The parts of a church

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This is a schematic of a typical medieval English church with the main parts named for reference when reading the articles. The church is always aligned the same way. The tower is at the west end, the chancel is at the east end and the entrance porch is at the west end of the south wall.

St Michael's church, Buslingthorpe

St Michael's church in Buslingthorpe is a very mixed up church. It dates from the 13th century and has been rebuilt by the Victorians with the exception of the tower. We have some idea of the date the church was built by the list of rectors. The first rector was Herbert of Hanby who died in 1220 - clearly the church was built before this.

List of Rectors

So, this is a small church - just the nave. There never seem to have been any aisles - I am going by the lack of scars in the walls, both inside and outside. If an aisle has been removed, they usually leave the arches between the nave and aisle and just fill them in. No sign of that here. The pews in the church are 'modern' by which I mean almost certainly Victorian.

In the north wall, there is one window and two in the south wall. All the windows are square with Gothic tracery. The cancel is rather small and has one window in the east wall, behind the alter. Again, it is a square window with Gothic tracery. The east window incorporates some stained glass which I presume to be from an earlier window. There is a shield of several colours with an indeterminate piece below it and above there is a small amount of coloured glass within the tracery. See photograph below.

The alter is covered with a fairly new alter cloth which is white with golden trimmings. On the alter are a central crucifix and four candlesticks. The crucifix and the larger candlesticks are made of very corroded brass and the smaller candlesticks are wooden. The crucifix is still decorated with poppies from November.

In front of the alter is a two piece alter rail. This is wrought iron base with wooden tops. There are three steps up from the nave to the cancel.

On the north side of the nave (at the east end) is a full size effigy of a knight is very good condition. There is some lettering in darker stone that is not in such good condition and I was unable to read it. The carving is quite detailed - you can see detail of his armour and weapons - and is in very good condition. There is hardly any chipping and no significant parts missing. A full length photograph is below followed by the top half and then bottom half to show the carving in more detail. My researches suggest that this is Sir John de Buslingthorpe but I make no guarantees as to the correctness of this.

Sir John de Buslingthorpe

Fixed to the west wall near the west/north corner, is a very old stone coffin lid with a brass effigy let into it. This brass is reputed to be one of the earliest military brasses but modern opinion seems to be that it is of the son of the chap in the stone carving above, Sir John Buslingthorpe, the son being Sir Richard Boselyngthorpe. There is carving in the stone around the coffin lid but I was unable to read more than the occasional letter. On a table inside the tower was a 'modern' copy of the brass - see photograph below. I have also included a close-up of the top half of the coffin lid showing the brass in more detail. This also shows where an estucheon has gone missing .

Sir Richard Boselyngthorpe

copy of the brass

Sir Richard Boselyngthorpe

The tower is built from the original stone.  There is a neat stone arch between the nave and the tower door on the inside of which is a massive wooden lintel. The door between nave and tower is massive but not that old (Victorian would be my guess). The west wall of the tower has a smallish lancet window.  There is a modern wooden ladder up to the bell floor and a rather tatty bell rope hanging down.

The font

There font is near the tower - on the north side of the nave. This is a very plain limestone font which is octagonal in shape with a flat wooden lid. The inside of the font is metal lined, presumably lined with lead.

Harmonium

Right in the west/north corner of the nave is a harmonium. This has seen better days - I did not try it to see if it still works, although I was tempted. The roof is plain and has a very shallow pitch.

Outside: the nave and chancel are built of yellow brick - and are of no great age; they look to be Victorian. As mentioned above, the tower is built from stone and looks to be the original tower. The stone was originally well-dressed with neat quoins at the corners. Where the stone has weathered, it is brown suggesting local ironstone. The very bottom of the tower is the same yellow brick as the nave and chancel which suggests that it was underpinned at the same time as the nave and chancel were rebuilt.

The tower is rather short, extending to just above the nave roof in two stages.

from the tower to the nave

column detail

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The outside

St Peter's church, Normanby-by-Spital

St Peter's church, Normanby-by-Spital, Lincolnshire.

A small church in a small village. It sits on a raised mound on a crossroads in the centre of the village. As is usual in villages with old churches, it has been altered and adjusted over the centuries. All these alterations and adjustments leave their scars on the building. The scars at the east end suggest both that there was originally an apse rather than the flat east wall now in place and a large blocked arch in the north wall of the chancel suggests a now-demolished building on the north side of the chancel. The north aisle also has blocked doorways, one probably leading into the now-demolished building. The footings of the possible apse are visible in the grass.

Both the aisles have windows in their east ends. The stonework in these is very different suggesting that they were built at different times - the north aisle window looks like it started as a doorway.

The church originated in the 12th century with many additions in later medieval centuries. There is surviving Norman masonry (see photos of column heads and feet). The inside was renovated by the Victorians (not always a good thing) and the furniture is theirs as is the stained glass window.

This blog.

For some time I have had a project to photograph all the redundant churches in Lincolnshire, UK. "Redundant" means the church is no longer used for worship but the church is still consecrated - it is still a church. There are rather a lot of them - 24 officially in Lincolnshire - these are the ones owned and looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust. I have photographed 14 of them so far so only ten more to 'do' but I might revisit some of them as I am learning the art of photographing small dark buildings as I go and some of the first churches I went to could do with a second visit.

When I have finished all of the redundant churches I might go on to photograph churches in current use. however, I have been advised that this might act as advertisements to would be thieves who will be able to see what is worth stealing from my pictures, so I am going to have to think that aspect through  deeply.

From Wikipedia lists the redundant churches in Lincolnshire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_churches_preserved_by_the_Churches_Conservation_Trust_in_the_East_of_England) :

Name and town or village	Date	Notes	Grade
St Martin, Waithe	10th century	The central tower of the church is Saxon, dating from the 10th century. Additions and alterations were made in the 11th and 13th centuries, and the church was restored in 1861 in Early English style.	I
St Nicholas, Normanton	11th century	The church dates from the 11th century, with additions and alterations made during each of the following four centuries. In 1845 the vestry was added, and the chancel and the north wall of the nave were largely rebuilt. The church was declared redundant in February 1974.	II*
St Mary, North Cockerington	11th century	St Mary's stands a mile from its former parish. It dates from the 11th century, with additions and alterations in the late 12th century, in about 1300, and in the 14th century. The tower was added in the 19th century, and the church was declared redundant in March 1981.	I
St Mary, Barnetby	Late 11th century	St Mary's dates from the 11th century, the tower was built in the 11th–12th century, and additions and alterations were made in the 13th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The church was declared redundant in 1972.	I
St Michael, Burwell	Early 12th century	St Michael's dates from the early 12th century. The chancel was added during the following century, and the tower was built in the early 16th century. There were alterations in the 18th and 19th centuries. The church was restored in 1911, but declared redundant in 1981.	I
St Benedict, Haltham on Bain	Early 12th century	Dating from the 12th century, additions and alterations were made later that century, and in each of the following three centuries. It was restored in 1880 and in 1891, increasing its seating from 67 to 140. The church was declared redundant in October 1977.	I
St Barbara, Haceby	12th century	This limestone church dates from the 12th century, with later additions and alterations. It was restored in 1890 and in 1924. Above its chancel arch are Royal arms paint.	I
St Peter, Normanby by Spital	12th century	St Peter's dates from the 12th century, with additions and alterations in each of the following three centuries. It was restored in 1890. Its north arcade is Norman, with round arches, and its south arcade has pointed arches.	I
All Saints, Saltfleetby	12th century	All Saints stands in marshland and has a leaning west tower. One of the two pulpits inside the church was donated by Oriel College, Oxford. The church dates from the 12th century, and many later additions and alterations have been made. It was declared redundant in 1973.	I
St Lawrence, Snarford	12th century	The church was built to serve the residents of the nearby Snarford Hall (now demolished), including the St Paul (or St Pol) family. It contains elaborate monuments to this family, and an alabaster plaque to Robert Rich. The church was declared redundant in 1995.	I
St John the Baptist, Stamford	12th century	Built in the 12th century, the church was expanded during a time of prosperity in the town in the early 15th century. It was restored in the High church tradition in 1856. Repairs had to be undertaken in 1950–53 because of subsidence resulting from the collapse of burial vaults under the church.	I
All Saints, Theddlethorpe	12th century	Sometimes known as the "Cathedral of the Marsh", All Saints dates from the 12th century, with additions and alterations in about 1380–1400, and again in the late 17th century. It was declared redundant in 1973.	I
St Peter, South Somercotes	c. 1200	With its tall spire rising from a flat landscape, this church has been called "The Queen of the Marsh". Since it was declared redundant it has been underpinned because of subsidence.	I
St Botolph, Skidbrooke	Early 13th century	Standing in the Lincolnshire marshlands, additions and alterations have been carried out since the church was built in the 13th century. It was declared redundant in 1973, and there have been reports of satanist activity in the church.	I
St Michael, Buslingthorpe	13th century	St Michael's is a simple church standing on the site of a deserted medieval village. Its limestone tower dates from the 13th century, while the rest of the church was rebuilt in brick in 1835. It is notable for two medieval monuments to members of the Buslingthorpe family. The church was declared redundant in 1984.	II*
All Hallows, Clixby	13th century	Since being built in the 13th century the fabric of this church deteriorated so much that by 1871 only the chancel had survived. This was restored in 1889 by C. Hodgson Fowler and a west porch was added. The church was declared redundant in 1973.	II*
St John the Baptist, Yarburgh	14th century	St John's was largely rebuilt in 1405 after a fire. It was restored in 1854–55 by James Fowler of Louth. The church has a prominent sandstone tower, and its west doorway is embellished with carvings, including depictions of Adam and Eve and the serpent, and a Paschal Lamb.	I
St Andrew, Redbourne	14th–15th century	The church was largely rebuilt in the later part of the 18th century, although the south chapel was rebuilt in the early 19th century as a mausoleum for the Dukes of St Albans. It was restored in 1888 by local architect W. W. Goodhand. The east window contains painted glass by William Collins dating from about 1840, depicting the Last Judgment.	I
St George, Goltho	c. 1640	This simple red brick church is built on the site of a former Saxon settlement. Alterations were made in the early 18th and the late 19th centuries. Two 17th-century gravestones have been incorporated into the floor of the nave.[235][236]	II*
All Saints (old), Great Steeping	1748	All Saints is a simple Georgian-style church built on the site of an earlier medieval church. It was restored in 1908. A new church with the same dedication was built in 1891, and the old church was declared redundant in August 1973.	II*
All Saints, Haugham	1840	All Saints was designed by W. A. Nicholson to replace an earlier church on the site. Its ornate octagonal spire is supported by flying buttresses and is decorated with crockets. Except for a 15th-century font, a stoup and some memorial slabs, the fittings date from 1840.	II*
St John the Baptist, Burringham	1856–57	S. S. Teulon designed this brick church with its square short tower and apsidal east end. The interior is decorated in red, yellow and black brick, and it is floored with polychrome encaustic tiles. The church closed in 1983, and was declared redundant the following year.	II
St Helen, Little Cawthorpe	1860	A small church, seating only about 60 people, St Helen's is built in red brick and decorated with bands of black brick. At its west end is a bellcote surmounted by a broached spirelet and a weathercock. The church was declared redundant in April 1996.	II

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