The Church of the Holy Trinity is located in Embleton

Embleton, Northumberland

Embleton village in the English county of Northumberland is about half-a-mile from the bay that carries its name. The sandy beach is backed by dunes where a variety of flowers bloom: bluebells, cowslips, burnet roses and, to give it its common name, bloody cranesbill, amongst others. Dunstanburgh...

, Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, England. The church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is west of the village. Built in the form of a cross, it consists of a two aisle 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 clerestory

Clerestory

Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...

, 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...

, a porch, and a chantry

Chantry

Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...

 chapel

Chapel

A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

. It has a tower with a small vestry, and a gallery. The vicarage house and garden are on a gradual slope on the south side of the churchyard. Traces of stonework show evidence of a prior church from the 12th century. It is a Grade I listed building.

History

There is no evidence of a church at Embleton preceding the Conquest

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

. There are, however, some remains which indicate that there was a stone church on this site before the end of the 11th or in the early part of the 12th century consisting of a nave without aisles, a tower and a chancel. Of the tower, the lower portion remains. Light was provided by two windows, which are partly obscured.

The dedication to the Holy Trinity may have been preceded by another, as in Bacon's Liber Regis (1534–5) and in Randall's State of the Churches under the Archdeaconry of Northumberland (c. 1778), there is mention of a dedication to St. Mary. In 1830, when known as St. Mary's, the patron was Merton College, Oxford

Merton College, Oxford

Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...

.

Architecture and fittings

Embleton church's superstructure is similar to others such as those of Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 or the Midlands. The open 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...

 resembles those found at Coxwold

Coxwold

Coxwold is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated 18 miles north of York and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote A Sentimental Journey....

; this pierced battlement is an unusual feature for a country church in northern England

Northern England

Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...

.

Nave
Most of the Norman era nave no longer exists, except the walls which later included arcades. The subsequent nave has elements that are considered unusual for work done in the north country

North East England

North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...

. It is 53 feet (16.2 m) long and 16 feet (4.9 m) wide, with two aisles. The chancel is 37 feet (11.3 m) in length and 18 feet (5.5 m) in width. The arcades have three bays each; their arches are supported by ornamented shafts. The arches have chamfered orders, and the hood-mouldings are also ornamented. In the north aisle, just above the eastern pillar, there is a square-moulded bracket which dates to the time of the aisle widening, about 1330-40; it was probably added to hold a light or image in connection with the adjoining chantry.

Clerestory
The clerestory, built circa 1330-40, contains three windows; the rear arch ones being old, while those of the tracery being modern. The arches that open into the western extension of the aisles are modern. The responds of the tower arch are pear-shaped, and date to the time of the nave arcades, but the arch itself is later, and may possibly have been built at the time of the upper stages of the tower, about 1330-40. The addition to the north aisle projects 11 feet (3.4 m) to the north, and contains a square 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,...

. A groove for the parclose screen exists on each side of the arch. There appears to have been another chantry, or possibly two, at the east end of the north aisle, with which two niches, one on each side of the east window, were connected. There was another chantry at the east end of the south aisle, connected with a square 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,...

 just south of the 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...

. There are two brackets at different levels on the north side of the aisle's east window with carvings of a female head. South of the window, there is a plain bracket. These three brackets probably all belong to the chantry.

Chancel
There is no doubt that Dunstanburgh Castle

Dunstanburgh Castle

Dunstanburgh Castle lies on a spectacular headland on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton....

 formed a quarry

Quarry

A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...

 for stones with which an earlier chancel was built. However, nothing exists of the Norman chancel. Above the present modern chancel arch is a pointed opening, now filled in, which may have been a window. Beneath it, the line of the original Norman nave roof is visible. The chancel, considered modern in the 1800s, features windows containing excellent specimens of stained glass

Stained glass

The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

 by Charles Eamer 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...

, in memory of the late Sir George Grey

Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet

Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet, PC was a British Whig politician. He held office under four Prime Ministers, Lord Melbourne, Lord John Russell, Lord Aberdeen, and Lord Palmerston, and notably served three times as Home Secretary.-Background and education:Grey was the only son of Sir George Grey, 1st...

 of Fallodon

Fallodon

 Fallodon is a hamlet situated in Northumberland, England. It is the territorial designation of Viscount Grey of Fallodon. It is pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable.- Governance :...

.

Windows
The 1952 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II is commemorated by a window in the west side of the church, and a north-facing window is dedicated to a vicar from Merton College. There are two windows in the side walls and one at the east end of each aisle. They are all similar and, though modern, probably are representative of the originals. They match the tower's belfry windows. The three windows at the west end are modern.

Inscriptions, memorials and monuments
There are inscriptions in numerous places including a tablet on the south side of the chancel, in the south aisle, and at the west end of the south aisle. There are memorials to the Right Honourable Sir George Grey

Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet

Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet, PC was a British Whig politician. He held office under four Prime Ministers, Lord Melbourne, Lord John Russell, Lord Aberdeen, and Lord Palmerston, and notably served three times as Home Secretary.-Background and education:Grey was the only son of Sir George Grey, 1st...

 and to George Henry Grey

Henry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey

Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey , known as Viscount Howick from 1807 until 1845, was an English statesman.-Background:Grey was the eldest son of Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, by his wife the Hon...

, lieutenant colonel of the Northumberland Light Infantry Militia, a tablet to the widow of George Grey of Southwick, and a monument to Shafto Craster of Craster Tower

Craster Tower

Craster Tower is an 18th century Georgian mansion incorporating a 14th century pele tower situated in the fishing village of Craster, Northumberland, England. It is a Grade II* listed building....

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Renovation
The church has undergone multiple restorations, including one by John Dobson

John Dobson (architect)

John Dobson was a 19th-century English architect in the neoclassical tradition. He became the most noted architect in the North of England. Churches and houses by him dot the North East - Nunnykirk Hall, Meldon Park, Mitford Hall, Lilburn Tower, St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn,...

 of Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

 in 1850, when the Falloden aisle was built; and another by F. R. Wilson in 1867 when the chancel was rebuilt. The first alteration seems to have been the replacing of the original chancel by another one, probably larger, towards the end of the 12th century, about 1180. There is no certain proof that this change took place, but the present modern chancel arch is supported upon two capitals that are of the Transitional style. The next change that took place was the addition of aisles to the nave, and the insertion of a three bay arcade on either side in the old walls about the year 1200. No further alteration appears to have been made until the 14th century, when, about 1330-40, the aisles were rebuilt on a more extended plan. They were widened, and were projected westwards as far as the west wall of the tower, so that the tower, which in the 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 had been isolated, became attached. The two upper stages of the tower were then rebuilt. At the same time, a chapel was added. No other additions or alterations appear to have been made until the 19th century, with a new chancel. All the windows in the body of the church were renovated, most of them being copies of the previous ones. Into the walls of the more modern vestry, several ancient stones were discovered during renovation of the old chancel which was of the Georgian period

Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

.

Grounds

The churchyard has an inscription in memory of Major-General Henry Darling

Henry Darling

Major-General Sir Henry Charles Darling KCB . Major General in the British Army. Lt Governor to Tobago ....

. The vicarage is situated to the southwest of the church. The garden is found to the south and was laid out in 1828 during the time of George Grimes when other additions were made to the house by Dobson of Newcastle. The grey stoned Embleton Tower

Embleton Tower

Embleton Tower is a peel tower and Grade I listed building in the village of Embleton in Northumberland, England. Tradition states that in 1395, the tower was built to protect the minister and church goers of Embleton's Church of the Holy Trinity after the village suffered from a raid by the Scots...

 is picturesque. A very complete find was made in this churchyard of groats of about the time of the Wars of the Roses

Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...

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