All Saints Church, Conington
Encyclopedia
All Saints Church, Conington, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Conington
in the Huntingdonshire
district of Cambridgeshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church stands to the east of the village, between the A1 road and the East Coast Main Line
.
. It was rebuilt in about 1500. The embattled
parapet
s were restored in 1638 by Sir Thomas Cotton
. In 1841 the church was restored
and the pews were replaced. A new east window was added in 1852. The tower was strengthened in 1862, and further repairs were undertaken between 1897 and 1899.
rubble
and fieldstone
, with limestone dressings. Its plan consists of a four-bay
nave
with a clerestory
, north and south aisle
s with chapels at their east ends, a chancel
, north and south porches, and a west tower. At the east end of the south aisle is a chapel. The tower is in four stages on a plinth
decorated with quatrefoil
ornament. At the corners are half-octagonal turret
s rising to crocket
ted pinnacle
s. The parapet
is battlement
ed with a quatrefoil frieze
and gargoyle
s at the centre of each side. In the bottom stage is a west arched doorway, above which is five-light window. The bell openings in the top stage have four lights. The clerestory has three three-light windows and one five-light window on each side. Along the side of the south aisle are three four-light windows. The south chapel has a four-light south window, and a five-light east window. Between the aisle and the chapel is a rood
turret
with a polygonal roof and a foliated finial
. The south porch is shallow and gable
d with a tiled roof. The chancel has three-light windows in the north and south walls and a restored east window.
, the westernmost bays being wider than the others. In the south wall of the chancel is a three-seat sedilia
and a piscina
. The limestone octagonal font
dates from the 15th century, and stands on a 19th-century base. In the church are monuments to the Cotton and Heathcote families. Most of the furnishings date from 1841. The organ was built by Miller and Son of Cambridge
. The ring
consists of six bells, all cast by Thomas Mears II of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
, five of them in 1827, and the sixth in 1834.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in the village of Conington
Conington, Huntingdonshire
Conington is a small village in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire. It lies within earshot of Ermine Street, now called the Great North Road, about south of Peterborough and north of Sawtry....
in the Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
district of Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. The church stands to the east of the village, between the A1 road and the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
.
History
A church was mentioned in the Domesday SurveyDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
. It was rebuilt in about 1500. The embattled
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s were restored in 1638 by Sir Thomas Cotton
Sir Thomas Cotton, 2nd Baronet
Sir Thomas Cotton, 2nd Baronet, of Connington was an English politician and heir to the Cottonian Library.-Life:He was the only surviving child of Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington and Elizabeth Brocas. He graduated B.A. at Broadgates Hall, Oxford in 1616...
. In 1841 the church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
and the pews were replaced. A new east window was added in 1852. The tower was strengthened in 1862, and further repairs were undertaken between 1897 and 1899.
Exterior
All Saints is constructed in limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
rubble
Rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
and fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
, with limestone dressings. Its plan consists of a four-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
, north and south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s with chapels at their east ends, a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, north and south porches, and a west tower. At the east end of the south aisle is a chapel. The tower is in four stages on a plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
decorated with quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
ornament. At the corners are half-octagonal turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s rising to crocket
Crocket
A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....
ted pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s. The parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
is battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
ed with a quatrefoil frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
and gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s at the centre of each side. In the bottom stage is a west arched doorway, above which is five-light window. The bell openings in the top stage have four lights. The clerestory has three three-light windows and one five-light window on each side. Along the side of the south aisle are three four-light windows. The south chapel has a four-light south window, and a five-light east window. Between the aisle and the chapel is a rood
Rood
A rood is a cross or crucifix, especially a large one in a church; a large sculpture or sometimes painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.Rood is an archaic word for pole, from Old English rōd "pole", specifically "cross", from Proto-Germanic *rodo, cognate to Old Saxon rōda, Old High German ruoda...
turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
with a polygonal roof and a foliated finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
. The south porch is shallow and gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d with a tiled roof. The chancel has three-light windows in the north and south walls and a restored east window.
Interior
Inside the church are four-bay arcadesArcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
, the westernmost bays being wider than the others. In the south wall of the chancel is a three-seat sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
and a piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
. The limestone octagonal font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
dates from the 15th century, and stands on a 19th-century base. In the church are monuments to the Cotton and Heathcote families. Most of the furnishings date from 1841. The organ was built by Miller and Son of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. The ring
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
consists of six bells, all cast by Thomas Mears II of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
, five of them in 1827, and the sixth in 1834.