St Mary's Church, North Cockerington
Encyclopedia
St Mary's Church, North Cockerington, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Alvingham
, adjacent to the village of North Cockerington
, Lincolnshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
.
, and shares its churchyard with the parish church
of the adjoining village of Alvingham. The reason for this is that it was originally the chapel for the Gilbertine
Alvingham Priory
which was sited adjacent to the parish church. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries
, the chapel was given to the village of North Cockerington to serve as their parish church, because their own church was in a bad condition. The church dates from the 11th century, with additions and alterations carried out in the late 12th century, in about 1300, and in the 14th century. The tower was added in the 19th century. The church was declared redundant in March 1981.
, ironstone
and limestone
coursed
rubble
. The dressings are in limestone ashlar
, there is some brickwork present, and part of the walls are rendered
. The roofs are in lead and slate
. Its plan consists of a nave
with a south aisle
under one roof, a smaller chancel
, and a southwest tower. The tower is rendered and contains lancet windows on the west and south sides. The bell openings have Y-tracery
, the parapet
is plain, and there is a pinnacle
at each corner. In the west wall of the nave, to the north of the tower, is a three-light window. There is another three-light window in the north wall of the nave, and in the north wall of the chancel is a small blocked round-headed window dating from the 11th century. The east window has three lights under a segmental head. In the south wall of the chancel, and in the east and south walls of the south aisle, are three-light windows with ogee
heads. The doorway in the south wall of the south aisle has a pointed head.
dates from the 12th century. It has two bays
with a round pier
and pointed arches. Above the arcade is a painted inscription. The chancel arch dates from the 14th century, and also has a painted inscription above it. The font
dates from the 13th century and consists of an octagonal bowl on an octagonal base. In the church are box pew
s from the 18th century. The other pews, the pulpit
, and the choir stalls are from the 20th century. In the south aisle are fragments of a stone coffin bearing the effigy
of a 14th-century knight, with a lion at his feet. The ring
consists of three bells, two of which date from about 1499, and the other from 1634, but they are no longer ringable.
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 Alvingham
Alvingham
Alvingham is a village that lies on a small back road leading east out of Louth, Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:In the west of the parish, it borders Keddington. The parish boundary meets Brackenborough with Little Grimsby, east of Brackenborough Wood. Passing northwards, it meets Yarburgh, and...
, adjacent to the village of North Cockerington
North Cockerington
North Cockerington is a small village found approximately 4 miles to the east of Louth, in the English county of Lincolnshire. The village is home to the North Cockerington Church of England Primary School but has no shops or public houses....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, 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...
.
History
The church stands a mile away from its parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
, and shares its churchyard with the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of the adjoining village of Alvingham. The reason for this is that it was originally the chapel for the Gilbertine
Gilbertine Order
The Gilbertine Order of Canons Regular was founded around 1130 by Saint Gilbert in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, where Gilbert was the parish priest...
Alvingham Priory
Alvingham Priory
Alvingham Priory was a Gilbertine priory in St. Mary, Alvingham, Lincolnshire, England. It was an intact, small, parish church of St. Adelwold, adjacent to the priory church of St. Mary...
which was sited adjacent to the parish church. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, the chapel was given to the village of North Cockerington to serve as their parish church, because their own church was in a bad condition. The church dates from the 11th century, with additions and alterations carried out in the late 12th century, in about 1300, and in the 14th century. The tower was added in the 19th century. The church was declared redundant in March 1981.
Exterior
St Mary's is constructed in a combination of greenstoneGreenschist
Greenschist is a general field petrologic term applied to metamorphic or altered mafic volcanic rock. The term greenstone is sometimes used to refer to greenschist but can refer to other rock types too. The green is due to abundant green chlorite, actinolite and epidote minerals that dominate the...
, ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
and 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....
coursed
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
rubble
Rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
. The dressings are in limestone ashlar
Ashlar
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...
, there is some brickwork present, and part of the walls are 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 roofs are in lead and 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...
. 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...
with a 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...
under one roof, a smaller 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 southwest tower. The tower is rendered and contains lancet windows on the west and south sides. The bell openings have 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:...
, 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 plain, and there is a 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...
at each corner. In the west wall of the nave, to the north of the tower, is a three-light window. There is another three-light window in the north wall of the nave, and in the north wall of the chancel is a small blocked round-headed window dating from the 11th century. The east window has three lights under a segmental head. In the south wall of the chancel, and in the east and south walls of the south aisle, are three-light windows with 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....
heads. The doorway in the south wall of the south aisle has a pointed head.
Interior
Inside the church, the doorway leading to the tower has a pointed head. The south arcadeArcade (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....
dates from the 12th century. It has two bays
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:...
with a round pier
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
and pointed arches. Above the arcade is a painted inscription. The chancel arch dates from the 14th century, and also has a painted inscription above it. 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:...
dates from the 13th century and consists of an octagonal bowl on an octagonal base. In the church are 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 from the 18th century. The other pews, 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 the choir stalls are from the 20th century. In the south aisle are fragments of a stone coffin bearing the effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of a 14th-century knight, with a lion at his feet. 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 three bells, two of which date from about 1499, and the other from 1634, but they are no longer ringable.