All Saints Church, Newton Green
Encyclopedia
All Saints Church, Newton Green, is a partly redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Newton Green
, Suffolk
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building. The chancel
is still in use for worship, but the nave
, porch and tower are redundant and vested
in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church stands towards the north of the village, some 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Bedford
.
church. The south porch was added in the 15th century, and restored in 1975. By the 1960s the church had fallen into disrepair, and it was divided at the chancel arch, the chancel continuing in use for worship.
with stone dressings, and some brick. The porch is timber-framed
. Its plan consists of a nave with a south porch, a chancel with a north vestry
, and a west tower. The tower has diagonal buttress
es, and its battlement
ed parapet
is constructed in brick. The north doorway in the nave is Norman, dating from the 12th century, probably from the 1130s or 1140s. It is round-arched, has two orders, scalloped capitals
, and arches decorated with chevrons. The doorway has been partly blocked, forming a window in the upper part. The south doorway dates from the 13th century. The east window in the chancel has a 14th-century five-light window.
of a female. On the north wall is a series of 14th-century wall paintings depicting scenes relating to the Incarnation
. In front of the paintings is a pre-Reformation
pulpit
in the shape of an hourglass
. In the chancel are a piscina
and a sedilia
, both dating from the 14th century, and the elaborate tomb of Margaret Boteler who died in 1410. In the chancel windows are fragments of medieval
stained glass. The font
is octagonal, and dates from the 15th century.
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 Newton Green
Newton, Suffolk
Newton, also known as Newton Green to distinguish it from Nowton near Bury St Edmunds, is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk, England...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, 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 II* listed building. The 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...
is still in use for worship, but the 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...
, porch and tower are redundant and vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in 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 towards the north of the village, some 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
.
History
Most of the church was rebuilt in the 14th century, replacing an earlier NormanNorman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
church. The south porch was added in the 15th century, and restored in 1975. By the 1960s the church had fallen into disrepair, and it was divided at the chancel arch, the chancel continuing in use for worship.
Exterior
All Saints is constructed in flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
with stone dressings, and some brick. The porch is timber-framed
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
. Its plan consists of a nave with a south porch, a chancel with a north vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
, and a west tower. The tower has diagonal buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es, and its 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 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 constructed in brick. The north doorway in the nave is Norman, dating from the 12th century, probably from the 1130s or 1140s. It is round-arched, has two orders, scalloped capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
, and arches decorated with chevrons. The doorway has been partly blocked, forming a window in the upper part. The south doorway dates from the 13th century. The east window in the chancel has a 14th-century five-light window.
Interior
Inside the church, the chancel arch is blocked with glass in the upper part, and glazed doors in the lower part. On the south side of the nave is a tomb dating from about 1300 containing the effigyEffigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of a female. On the north wall is a series of 14th-century wall paintings depicting scenes relating to the Incarnation
Incarnation (Christianity)
The Incarnation in traditional Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity, also known as God the Son or the Logos , "became flesh" by being conceived in the womb of a woman, the Virgin Mary, also known as the Theotokos .The Incarnation is a fundamental theological...
. In front of the paintings is a pre-Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
in the shape of an hourglass
Hourglass
An hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
. In the chancel are 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...
and a 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...
, both dating from the 14th century, and the elaborate tomb of Margaret Boteler who died in 1410. In the chancel windows are fragments of medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
stained glass. The 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:...
is octagonal, and dates from the 15th century.