The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
Suffolk (now)
Parish church
South Cove is 1.5 miles from the sea, in the low arable lands between Southwold and Lowestoft. It hardly qualifies as a village, consisting as it does of the church and Church Farm alongside, with a cottage or two. Its parishioners were traditionally farm workers and fishermen. St Lawrence's church is of flint with a nave and chancel of equal width covered by a single thatched roof, and a tall W tower. The nave N and S doorways are 12thc., the S protected by a tiny 19thc. porch of knapped flint. The nave is earlier than this, however; the removal of 19thc. render in 1995 revealed a vertical joint at the NE angle of the nave, where it turned to meet a chancel that was originally narrower. This angle was of the large, uncut stones (erratics) typical of pre-Conquest masonry. The present chancel apparently dates from the mid-13thc. (piscina) and its Y-tracery windows were added c.1300. Some of the nave windows were replaced at that period too, and the other nave windows were renewed in the 15thc. There is no chancel arch. The tower is 14thc. and has diagonal buttresses and an embattled parapet, both decorated with flushwork. The W window is 15thc. The W bell-opening has been replaced with a plain arched opening with a single central mullion. Romanesque sculpture survives in the two nave doorways.
Parish church
The seven South Elmham villages, St James, All Saints, St Nicholas, St Cross, St Margaret, St Michael and St Peter, to which may be added Homersfield, sometimes referred to as South Elmham St Mary, lie in a scattered group between Bungay and Halesworth in NE Suffolk, to the W of the Roman road known as Stone Street. North Elmham (the centre of the see until 1071) is over 30 miles away, to the NW of Norwich, and both apparently took their name from Aethelmaer (bishop of East Anglia 1047-1070) the landholder before the Conquest. This is not certain; Tricker suggests that the name meant villages where elm trees grew. The land here is flat, generally arable and sparsely populated; the villages rarely more than a few houses clustered around the church without shops or pubs. South Elmham St Peter consists of a few houses around a T-junction of byways with the church more or less at the junction. It is on the N side of a branch of the Beck, a minor tributary of the Waveney. St Peter's Hall is 0.3 m NE of the church, and is a stone building including 15thc. tracery windows that might have come from a religious foundation (Pevsner suggests the demolished church of South Elmham St Nicholas or Flixton Priory). The flint church consists of nave, chancel and W tower; the nave with a 12thc. S doorway under a 15thc. flint and brick porch. The blocked N nave doorway is of the late-12thc. or early-13thc. The nave windows include one with Y-tracery (c.1300) on the N and the remainder are 15thc. The chancel arch is 13thc. and has signs indicating the removal of a screen. On the N side of the chancel is a blocked arch, indicating that a chapel has been removed. There are no windows on this side, but those on the S and E have Y-tracery or intersecting tracery, pointing to a datec.1300. The 14thc. tower is tall and tapers markedly towards the top. It is of whole and broken flints and has a NE polygonal stair. The tower arch is tall, and the tower has diagonal buttresses with chequerwork, similar to that at South Elmham St Cross. Like St Cross too, the battlemented parapet has flushwork tracery decoration. The two nave doorways are described below, although the N doorway may be 13thc.
Parish church
The seven South Elmham villages; St James, All Saints, St Nicholas, St Cross, St Margaret, St Michael and St Peter, to which may be added Homersfield, sometimes referred to as South Elmham St Mary, lie in a scattered group between Bungay and Halesworth in NE Suffolk, to the W of the Roman road known as Stone Street. North Elmham (the centre of the see until 1071) is over 30 miles away, to the NW of Norwich, and both apparently took their name from Aethelmaer (bishop of East Anglia 1047-1070) the landholder before the Conquest. This is not certain; Tricker suggests that the name meant villages where elm trees grew. The land here is flat, generally arable and sparsely populated; the villages rarely more than a few houses clustered around the church without shops or pubs. St Margaret's village consists of a scattering of houses and the church along a minor road running on the S side of the Beck, a tributary of the Waveney. Alongside the church to the S is the parkland surrounding South Elmham Hall. The hall itself is 0.6 m SW of the church, in the neighbouring parish of South Elmham St Cross (qv). The church is of flint, with a nave, chancel and W tower. The nave is 12thc., with a S doorway and a S window of that date. The S doorway is protected by a two-storey porch of knapped flint and brick, probably 15thc. The N doorway is blocked and has a pointed segmental head. Perpendicular windows were added to the nave in the 15thc., one on the S side and two on the N. There is a N rood stair. The chancel is 15thc. to judge from its windows and an ogee-headed wall tomb on the N side. Also on the N is a 19thc. pseudo-chapel of knapped flint, housing the organ and a vestry (Pevsner considers it early 14thc., and it is certainly in that style). The chancel arch is 19thc. The tower is 14thc., with a very tall tower arch, a W window with flowing tracery, 14thc. bell-openings, a polygonal SE stair and diagonal buttresses with flushwork. The top of it is flat and leaded. The church was thoroughly restored in 1838. The S doorway is the only feature with Romanesque sculpture.
Parish church
The seven South Elmham villages; St James, All Saints, St Nicholas, St Cross, St Margaret, St Michael and St Peter, to which may be added Homersfield, sometimes referred to as South Elmham St Mary, lie in a scattered group between Bungay and Halesworth in NE Suffolk, to the W of the Roman road known as Stone Street. North Elmham (the centre of the see until 1071) is over 30 miles away, to the NW of Norwich, and both apparently took their name from Aethelmaer (bishop of East Anglia 1047-1070) the landholder before the Conquest. This is not certain; Tricker suggests that the name meant villages where elm trees grew. The land here is flat, generally arable and sparsely populated; the villages rarely more than a few houses clustered around the church without shops or pubs. South Elmham St Michael consists of a few houses along the minor road running S from St Peter's to Home Farm, which marks the end of the village. The church is off this road to the E. It comprises nave, chancel and W tower, all of flint but mortar rendered on nave and chancel. Both nave and chancel have been raised, with courses of brick at the top of the walls. A mark on the W wall of the tower shows an earlier, steeper roofline. The nave has a 12thc. S doorway under a timber-framed porch, mortar rendered on the exterior. The N nave doorway is blocked and gives no indication of its date. The nave windows date from c.1300 and have two lights with Y-tracery. The chancel S and E windows are of the same c.1300 type (there are no N windows), and the priest's S doorway and piscina are contemporary. There is no chancel arch. The tower, of unrendered flint, has W window and bell-openings of c.1300, and the tower arch is tall and narrow. The only Romanesque sculpture is on the S doorway.
Parish church
The seven South Elmham villages; St James, All Saints, St Nicholas, St Cross, St Margaret, St Michael and St Peter, to which may be added Homersfield, sometimes referred to as South Elmham St Mary, lie in a scattered group between Bungay and Halesworth in NE Suffolk, to the W of the Roman road known as Stone Street. North Elmham (the centre of the see until 1071) is over 30 miles away, to the NW of Norwich, and both apparently took their name from Aethelmaer (bishop of E Anglia 1047-1070) the landholder before the Conquest. This is not certain; Tricker suggests that the name meant villages where elm trees grew. The land here is flat, generally arable and sparsely populated; the villages rarely more than a few houses clustered around the church without shops or pubs. St Cross consists of a loose cluster of houses around a crossing of The Beck, a stream that runs into the Waveney. The church is on rising ground on the N side of the stream, with a moated hall site 500 yards to the E. It consists of nave, chancel and W tower; both nave and chancel being very tall. The aisleless nave is 12thc. with original doorways surviving on the N and S. The S is under a 14thc. -15thc. porch, and the N is badly damaged and blocked. The original nave windows are all gone, having been replaced by 15thc. windows at upper and lower levels (i.e. effectively a clerestory above the main lateral windows). The E gable of the nave is crow-stepped. The chancel arch is 19thc, but there are windows with intersecting tracery at the N and E of the chancel, suggesting a date ofc.1300. The S chancel windows and the brick S doorway are 15thc. The W tower is 14thc., of knapped flint with chequerwork on the buttresses similar to that at South Elmham St Peter. The parapet battlement is 15thc. and decorated with tracery patterns in flushwork, also similar to St Peter's. Construction is otherwise of flint with traces of render remaining on the nave and chancel, and knapped flint for the S porch. Work on reseating the nave and a W gallery were carried out by J. D. Botwright of Bungay in 1840-41. The two nave doorways are the only Romanesque features.
Parish church
The seven South Elmham villages; St James, All Saints, St Nicholas, St Cross, St Margaret, St Michael and St Peter, to which may be added Homersfield, sometimes referred to as South Elmham St Mary, lie in a scattered group between Bungay and Halesworth in NE Suffolk, to the W of the Roman road known as Stone Street. North Elmham (the centre of the see until 1071) is over 30 miles away, to the NW of Norwich, and both apparently took their name from Aethelmaer (bishop of East Anglia 1047-1070) the landholder before the Conquest. This is not certain; Tricker suggests that the name meant villages where elm trees grew. The land here is flat, generally arable and sparsely populated; the villages rarely more than a few houses clustered around the church without shops or pubs. South Elmham St James consists of a scattering of houses alongside a minor road. A pair of farmhouses mark the ends of the village, and the church is towards the E end. It consists of a nave with a S aisle, chancel and W tower. The nave has a late-12thc. N doorway; all that remains to indicate its early date. The four-bay S aisle was added at the end of the 13thc.; its piers are octagonal with octagonal moulded capitals and chamfered arches. The S doorway is of the same date, as are two of the aisle windows. The remaining aisle window, the N nave windows and the porch are 15thc. On the S side is a rood stair. The chancel is early 13thc., to judge from one lateral window and the S doorway. The piscina is 14thc. and the E window 19thc. in imitation of an early 14thc. intersecting window with cusping. The two-storey tower is tall and unbuttressed; perhaps 12thc. in its lower part but with no diagnostic features. The upper storey has Y-tracery bell-openings (c.1300) and the parapet is decorated with arcading in flushwork. Construction is of flint throughout. The only Romanesque sculpture is on the N doorway and a Purbeck marble font.
Parish church
St John's is a flint church with a tall W tower and an aisleless nave and chancel forming a single space within, but separately roofed from the outside. The nave and chancel date fromc.1200 or slightly later, to judge from the N and S nave doorways and plain lancets in the N wall of the chancel and both walls of the nave. The S doorway is protected by a 16thc. brick porch. The square W tower is Perpendicular with diagonal buttresses decorated with simple flushwork. It is patched with bricks and underwent a major restoration in 1983. The nave walls are rendered. The nave doorways are described below, although they are likely to date from the 13thc. rather than the 12thc.
Parish church
Beyton lies less than five miles E of the centre of Bury St Edmunds,
just S of the A14. The village lies in arable farmland, and the church is 0.4
miles W of the hall site. All Saints has a round (actually oval) W tower, a
nave with a N aisle added and a chancel. A parish room
and vestry annexe was added on the S side of the
chancel in 1973. Construction is of flint throughout.
The tower has a plinth course and big radial
buttresses have been added at the NW and SW. The lower W window is 15thc. as is
the tower arch, and the plain parapet is an addition of 1780, with brick
bell-openings. There are signs of render on the tower but not the parapet or
the buttresses. The windows on the S side of the nave are 15thc., and there is
a 14thc. S doorway under a 15thc. porch. The
three-bay N aisle was added in the 1853-54, and a
12thc. doorway re-set in its outer wall. This has no porch and is now partly obscured by a shrub. The
chancel arch is 19thc. too, and while the western part
of the chancel is 14thc. it was extended eastwards in
1884-85, with an E window by Sir Arthur Blomfield. The 19thc. aisle and
chancel extension both have windows in a 15thc.
Perpendicular style. The 1853-54 rebuild was by John Johnson of Bury St
Edmunds. There was an earlier restoration by Howe, Mortimer and Azelwood in
1834-35 when a gallery was added at the W end of the
nave. The only Romanesque feature is the re-set N
doorway.
Parish church
Rushmere St Andrew is a village on the NE edge of Ipswich, its parish running S from the village in a long strip to include the housing developments of outer E Ipswich. Rushmere itself retains much of its village character, with the church at the W end of the main street, the open space of Rushmere Heath to the S, and farmland to the N, falling away to the valley of the river Fynn, a tributary of the Deben.
The church cannot fail to astonish. At the W end is a Perpendicular tower of mixed flint, rubble and septaria with slender diagonal buttresses, a polygonal S stair and a battlemented parapet decorated with flushwork panels. The W doorway has the arms of Felbrigg (lords of Rushmere 1387-1423) and Sampson (lords 1423-1511). Thomas Sampson whose arms appear died in 1439, which could indicate an approximate starting date. That it was not far advanced by the end of the 15thc. is proved by bequests in the wills of William Cadye (1496/97) and his wife Katherine (1521/22) for its construction, which specified that it was to be built 'of like fashion, bigness and workmanship with that at Tuddenham', and it is certainly similar, although Tuddenham's tower has no buttresses at the eastern angles. It was restored in 1861 by Hakewill, when pinnacles were added to the parapet and a new W window with bizarre tracery and a figure of St Andrew in the central light was installed. The nave and chancel of the so-called old church follow, but apart from the reused 12thc. S doorway they are not so very old. The medieval church was drawn by Henry Davy in 1842, and his engraving shows a boxy nave with windows of various dates and a S porch with a crow step gable. The chancel had square-headed windows including a three-light E window with a central transom, and both chancel and nave were heavily and crudely buttressed. In 1861 the fabric was in danger of collapse while the parish continued to grow, and E. C. Hakewill was asked to prepare a scheme for restoring it. His description of the dangerous state of the church in 1861 is reprinted in Tricker (1983). He recommended a complete rebuilding of the nave and chancel on the old foundations, and the addition of a N aisle, not quite reaching the W end of the nave, to accommodate the extra seating needed, and the work was begun and completed in the same year. Hakewill believed the old church to date from the early 13thc, and his nave and chancel are in that simple Early English style. The two-bay N aisle shares a roof with the nave. The next development was the construction of the New Church at the E end in 1967-68, and to understand its architectural form it is necessary to appreciate something of the spirit of liturgical radicalism in the Anglican church following the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65. Among its reforms, the Council encouraged a more active participation in the liturgy by worshippers, and in the Catholic Church and the Church of England this was to lead to the centralisation of altars, and to revisions of the office books. At Rushmere St Andrew an enlargement was needed to cope with the growth of the parish as Ipswich expanded, and the decision was taken to place the altar on a dais at the position of Hakewill's E chancel wall, which was demolished, and build a new space to the E that would allow the priest to celebrate the Eucharist surrounded by his congregation. The new space could also be cleared of its seating and used for performances of dance and drama. The architect of the new work was George Pace of York, who had supervised the rebuilding of Llandaff Cathedral, and he designed a space with a main vessel as wide as the old chancel with a broad N aisle and a narrow S aisle, the aisle walls carried on long concrete beams with a single shaft support on the N side and no intermediate support on the S. The new church is faced with brick and is brightly lit with tall multi-light windows with wooden frames. Pace also added a utilitarian brick vestry at the W end of nave of the old church, alongside the tower. A new church hall was added to the S of Pace's extension by Jack Earwaker in 1987. This has low brick walls and an enormous overhanging tiled roof, hipped at its S end with a half-gable containing a window whose framing enhances the neo-Tudor look of the extension. The S doorway of the old church is the only Romanesque feature to survive.
Parish church
St Peter's was originally a 12thc. building with angle shafts at the four corners of the nave, partly surviving. Two-bay aisles and short transepts have been added, and the nave roof raised and supplied with a tall clerestorey. All this is early 16thc. work, as is the light and airy chancel. There is a W tower ofc.1300 with a battlement, which looks short and stumpy against the heightened nave. The church was restored in 1850, and the S porch dates from that period. Construction is of flint, the clerestorey rendered. The nave angle shafts are described here, together with a figural relief slab now housed in a curtained-off vestry at the W end of the S aisle.