St Mary's Church, Redgrave
Encyclopedia
St Mary's Church, Redgrave, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Redgrave
, Suffolk
, England. It is a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church stands on a rise about 1 km east of the village.
was added in the later part of the following century. The 16th-century tower was refaced in the late 18th century. Repairs were carried out in 1850, and further alterations
were made later that century and in the 20th century. In 1506 the rector of the church was Cardinal Wolsey, later to be Lord Chancellor
to Henry VIII
.
rubble
with ashlar
dressings. There is also some flushwork
and red brick. Parts of the walls are rendered
. The vestry and the tower are in red brick. The tower has ashlar dressings, and has been been refaced with white brick. The roofs of the aisle
s are covered in lead, while the rest of the church is slate
d. St Mary's is a large church, its plan consisting of a nave
with a clerestory
, north and south aisles, a south porch, a chancel
with a north vestry, and a west tower. Its main architectural style is Decorated. The tower is tall and is in two stages; it stands on a plinth
and is unbutressed
. In the bottom stage is a round-headed west doorway. There is a small round-headed window in the second stage on the west side, and a similar window in the third stage on the north. The top stage contains round-headed louvred
bell openings on all sides. The parapet
is plain, and there are stepped pinnacle
s on the corners. To the north of the tower is a two-stage stair turret
.
Along the clerestory are ten two-light windows on each side. The parapet of the south aisle is battlement
ed and has gargoyle
s. The porch is to the west of the centre of the south aisle. The porch leads to the entrance doorway to the church. This dates from the 14th century, and is elaborately carved. To the east of the porch is a 14th-century two-light window. Further east are two three-light Perpendicular windows. In the west wall of the aisle is a two-light window, and in its east wall is a three-light window, both of these dating from the 14th century. The north aisle has a plain parapet, and its north wall contains a blocked door, two 14th-century two-light windows, a large three-light 16th-century Perpendicular window, and a three-light 17th-century window containing lancets
in a square surround. At the west end of the aisle is a two-light 14th-century window, and at the east end is a three-light 15th-century Perpendicular window. In the chancel is a large 14th-century seven-light east window with complex tracery
. On the south side of the chancel is a low door flanked by two tall 14th-century three-light windows. There are two similar windows on the north side. The vestry is constructed in English bond brickwork on a plinth. On its north side is an oval window, and to the east is a three-light 18th-century window.
arcades
with pointed arches carried on quatrefoil
piers
. The hammerbeam roof
in the nave dates from the 15th century, and is in ten bays. The chancel roof dates from the 19th century, and has six bays. The 16th-century vestry roof has a large central pendant. In the south wall of the chancel is a piscina
and an elaborate triple sedilia
. The sedilia is in Perpendicular style, and has canted
canopies
with lierne vaulting
. There is another piscina in the south aisle. The north aisle contains a 14th-century octagonal font
. On the wall of the aisle is a re-set section of a reredos
dated 1709, an 18th-century painting of the Holy Family
, and elaborately decorated boards inscribed with the Ten Commandments
. The Commandments occupy two central panels, and are flanked by panels containing paintings of Moses
and Aaron
. On the floor beneath these objects is a long school desk carved with graffiti, and a 19th-century bier
. Over the south doorway are the Royal Arms of Charles II
in an oval frame. In the nave is a 15th-century iron-bound chest. The seating, the Gothic
-style pulpit
and the brass lectern
all date from the 19th century. The stained glass in the east window is by T. Farrow of Diss
, and is dated 1853. The glass in the aisles is from a later date. The three-manual
organ is at the west end of the church. It was made in 1889 by the Casson Patent Organ Company, and restored in 2007 by Rodney Briscoe. The ring
consists of six bells. Five of these were cast in 1736 by Thomas Newman, and the sixth in 1785 by Thomas Osborn.
The church contains a "fine collection of hatchment
s and monuments of national importance"; these are mainly to members of the Bacon, Holt and Wilson families. There are thirteen hatchments, more than any other church in Suffolk. At the east end of the north aisle is a chest tomb in black and white marble
with the effigies
of Sir Nicholas Bacon
who died in 1624, and his wife Anne Butts. It was made in 1616 by Nicholas Stone
. Near to this is a wall tablet to R. Bacon who died in 1652. The west end of the north aisle, which contains four black and white marble wall tablets, was formerly the family chapel of the Bacon family; this was also designed by Nicholas Stone. On the north wall of the chancel is a large monument to Sir John Holt, Lord Chief Justice
who died in 1710. It is in white, grey and white marble, with some gilt
and was made by Thomas Green. In the centre of the monument is the seated effigy of a judge
, flanked by statues representing personifications of Justice
and Vigilance, all contained in an elaborately carved aedicule. Also on the north wall is a tablet to the children of E. Bacon that was erected in 1660. On the south wall is a black and white tablet to Lady Gawdy, who died in 1621, by Nicholas Stone, and a simple tablet to the children of another E. Bacon dated 1683. In the chancel floor is a brass
to Anne Butts, who died in 1609, with a poem inscribed below her figure. There are also floor slabs from the 17th and 18th centuries to former rectors. The hatchments are in the chancel, the nave, and the north aisle.
in the Churches Conservation Trust, repairs and restoration were undertaken. The first phase involved repairs to the exterior, which were completed in September 2006. The second phase involved re-plastering and limewashing of the interior, repairing the fittings, cleaning and consolidating the memorials, and conserving the hatchments. In 2005 the local residents formed the Redgrave Church Heritage Trust and the two trusts have worked together. A toilet block has been installed in the base of the tower, and a kitchenette on the southwest corner of the church. The church has been transformed into a community venue. Services are still held in the church, and it is also used for concerts, plays, and other events.
In 2010 the entrance to a burial vault
below the church was accidentally discovered. This occurred during a rehearsal in the church for the musical Quasimodo when an actress, Kathy Mills, dislodged a marble flagstone near the altar. Below this was the entrance to the vault. It led by a set of steps into a tunnel, with a chamber containing coffins. In February 2011 the vault was opened for inspection by the general public for a number of hours. The entrance has since been sealed.
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 Redgrave
Redgrave, Suffolk
Redgrave is a civil parish and a small village in the Rickinghall and Walsham ward in the Mid Suffolk district in Suffolk county in eastern England....
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England. It is 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 on a rise about 1 km east of the village.
Early history
The initial building of the church was between about 1280 and 1350. Alterations and additions were made in the 15th century, and the vestryVestry
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....
was added in the later part of the following century. The 16th-century tower was refaced in the late 18th century. Repairs were carried out in 1850, and further alterations
Victorian 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...
were made later that century and in the 20th century. In 1506 the rector of the church was Cardinal Wolsey, later to be Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
to Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
.
Exterior
The church 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...
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...
with 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...
dressings. There is also some flushwork
Flushwork
-Description:In architecture, flushwork is the decorative combination on the same flat plane of flint and ashlar stone. It is characteristic of the external walls of medieval buildings, most of the survivors being churches, in parts of Southern England, but especially East Anglia...
and red brick. Parts 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 vestry and the tower are in red brick. The tower has ashlar dressings, and has been been refaced with white brick. The roofs of the 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 are covered in lead, while the rest of the church is 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...
d. St Mary's is a large church, its plan consisting 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 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 aisles, a south porch, 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, and a west tower. Its main architectural style is Decorated. The tower is tall and is in two stages; it stands on a 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...
and is unbutressed
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
. In the bottom stage is a round-headed west doorway. There is a small round-headed window in the second stage on the west side, and a similar window in the third stage on the north. The top stage contains round-headed louvred
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
bell openings on all sides. 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 are stepped 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 on the corners. To the north of the tower is a two-stage 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...
.
Along the clerestory are ten two-light windows on each side. The parapet of the south aisle 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 and has gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s. The porch is to the west of the centre of the south aisle. The porch leads to the entrance doorway to the church. This dates from the 14th century, and is elaborately carved. To the east of the porch is a 14th-century two-light window. Further east are two three-light Perpendicular windows. In the west wall of the aisle is a two-light window, and in its east wall is a three-light window, both of these dating from the 14th century. The north aisle has a plain parapet, and its north wall contains a blocked door, two 14th-century two-light windows, a large three-light 16th-century Perpendicular window, and a three-light 17th-century window containing lancets
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...
in a square surround. At the west end of the aisle is a two-light 14th-century window, and at the east end is a three-light 15th-century Perpendicular window. In the chancel is a large 14th-century seven-light east window with complex 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:...
. On the south side of the chancel is a low door flanked by two tall 14th-century three-light windows. There are two similar windows on the north side. The vestry is constructed in English bond brickwork on a plinth. On its north side is an oval window, and to the east is a three-light 18th-century window.
Interior
Inside the church are tall five-bayBay (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:...
arcades
Arcade (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....
with pointed arches carried on 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...
piers
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...
. The hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof, in architecture, is the name given to an open timber roof, typical of English Gothic architecture, using short beams projecting from the wall.- Design :...
in the nave dates from the 15th century, and is in ten bays. The chancel roof dates from the 19th century, and has six bays. The 16th-century vestry roof has a large central pendant. In the south wall of the chancel is a 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 an elaborate triple 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...
. The sedilia is in Perpendicular style, and has canted
Cant (architecture)
Cant is the architectural term describing part, or segment, of a facade which is at an angle to another part of the same facade. The angle breaking the facade is less than a right angle thus enabling a canted facade to be viewed as, and remain, one composition.Canted facades are a typical of, but...
canopies
Canopy (building)
A canopy is an overhead roof or else a structure over which a fabric or metal covering is attached, able to provide shade or shelter. A canopy can also be a tent, generally without a floor....
with lierne vaulting
Lierne (vault)
A Lierne in Gothic rib vaulting is an architectural term for a tertiary rib spanning between two other ribs, instead of from a springer, or to the central boss...
. There is another piscina in the south aisle. The north aisle contains a 14th-century 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:...
. On the wall of the aisle is a re-set section of a reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
dated 1709, an 18th-century painting of the Holy Family
Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph.The Feast of the Holy Family is a liturgical celebration in the Roman Catholic Church in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his foster father, Saint Joseph, as a family...
, and elaborately decorated boards inscribed with the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
. The Commandments occupy two central panels, and are flanked by panels containing paintings of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
and Aaron
Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
. On the floor beneath these objects is a long school desk carved with graffiti, and a 19th-century bier
Bier
A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin or casket containing a corpse, is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.In Christian burial, the bier is often placed in the centre of the nave with candles surrounding it, and remains in place during the funeral.The bier is a flat frame,...
. Over the south doorway are the Royal Arms of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
in an oval frame. In the nave is a 15th-century iron-bound chest. The seating, the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
-style 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 brass lectern
Lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon...
all date from the 19th century. The stained glass in the east window is by T. Farrow of Diss
Diss
Diss is a town in Norfolk, England close to the border with the neighbouring East Anglian county of Suffolk.The town lies in the valley of the River Waveney, around a mere that covers . The mere is up to deep, although there is another of mud, making it one of the deepest natural inland lakes...
, and is dated 1853. The glass in the aisles is from a later date. The three-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 is at the west end of the church. It was made in 1889 by the Casson Patent Organ Company, and restored in 2007 by Rodney Briscoe. 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. Five of these were cast in 1736 by Thomas Newman, and the sixth in 1785 by Thomas Osborn.
The church contains a "fine collection of hatchment
Hatchment
A hatchment is a funeral demonstration of the lifetime "achievement" of the arms and any other honours displayed on a black lozenge-shaped frame which used to be suspended against the wall of a deceased person's house...
s and monuments of national importance"; these are mainly to members of the Bacon, Holt and Wilson families. There are thirteen hatchments, more than any other church in Suffolk. At the east end of the north aisle is a chest tomb in black and white marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
with the effigies
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 Sir Nicholas Bacon
Sir Nicholas Bacon, 1st Baronet, of Redgrave
Sir Nicholas Bacon, 1st Baronet , of Redgrave in Suffolk, English Member of Parliament, and in 1611 was the first man to be created a baronet, making his successors Premier Baronets of England....
who died in 1624, and his wife Anne Butts. It was made in 1616 by Nicholas Stone
Nicholas Stone
Nicholas Stone was an English sculptor and architect. In 1619 he was appointed master-mason to James I, and in 1626 to Charles I....
. Near to this is a wall tablet to R. Bacon who died in 1652. The west end of the north aisle, which contains four black and white marble wall tablets, was formerly the family chapel of the Bacon family; this was also designed by Nicholas Stone. On the north wall of the chancel is a large monument to Sir John Holt, Lord Chief Justice
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
who died in 1710. It is in white, grey and white marble, with some gilt
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
and was made by Thomas Green. In the centre of the monument is the seated effigy of a judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, flanked by statues representing personifications of Justice
Justice (virtue)
Justice is one of the four cardinal virtues in classical European philosophy and Roman Catholicism. It is the moderation between selfishness and selflessness....
and Vigilance, all contained in an elaborately carved aedicule. Also on the north wall is a tablet to the children of E. Bacon that was erected in 1660. On the south wall is a black and white tablet to Lady Gawdy, who died in 1621, by Nicholas Stone, and a simple tablet to the children of another E. Bacon dated 1683. In the chancel floor is a brass
Monumental brass
Monumental brass is a species of engraved sepulchral memorial which in the early part of the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood...
to Anne Butts, who died in 1609, with a poem inscribed below her figure. There are also floor slabs from the 17th and 18th centuries to former rectors. The hatchments are in the chancel, the nave, and the north aisle.
Recent history and present day
The church was declared redundant on 1 April 2004. Following vestingVesting
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...
in the Churches Conservation Trust, repairs and restoration were undertaken. The first phase involved repairs to the exterior, which were completed in September 2006. The second phase involved re-plastering and limewashing of the interior, repairing the fittings, cleaning and consolidating the memorials, and conserving the hatchments. In 2005 the local residents formed the Redgrave Church Heritage Trust and the two trusts have worked together. A toilet block has been installed in the base of the tower, and a kitchenette on the southwest corner of the church. The church has been transformed into a community venue. Services are still held in the church, and it is also used for concerts, plays, and other events.
In 2010 the entrance to a burial vault
Burial vault (tomb)
A burial vault is a structural underground tomb.It is a stone or brick-lined underground space or 'burial' chamber for the interment of a dead body or bodies. They were originally and are still often vaulted and usually have stone slab entrances...
below the church was accidentally discovered. This occurred during a rehearsal in the church for the musical Quasimodo when an actress, Kathy Mills, dislodged a marble flagstone near the altar. Below this was the entrance to the vault. It led by a set of steps into a tunnel, with a chamber containing coffins. In February 2011 the vault was opened for inspection by the general public for a number of hours. The entrance has since been sealed.