The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
All sites
Cathedral, formerly Benedictine monastery
The church begun by Abbot Paul of Caen (1077-93) in 1077 had an aisled eastern arm of 4 bays; the central vessel with an apse and the aisles perhaps apsed too (see Fernie 2000, 112), although nothing has been found to clarify the arrangement.The cruciform church had 3-bay transepts; the inner bays corresponding to the nave and chancel aisles, with a pair of stepped chapels on the E side of each. The exterior view from the east would thus have shown an echelon of 7 apses. The nave was originally of 10 bays. The nave elevation is of 3 storeys with a tribune gallery and clerestorey above the arcade. As a whole the articulation is very plain with practically no shafts, probably a result of the building materials used in the construction. The church is largely of flint with re-used Roman brick taken from the Roman site of Verulamium used for strengthening and as dressing where right angles were needed.
The new church was consecrated in 1115, in the abbacy of Abbot Paul's successor Richard d'Aubeney (1097-19), then from the end of the 12thc, Abbot John de Cella lengthened the nave by 3 bays, rebuilding the westernmost bay in the process. He also commissioned a new W front from Hugh of Goldclif, described by Matthew Paris as 'an untrustworthy and deceitful man, but a consummate craftsman'. True to form, Goldclif used up all the money and kept demanding more until the abbot could stand it now longer. Goldclif was dismissed and the incomplete facade left to crumble for want of funding to complete it. After more several delays the W end was eventually completed c.1230 under Abbot William of Trumpington (1214-35). The eastern arm was rebuilt and extended eastwards in the 13th; the work beginning with a rebuilding of the choir aisles from 1235, and including a new presbytery, a feretory for the shrine of St Alban, a retrochoir and a Lady Chapel at the E end. The last of these was completed early in the 14thc. In 1323 bays 5 to 9 of the S nave arcade were rebuilt (to match the Early English work further west) following a collapse.
After the Dissolution of the abbey in 1539 the monastic buildings were sold to Sir Richard Lee for building materials, and the church passed to the town. The east end was converted into a Grammar School, and the remainder became a parish church, apparently ill-maintained. Part of the S nave wall fell through the aisle roof in 1832, and repairs were carried out by L. N. Cottingham. A campaign of restoration was carried out by Sir Gilbert Scott from 1856 to 1877, and he restrored the S nave clerestorey, reroofed the S aisle restored the Lady Chapel and stabilised the crossing tower. He also reunited the E end with the rest of the church. Restoration was continued by Lord Grimthorpe after Scott's death, and his approach was much more intrusive. In the 1880s and '90s he completely rebuilt the west front and the transept facades as well as restoring the Lady Chapel, eastern arm and nave, all at his own expense, and he was heavily criticized for his approach. Meanwhile in 1877 the diocese of St Albans had been consituted, with the abbey as its cathedral. The see initially covered Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Essex, although the last of these gained its own see at Chelmsford in 1914.
Parish church, formerly Benedictine house
Tutbury is a large village in the west of Staffordshire, adjacent to the Derbyshire border. St Mary’s church is on the northern edge of the village, overlooked by the castle which stands on its motte to the W. The church consists of a 6-bay aisled nave with a SW tower in the W bay of the S aisle. The N aisle was added in 1820-22 by Joseph Bennett. The original presbytery was pulled down at the Reformation, and the present one is a replacement of 1866 by G. E. Street, funded by Sir Oswald Mosley, grandfather of the Fascist politician of the same name. The original nave may have had 2 more bays at the E, as well as transepts, presbytery and a tower over the crossing.
The church is celebrated for the elaborate Romanesque sculpture of its west front and S doorway, described here, and for its use of alabaster for the first time in England and for the only time in an external setting.
Parish church
The manorial hamlet of Laverton lies in rich farmland 8.5 miles S of Bath, about halfway between Frome and Norton St Philip. It is in a dip: the N-facing side is a valley of the Hennambridge Brook, a tributary of the river Frome. The manor house (now belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall) and church of St Mary are adjacent. The church, which is built of rubble, consists of an unusual W end, which Pevsner finds to be reminiscent of a westwerk (described as a tower in the HE listing), nave, N porch, chancel and vestry. It is mostly of the 11thc, with 15thc alterations. There was a restoration in 1859. The Romanesque elements consist of N (and possibly S) nave doorways and two windows in the western section.
Parish church
Walmer is a coastal town 6 miles SE of Sandwich and just over 7 miles NE of Dover. The church of St Mary has a twin-cell form with a tall nave and chancel, and a later porch. A N aisle was added in the 17thc and demolished in 1898, returning the building - the 'unsightly object' seen by Glynne in the mid-19thc - back to its original size. A new church dedicated to St Mary was built nearby in the late 19thc, after which the original church became known a 'Old St Mary's' or St Mary the Blessed Virgin. Features of interest include the chancel arch and the S doorway.
Parish church
The small settlement of Staple Fitzpaine is sited near where a road (unclassified but well-used) running roughly NNW/SSE between Taunton to Chard crosses a stream running WSW/ENE down from the Blackdown Hills. The former mill using that watercourse is sited a very short distance NW of the crossroads at the village centre. Crossing the Taunton-Chard road at that crossroads, a lane runs roughly SW-NE, parallel to the stream, along the S side of the shallow valley from Staple Hill towards lower ground to the NE and major communication lines of road and rail.
Emphasising the political standing of the Count of Mortain, the parish still includes (at its SE corner) his castle, Castle Neroche. By area, the parish is the second largest in the county, but by demography it is diminutive, probably having changed very little over time. Staple Fitzpaine has its own manor-house, adjacent on the N side of St Peter’s church. Resting on the large block of Blue Lias which stretches from here NE far into the central area of the county, the village has a good source of favoured building-stone. Inevitably, the area is almost entirely agricultural in character.
The church, which consists of a W tower, a nave with N and S aisles, a S porch, avestry and a chancel is Norman in origin but has been largely rebuilt. The Romanesque S doorway has been reset in the S aisle.
Parish church
The compact village of Edington lies on the N side of the Polden Hills on a lower slope in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, about 8 miles W of Glastonbury. Edington was a chapelry of Moorlinch until it became a separate parish in 1863. The church was completely rebuilt in 1878-79 by Edwin Down in a fabric of coursed and squared rubble with freestone dressings. The present building consists of a nave with a small N transept, chancel with N vestry, a S porch, and a W bellcote. The only Romanesque feature is a font.
Parish church
Mersham is a large village about 3 miles E of Willesborough near Ashford, Kent. The church of St John the Baptist was described by Stephen Glynne in 1877 as 'rather a handsome church, with some singularities, and portions of various styles'. It has nave with S aisle, chancel with S chapel, tower and porch. There is a Romanesque S doorway.
Parish church
Lympne is a village situated about 0.5 mile N of West Hythe, less than 2 miles distant from the Channel coast. The church of St Stephen is a substantial building perched at the edge of a long downwards escarpment looking towards the coast. It comprises a nave, a central tower, a N aisle and a porch. There are two known 19thc restorations. Romanesque work includes the tower arches, tower windows, and font, together with some reset chip carving in the early Gothic N aisle window.
Parish church
Throwley is a small and fairly isolated village near Faversham. The church of St Michael has an aisled nave and a chancel, and a S tower. Romanesque sculpture include the W doorway and some reset fragments in the S tower transept.
Parish church
The church consists of chancel, nave, aisles, S porch and W tower. The Romanesque elements recorded here are the S doorway, portions of the tower and possibly the font. The Southwell and Nottingham Church History Project notes an interesting fragment of a tomb effigy in the vestry, which we hope to record later.