St John the Baptist's Church, Burringham
Encyclopedia
St John the Baptist's Church, Burringham, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Burringham
, Lincolnshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church stands at the south end of the village, on the east bank of the River Trent
.
. It closed in 1983, and was declared redundant the following year.
ashlar
. The roofs of the body of the church are slate
d, and the porch has a concrete tile roof. Its plan consists of a five-bay
nave
, a chancel
with an apse
and an organ chamber and vestry
on the north side, and a west tower incorporating a porch. The tower is short, and has buttress
es at its junction with the nave, and a stair turret
at the northwest angle. It has a two-light north window, and a similar but larger three-light west window. Above the porch is a trefoil
containing three blocked trefoils and a roundel in the centre. There is a brick frieze
under the eaves
, and on the summit of the tower is a pyramidal roof with a pinnacle
. The south porch has buttresses flanking a trefoil-headed doorway, and a four-bay blind arcade
on each side. On the sides of the nave are two-light windows. The chancel has lancet window
s, and three two-light windows in the apse. At the eastern end of the roof is a pinnacle.
s. The font
is octagonal, with coloured encaustic tiled panels. There is 19th-century stained glass in the south and east windows. The ceiling above the altar is painted with stars and constellation
s. The organ had been made in 1849 by Forster and Andrews
for St Andrew's Church, Epworth. It was moved here and restored at an unknown date by T. L. Jubb and Son.
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 Burringham
Burringham
Burringham is a village in North Lincolnshire, England. The village lies on the on the east bank of the River Trent about one mile south of Gunness....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, 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...
. The church stands at the south end of the village, on the east bank of the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
.
History
The church was built in 1856–57 to a design by S. S. TeulonSamuel Sanders Teulon
Samuel Sanders Teulon was a notable 19th century English Gothic Revival architect.-Family:Teulon was born in Greenwich in south-east London, the son of a cabinet-maker from a French Huguenot family. His younger brother William Milford Teulon also became an architect...
. It closed in 1983, and was declared redundant the following year.
Exterior
St John's is constructed in red brick with English bond brickwork. The details are in black brick and 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....
ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
. The roofs of the body of the church are slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
d, and the porch has a concrete tile roof. Its plan consists of a five-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...
, 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...
with an apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
and an organ chamber and 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....
on the north side, and a west tower incorporating a porch. The tower is short, and has buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es at its junction with the nave, and a stair 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...
at the northwest angle. It has a two-light north window, and a similar but larger three-light west window. Above the porch is a trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
containing three blocked trefoils and a roundel in the centre. There is a brick 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...
under the eaves
Eaves
The eaves of a roof are its lower edges. They usually project beyond the walls of the building to carry rain water away.-Etymology:"Eaves" is derived from Old English and is both the singular and plural form of the word.- Function :...
, and on the summit of the tower is a pyramidal roof with a 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...
. The south porch has buttresses flanking a trefoil-headed doorway, and a four-bay blind arcade
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 each side. On the sides of the nave are two-light windows. The chancel has 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...
s, and three two-light windows in the apse. At the eastern end of the roof is a pinnacle.
Interior
The interior of the church is decorated in polychrome brick, in red, yellow and black. It is floored with polychrome encaustic tileEncaustic tile
Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. They are usually of two colors but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern is inlaid into the body of the tile, so that the design remains as...
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:...
is octagonal, with coloured encaustic tiled panels. There is 19th-century stained glass in the south and east windows. The ceiling above the altar is painted with stars and constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
s. The organ had been made in 1849 by Forster and Andrews
Forster and Andrews
Forster and Andrews was formed by James Alderson Forster and Joseph King Andrews , who had been employees of the London organ builder J. C. Bishop.They opened the business that bore their name in Hull in 1843...
for St Andrew's Church, Epworth. It was moved here and restored at an unknown date by T. L. Jubb and Son.