Church of St Peter ad Vincula, Colemore
Encyclopedia
The Church of St Peter ad Vincula, Colemore, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Colemore
, Hampshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. Colemore is located some 6 miles (10 km) south of Alton
to the east of the A32 road
.
, and a church has been on the site since the 10th century. The present church dates from the 12th century. However by 1308 its fabric was "in a ruinous" condition" and the bishop
ordered that repairs should be undertaken. By the end of the century the church was under the control of Waverley Abbey
. By 1463 it was again in a ruinous condition, and again the bishop had to intervene; the church was put in good order again by July 1464. But its condition had deteriorated again by 1612; a new roof was built and a bellcote added. At this time the church had a cruciform plan, but in 1669 the parishioners considered that the interior was too dark, and they petition
ed the bishop for the disused and ruinous south transept
to be removed. The petition was granted, and during the following year the transept was demolished.
Again by 1845 the church was in a bad condition and Owen Carter, a Winchester
architect, was commissioned to carry out repairs and improvements; the latter included inserting new windows, paving the nave
and replacing the pews. By 1866 the bellcote was insecure and it was replaced by a new one with a spirelet, the architect being John Colson, also of Winchester. Further improvements and repairs were carried out in the 1870s. In the 20th century, the church had deteriorated yet again. The parish
was united with that of East Tisted
. The church was declared redundant on 17 November 1972 and was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 6 September 1974. Further repairs have since been carried out. The church remains consecrated
and occasional services are held in it.
, and a west bellcote. The walls of the nave are constructed in rendered
rubble
, and the chancel and buttress
es are in flint
. The dressings are in sandstone
and the roofs are tiled. The bellcote is shingled
and it has a broach spire
. The windows in the west and south walls of the nave date from the 14th century, and the north wall contains a 12th-century lancet window
. The transept has a 12th-century doorway in its west wall, a 12th-century window in the north wall, and an 11th-century window in the east wall. In the north wall of the chancel is a Norman
window and a new window that was added in 1845. The east window has three lights; it was inserted in the 15th century and altered in the 19th century.
and a squint
, and in the south wall are the remains of a rood
staircase. There is another piscina in the south wall of the chancel. In the north wall of the chancel is a recess that originally contained an Easter Sepulchre
. The floor of the chancel contains ledger slabs commemorating former rectors of the parish, and from its ceiling hang two chandelier
s. The font
dates from the 12th century. It is made from Purbeck marble
and consists of a square bowl supported by a central drum and columns at the corners. The drum is carved on two sides with arcades
, on one side with scallops, and on the other side with an interlocking pattern. The oak lectern
dates from 1874.The stained glass in the east window is by Kempe
, and depicts Saint Peter
in chains, the Resurrection
, and Saint John
. Two bells hang from beneath the bellcote at the west end, one cast in about 1380 at Wokingham
, and the other in 1627 by Ellis Knight of Reading
. On the walls are memorials dated 1692, 1748 and 1814.
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 Colemore
Colemore
Colemore is a village in East Hampshire about northwest of Petersfield.The former Church of England parish church of St Peter ad Vincula dates from the 12th century...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, 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, 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...
. Colemore is located some 6 miles (10 km) south of Alton
Alton, Hampshire
Alton is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of the English county of Hampshire. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It is located on the source of the River Wey and is the highest town in...
to the east of the A32 road
A32 road
The A32 is a road in Hampshire, southern England, that links Gosport and Alton. Starting at Gosport, facing Portsmouth, it travels north via Fareham, Wickham, Droxford, before joining the A31 road near Alton...
.
History
Colemore is mentioned in the Domesday BookDomesday 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...
, and a church has been on the site since the 10th century. The present church dates from the 12th century. However by 1308 its fabric was "in a ruinous" condition" and the bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
ordered that repairs should be undertaken. By the end of the century the church was under the control of Waverley Abbey
Waverley Abbey
Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England, founded in 1128 by William Giffard, Bishop of Winchester. It is situated about one mile south of Farnham, Surrey, in a bend of the River Wey.-History:...
. By 1463 it was again in a ruinous condition, and again the bishop had to intervene; the church was put in good order again by July 1464. But its condition had deteriorated again by 1612; a new roof was built and a bellcote added. At this time the church had a cruciform plan, but in 1669 the parishioners considered that the interior was too dark, and they petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
ed the bishop for the disused and ruinous south transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
to be removed. The petition was granted, and during the following year the transept was demolished.
Again by 1845 the church was in a bad condition and Owen Carter, a Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
architect, was commissioned to carry out repairs and improvements; the latter included inserting new windows, paving 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...
and replacing the pews. By 1866 the bellcote was insecure and it was replaced by a new one with a spirelet, the architect being John Colson, also of Winchester. Further improvements and repairs were carried out in the 1870s. In the 20th century, the church had deteriorated yet again. The parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
was united with that of East Tisted
East Tisted
East Tisted is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.8 miles south of Alton on the A32 road.The nearest railway station is 4.7 miles north of the village, at Alton....
. The church was declared redundant on 17 November 1972 and was 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 Churches Conservation Trust on 6 September 1974. Further repairs have since been carried out. The church remains consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
and occasional services are held in it.
Exterior
The plan of the church consists of a nave with a south porch and a north transept, a chancelChancel
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...
, and a west bellcote. The walls of the nave are constructed in rendered
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
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 the chancel and buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es are in flint
Flint
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...
. The dressings are in sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and the roofs are tiled. The bellcote is shingled
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
and it has a broach spire
Broach spire
A broach spire is a type of spire, a tall pyramidal or conical structure usually on the top of a tower or a turret. A broach spire starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces....
. The windows in the west and south walls of the nave date from the 14th century, and the north wall contains a 12th-century lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
. The transept has a 12th-century doorway in its west wall, a 12th-century window in the north wall, and an 11th-century window in the east wall. In the north wall of the chancel is a Norman
Norman 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...
window and a new window that was added in 1845. The east window has three lights; it was inserted in the 15th century and altered in the 19th century.
Interior
The transept arch is Norman. Between the nave and chancel is a 16th-century wooden screen. In the east wall of the transept is a piscinaPiscina
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 squint
Hagioscope
A hagioscope or squint, in architecture, is an opening through the wall of a church in an oblique direction, to enable the worshippers in the transepts or other parts of the church, from which the altar was not visible, to see the elevation of the host.Hagioscopes were also sometimes known as...
, and in the south wall are the remains of 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...
staircase. There is another piscina in the south wall of the chancel. In the north wall of the chancel is a recess that originally contained an Easter Sepulchre
Easter Sepulchre
An Easter Sepulchre is a feature of English church architecture .-Description:The Easter Sepulchre is an arched recess generally in the north wall of the chancel, in which from Good Friday to Easter day were deposited the crucifix and sacred elements in commemoration of Christ's entombment and...
. The floor of the chancel contains ledger slabs commemorating former rectors of the parish, and from its ceiling hang two chandelier
Chandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
s. 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:...
dates from the 12th century. It is made from Purbeck marble
Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
and consists of a square bowl supported by a central drum and columns at the corners. The drum is carved on two sides with arcades
Arcade (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....
, on one side with scallops, and on the other side with an interlocking pattern. The oak lectern
Lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon...
dates from 1874.The stained glass in the east window is by Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...
, and depicts Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
in chains, the Resurrection
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
, and Saint John
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
. Two bells hang from beneath the bellcote at the west end, one cast in about 1380 at Wokingham
Wokingham
Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England about west of central London. It is about east-southeast of Reading and west of Bracknell. It spans an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 30,403...
, and the other in 1627 by Ellis Knight of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. On the walls are memorials dated 1692, 1748 and 1814.
See also
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in South East England