PREFACEThis small book is intended to be a companion and complement to the writer’s book in the same series onThe Ground Plan of the English Parish Church. In that book the growth of the ground plan is treated with necessarily scanty reference to the circumstances to which, directly or indirectly, that growth is due. Some attempt is made in the present volume to supply an account of the historical conditions amid which our parish churches were built, to say something of the builders, and to remove the popular idea, still current even among educated people, that our architecture is mainly due to the profuse benefactions of the religious orders. A specialchapteron chantry foundations, which played so large a part in the life of the later middle ages, follows the general historicalchapter. The western tower, the porch, and the chancel are then described with more fulness than was possible in the description of the ground plan; and the decoration and furniture of the various parts of the church are treated in the closingchapter.The writer returns thanks for much help to his wife, to whom a sketch and the plans in the book, except that of Burford, are due; to theRev.J. C. Cox, LL.D., F.S.A., and to theRev.R. M. Serjeantson, M.A., F.S.A., who have read through his proofs, and provided him with many useful suggestions; to the editor of theArchaeological Journal, for the use of the plan of Burford church; and to Messrs C. C. Hodges, J. P. Gibson, F.S.A., E. Kennerell, and A. J. Loughton, for the loan of photographs.A. H. T.April, 1911.CONTENTSCHAPTERITHE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARISH CHURCHSECTIONPAGE1.Early parish churches in England12.The monastic missionary settlements: church-building on private estates33.The Danish invasions and the monastic revival54.German influence on pre-Conquest architecture65.Influence of the Normans on the architecture of parish churches76.The parish church at the Norman conquest107.Appropriation of churches to monasteries: ordination of vicarages118.Relation of monastic owners to the fabrics of churches139.The builders of medieval parish churches1510.The parish church and its rectors1711.Disadvantages of pluralism and litigation1812.Growth of the chantry system2013.Chantry chapels at Beckingham, Lincolnshire2114.Summary22CHAPTERIITHE CHANTRY CHAPEL IN THE PARISH CHURCH15.Chantries and colleges of chantry priests2416.Foundation of chantry colleges2717.Parochial chapels2918.Religious and trade guilds3019, 20.The chantry chapel: its influence on the church plan3321.Chancels of collegiate churches3722.StJohn Baptist’s, Cirencester3923.Chesterfield and Scarborough; charnel chapels4124.Burford church, Oxon4225.StMichael’s and Holy Trinity, Coventry4526.Importance of the work of lay benefactors48CHAPTERIIITHE TOWER, THE PORCH, AND THE CHANCEL27.Subject of the chapter5128.The western tower before the Conquest5329.Survival of the older type of tower after the Conquest5630.Architectural development of the tower5931.The spire6032.The tower of the later middle ages: its relation to the clerestory of the nave6233.Western doorways and porches6534.Side doorways of the church6735.The porch: altars in porches6836.Chambers above porches7137.Altars in towers: habitations in connexion with churches7338.Variety of position of the tower7539.The chancel arch7640.Enlargement of the chancel and architectural treatment7841.Fourteenth century chancels in Yorkshire and the northern midlands8042.Decline of chancel building in the fifteenth century: the laity and the nave8543.Sacristies8844.Squints, priests’ doors, low side windows9045.Crypts and bone-holes95CHAPTERIVTHE FURNITURE OF A MEDIEVAL PARISH CHURCH: CONCLUSION46.Remains of medieval decorations9847.Mural paintings9848.Stained glass10249.Coloured furniture of stone and wood10550.Furniture of the nave and aisles: font and benches10651.Chapels in aisles10952.Pulpits, galleries, etc.11053.The rood screen11254.The rood loft and beam11655.Quire stalls and lectern11756.Levels of the chancel11957.The altar and its furniture12058.Piscina,sedilia, and almeries12259.The Easter sepulchre12460.Exceptional furniture12861.Parish churches after the Reformation12962.Later parish churches13063.Post-reformation work and modern restoration131Bibliography134Index137LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSStBenet’s, Cambridge: west tower fromN.W.FrontispiecePAGESketch of Hallaton, chantry chapel inS.aisle25Plan of Cirencester Church40Plan of Burford Church43Plan ofStMichael’s Church, Coventry46Plan of Holy Trinity Church, Coventry47Norton,Co.Durham: Saxon central tower, with transept52Carlton-in-Lindrick,Notts: west tower57Tickhill, Yorkshire: general view fromS.E., shewing clerestory, western tower and projecting eastern chapel63StMary’s, Beverley: south porch69Cirencester: south porch72Patrington: north side of chancel and vestry83WalpoleStPeter: fromN.E.86Wensley: chancel, with low side window, fromS.E.91StMary Redcliffe, Bristol: fromN.E.95Patrington: interior, looking across nave fromS.transept99Well, Yorkshire: font cover107Banwell, Somerset: rood screen113Hawton,Notts: Easter sepulchre125
This small book is intended to be a companion and complement to the writer’s book in the same series onThe Ground Plan of the English Parish Church. In that book the growth of the ground plan is treated with necessarily scanty reference to the circumstances to which, directly or indirectly, that growth is due. Some attempt is made in the present volume to supply an account of the historical conditions amid which our parish churches were built, to say something of the builders, and to remove the popular idea, still current even among educated people, that our architecture is mainly due to the profuse benefactions of the religious orders. A specialchapteron chantry foundations, which played so large a part in the life of the later middle ages, follows the general historicalchapter. The western tower, the porch, and the chancel are then described with more fulness than was possible in the description of the ground plan; and the decoration and furniture of the various parts of the church are treated in the closingchapter.
The writer returns thanks for much help to his wife, to whom a sketch and the plans in the book, except that of Burford, are due; to theRev.J. C. Cox, LL.D., F.S.A., and to theRev.R. M. Serjeantson, M.A., F.S.A., who have read through his proofs, and provided him with many useful suggestions; to the editor of theArchaeological Journal, for the use of the plan of Burford church; and to Messrs C. C. Hodges, J. P. Gibson, F.S.A., E. Kennerell, and A. J. Loughton, for the loan of photographs.
A. H. T.
April, 1911.