St Andrew's Church, Walpole
Encyclopedia
St Andrew's Church, Walpole, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Walpole
, 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 is sited in the north part of the village, known as Walpole St Andrew, 8 miles (13 km) west of King's Lynn
, to the south of the A17 road.
remains have been found in the vicinity of the church. Bequest
s had been made for the nave
in 1443, for the porch in 1463, and a donation was made in 1504 for lead. The church was restored in 1811 and again in 1897. The tower was restored in 1902.
dressings. The brick in the tower is exposed, while that elsewhere has been rendered
. The church is roofed in lead. Its plan consists of a four-bay
nave with a clerestory
, north and south aisle
s, a south porch, a three-bay chancel
, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages with angle buttress
es. In the bottom stage on the west side is an arched door. To the left of this is a niche
for a statue, and to the right is a chamber under a lean-to roof, which was probably an anchorite
cell. Above the door is a Perpendicular window. In the middle stage on the south side is a lancet window
. The bell openings have two lights, and the parapet
is crenellated
with corner pinnacle
s. To the southeast of the tower is a stair tower that terminates in a polygonal turret
. Both aisles have a two-light west window, three two-light windows along the side walls, and a three-light east window. There is a low door in the north side of the church. The south porch is gable
d, and has an embattled
parapet with corner pinnacles having crocket
s and finial
s. It has a slate
roof. The clerestory has eight two-light Perpendicular windows along each side. At the east end of the nave are two octagonal rood
turrets, each terminating in a spirelet. There are three three-light windows along both sides of the chancel. The east window, dating from 1897 but in Perpendicular style, also has three lights. The chancel has a crenellated parapet.
in the chancel and another in the south aisle. There is a double aumbry
in both the north and the south walls. At the west end of the church is a 17th-century gallery with a balustrade
. The octagonal font
dates from the 15th century; its bowl is carved with quatrefoil
s and shields. The pulpit
dates from the 17th century. It is carved with arcading and circles, and stands on a 15th-century sandstone
plinth
. Above the tower arch are the Royal arms
of George III
. The stone of the arcades, the chancel step and the pulpit base is badly eroded. The single-manual
organ was made in 1873 by Forster and Andrews
. The ring
consists of six bells. The oldest was cast in 1603 by Richard Holdfield, the next in 1622 by Tobias Norris I, two were cast in 1768 by Joseph Eayre, the next in 1792 by Thomas Osborn, and the last in 1905 by John Taylor and Company.
s. They date from the 15th century, are in limestone
, and each depicts a crouching grotesque
. Both items are listed Grade II.
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 Walpole
Walpole, Norfolk
Walpole is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of , including the villages of Walpole St. Peter and Walpole St. Andrew, and had a population of 1,707 in 654 households as of the 2001 census....
, 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 is sited in the north part of the village, known as Walpole St Andrew, 8 miles (13 km) west of King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, to the south of the A17 road.
History
The church dates from the 15th century, with some re-used material from an earlier church. RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
remains have been found in the vicinity of the church. Bequest
Bequest
A bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."...
s had been made for the 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...
in 1443, for the porch in 1463, and a donation was made in 1504 for lead. The church was restored in 1811 and again in 1897. The tower was restored in 1902.
Exterior
St Andrew's is constructed in brick with ashlarAshlar
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...
dressings. The brick in the tower is exposed, while that elsewhere 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 church is roofed in lead. Its plan consists of a four-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 with 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...
, north and south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s, a south porch, a three-bay 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...
, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages with angle buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. In the bottom stage on the west side is an arched door. To the left of this is a 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;...
for a statue, and to the right is a chamber under a lean-to roof, which was probably an anchorite
Anchorite
Anchorite denotes someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, and—circumstances permitting—Eucharist-focused life...
cell. Above the door is a Perpendicular window. In the middle stage on the south side is a 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...
. The bell openings have two lights, and 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 crenellated
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...
with corner 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...
s. To the southeast of the tower is a stair tower that terminates in a polygonal 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...
. Both aisles have a two-light west window, three two-light windows along the side walls, and a three-light east window. There is a low door in the north side of the church. The south porch is 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...
d, and has an embattled
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...
parapet with corner pinnacles having crocket
Crocket
A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....
s and finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
s. It has a 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...
roof. The clerestory has eight two-light Perpendicular windows along each side. At the east end of the nave are two octagonal 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...
turrets, each terminating in a spirelet. There are three three-light windows along both sides of the chancel. The east window, dating from 1897 but in Perpendicular style, also has three lights. The chancel has a crenellated parapet.
Interior
Inside the church are four-bay arcades. To the sides of the chancel arch are rood stairs, and above the arch is a two-light window. There is a piscinaPiscina
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...
in the chancel and another in the south aisle. There is a double 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 both the north and the south walls. At the west end of the church is a 17th-century gallery with a balustrade
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
. 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; its bowl is carved with quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
s and shields. 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...
dates from the 17th century. It is carved with arcading and circles, and stands on a 15th-century sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
. Above the tower arch are the Royal arms
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion...
of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
. The stone of the arcades, the chancel step and the pulpit base is badly eroded. The single-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ was made in 1873 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...
. The ring
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
consists of six bells. The oldest was cast in 1603 by Richard Holdfield, the next in 1622 by Tobias Norris I, two were cast in 1768 by Joseph Eayre, the next in 1792 by Thomas Osborn, and the last in 1905 by John Taylor and Company.
External features
Set into the wall at the north entrance to the churchyard are two relocated corbelCorbel
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. They date from the 15th century, 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 each depicts a crouching grotesque
Grotesque
The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "Grotto", meaning a small cave or hollow. The original meaning was restricted to an extravagant style of Ancient Roman decorative art rediscovered and then copied in Rome at the end of the 15th century...
. Both items are listed Grade II.