , Saxmundham , Suffolk , Church , Jelltex , Jelltecks
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