St Margaret's Church, Hales
Encyclopedia
St Margaret's Church, Hales, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Hales
, Norfolk
, 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 in open fields to the south of the village and to the east of the A146 road
.
, and thatched
roof, it is described as "an almost perfect Norman
church".
, brick and conglomerate
, some of which has been rendered
. The dressings are in limestone
, and the roof is thatch. Its plan consists of a nave
, a chancel
with an apse
, and a west tower. The tower is round, and dates possibly back to the 11th century. In the lower part of the tower are small lancet window
s, and around the upper part are single-light bell openings. The parapet
is decorated with brick, flint and limestone chequerwork. The south doorway has two orders of shafts, and its arch is decorated with zigzags. In the south wall of the nave are two two-light windows containing Y-tracery
, and between them is a blocked round-headed window, partly cut by a later lancet which is also blocked. Around the apsidal chancel are round-headed blind arcades
in pairs, in some places pierced by lancets. Between the arcades are pilaster
buttress
es. The east window has a pointed arch, and two lights with Y-tracery. The north wall contains a blocked round-headed window pierced with a lancet, which is also blocked, a single-light window, and a two-light window with Y-tracery. The north doorway is more ornate than the south, also with two orders of shafts, but six orders in the arch and more detailed decoration.
; the chancel has a plain plaster
vault
. In the chancel there are niches
on each side of the east window, and a recess for an aumbry
in the north wall. The chancel floor contains two memorial slabs. In the nave is an arch leading to the stairway to a former rood
screen. At the west end of the nave is a gallery. The tower arch is semicircular, and in the tower are two blocked round-headed windows. The octagonal font
dates from the 15th century. Around the stem are carvings of four lions, the bowl is supported by corbel
s carved with angels, and the faces of the bowl are decorated alternatively with Tudor rose
s and with angels holding shields. On the nave walls are the remnants of wall paintings. One of these is of Saint James the Great holding a staff, and another fragment depicts Saint Christopher
carrying the Christ child. Above the chancel arch are depictions of two angels, and around the upper part of the chancel wall runs a painted frieze
.
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 Hales
Hales
Hales is a small village in Norfolk, England. It covers an area of and had a population of 479 in 192 households as of the 2001 census.-Church of St Margaret:...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, 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 in open fields to the south of the village and to the east of the A146 road
A146 road
The A146 is a road that runs between two of East Anglia's largest population centres - Norwich in Norfolk and Lowestoft in Suffolk.The entire route has primary classification and as such has been improved over the years, although traffic levels can lead to delays.- Norwich :Before the construction...
.
History
St Margaret's was built in the 12th century and, other than the addition of windows in the 13th and 14th centuries, it remains almost intact. With its round tower, semicircular apseApse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
, and thatched
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
roof, it is described as "an almost perfect 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...
church".
Exterior
The church 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...
, brick and conglomerate
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
, some of which has been 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...
. The dressings are in limestone
Limestone
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....
, and the roof is thatch. Its plan consists of a 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 a west tower. The tower is round, and dates possibly back to the 11th century. In the lower part of the tower are small 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 around the upper part are single-light bell openings. 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 decorated with brick, flint and limestone chequerwork. The south doorway has two orders of shafts, and its arch is decorated with zigzags. In the south wall of the nave are two two-light windows containing Y-tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
, and between them is a blocked round-headed window, partly cut by a later lancet which is also blocked. Around the apsidal chancel are round-headed blind 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....
in pairs, in some places pierced by lancets. Between the arcades are pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. The east window has a pointed arch, and two lights with Y-tracery. The north wall contains a blocked round-headed window pierced with a lancet, which is also blocked, a single-light window, and a two-light window with Y-tracery. The north doorway is more ornate than the south, also with two orders of shafts, but six orders in the arch and more detailed decoration.
Interior
The nave has a 19th-century waggon roofBarrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
; the chancel has a plain plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
vault
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
. In the chancel there are niches
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
on each side of the east window, and a recess for an aumbry
Aumbry
In the Middle Ages an aumbry was a cabinet in the wall of a Christian church or in the sacristy which was used to store chalices and other vessels, as well as for the reserved sacrament, the consecrated elements from the Eucharist. This latter use was infrequent in pre-Reformation churches,...
in the north wall. The chancel floor contains two memorial slabs. In the nave is an arch leading to the stairway to a former 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...
screen. At the west end of the nave is a gallery. The tower arch is semicircular, and in the tower are two blocked round-headed windows. The 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. Around the stem are carvings of four lions, the bowl is supported by corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s carved with angels, and the faces of the bowl are decorated alternatively with Tudor rose
Tudor rose
The Tudor Rose is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the Tudor dynasty.-Origins:...
s and with angels holding shields. On the nave walls are the remnants of wall paintings. One of these is of Saint James the Great holding a staff, and another fragment depicts Saint Christopher
Saint Christopher
.Saint Christopher is a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, listed as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian...
carrying the Christ child. Above the chancel arch are depictions of two angels, and around the upper part of the chancel wall runs a painted 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...
.