St Nicholas' Church, Buckenham
Encyclopedia
St Nicholas' Church, Buckenham, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Buckenham
, 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 among fields to the north of the River Yare
.
in the early 19th century. During the 1960s and 1970s it suffered from decay and vandalism, but repairs have been carried out since it was vested
with the Churches Conservation Trust.
, with some conglomerate
and brick, and has limestone
dressings. The roofs are tiled. Its plan consists of a nave
, a chancel
with a north vestry
(previously a porch), and a west tower. The tower is wholly octagonal. In each face of the upper stage of the tower is a lancet
, and there is another lancet on the west side at a lower level. The parapet
is battlement
ed. The tower has a west doorway in Norman
style, which has possibly been re-set from elsewhere in the church. It has scalloped capitals
, and zig-zag decoration on the arch. Inside the upper part of the tower is a 17th-century dovecote
lined with brick nesting boxes. On the south side, between the tower and the nave, is a brick stair turret
. The nave windows have two lights with Decorated tracery
. Between the windows on the south side is another Norman doorway, again with zig-zag decoration. The north and south walls of the chancel have two-light windows with Y-tracery, and three-light windows with Perpendicular tracery. The east window has five lights. The east gable
is decorated with grotesque carvings, and above the east window is head-corbel
and a blocked niche
. The vestry has two-light north and south windows. In the north wall of the nave is an Early English doorway, with dog-tooth ornament. Around the church are stepped buttress
es.
led decorations. The tower screen dates from the 19th century and is in Perpendicular style. On the south wall of the chancel are a trefoil
-headed piscina
and a sedilia
, and on the north wall is a monument dated 1707. The communion rail is in stone and dates from the 19th century. At the foot of the altar steps are early coffin slabs set in the floor. The pulpit
and box pew
s date from the 18th century. The font
is from the 15th century. It has an octagonal bowl, each face being carved with a seated figure under an ogee
arch. The stem has carved figures, four standing and four seated. The church's bell was cast in about 1290. It was one of the oldest bells in East Anglia
, but was stolen in the 1970s. The stained glass is by S. C. Yarington of Norwich
. Much of this was damaged during the 1970s, but some has been recovered and re-set in the upper parts of the windows.
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 Buckenham
Buckenham
Buckenham is a village in Norfolk, England, situated on the northern bank of the River Yare. The village is the location of the RSPB Buckenham Marshes nature reserve.Buckenham railway station serves the outlying communities and the RSPB reserve....
, 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 among fields to the north of the River Yare
River Yare
The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches the river connects with the navigable waterways of The Broads....
.
History
The church dates from the 13th century, with additions and alterations since. It was restoredVictorian 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...
in the early 19th century. During the 1960s and 1970s it suffered from decay and vandalism, but repairs have been carried out since it 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...
with the Churches Conservation Trust.
Exterior
St Nicholas' 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 some 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...
and brick, and has 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....
dressings. The roofs are tiled. 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 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....
(previously a porch), and a west tower. The tower is wholly octagonal. In each face of the upper stage of the tower is a lancet
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...
, and there is another lancet on the west side at a lower level. 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. The tower has a west doorway in 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...
style, which has possibly been re-set from elsewhere in the church. It has 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 zig-zag decoration on the arch. Inside the upper part of the tower is a 17th-century dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
lined with brick nesting boxes. On the south side, between the tower and the nave, is a brick 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...
. The nave windows have two lights with Decorated 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:...
. Between the windows on the south side is another Norman doorway, again with zig-zag decoration. The north and south walls of the chancel have two-light windows with Y-tracery, and three-light windows with Perpendicular tracery. The east window has five lights. The east 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...
is decorated with grotesque carvings, and above the east window is head-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...
and a blocked niche
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;...
. The vestry has two-light north and south windows. In the north wall of the nave is an Early English doorway, with dog-tooth ornament. Around the church are stepped buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es.
Interior
The nave and chancel have panelled ceilings with stencilStencil
A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to...
led decorations. The tower screen dates from the 19th century and is in Perpendicular style. On the south wall of the chancel are a trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
-headed 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...
, and on the north wall is a monument dated 1707. The communion rail is in stone and dates from the 19th century. At the foot of the altar steps are early coffin slabs set in the floor. The 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...
and box pew
Box pew
Box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th century.-History in England:...
s date from the 18th century. 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 from the 15th century. It has an octagonal bowl, each face being carved with a seated figure under an ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
arch. The stem has carved figures, four standing and four seated. The church's bell was cast in about 1290. It was one of the oldest bells in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, but was stolen in the 1970s. The stained glass is by S. C. Yarington of Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
. Much of this was damaged during the 1970s, but some has been recovered and re-set in the upper parts of the windows.