PARISH CHURCHES
The Porch—Font—Stone benches—Pews—Pulpits—Rood-lofts—Destruction of—Screens—Royal arms—Chancel—Stalls—Misereres—Lectern—High altar and its furniture—Piscina—Credence—Aumbry—Sedilia—Easter sepulchre—Reredos—Shrines—Numerous altars—Chantry chapels— Hagioscopes—Images—Low side windows—Vestries—Vestments—Churches in olden times—Reading pews—Galleries—Destruction and profanation— Evils of “restoration.”
In the centre of our village stands the church, always the most important and interesting building in the place. We will suppose that it has not suffered overmuch at the hands of the “restorers” of the nineteenth, or the Puritans of the seventeenth, or the spoliators of an earlier century, so that we may observe all those details which characterise an ancient church. In spite of all the vandalism which has taken place, in spite of the changes in ceremonial and forms of worship, our beautiful old churches still retain relics of the past which time has spared.
We will enter the church and notice first the porch, often a large structure with a chamber above. Why was it made so large? According to the Sarum use several services took place in the porch. Parts of the baptismal service and of the marriage service and the churching of women were there performed; hence the porch was an important building, and it was necessary to make it rather large. Above the door there is frequently a niche for the image of the patron saint of the church, which has not usually escaped the destructive hand of the Puritan. The room over the porch was frequently inhabited by a recluse, as I have already recorded in the previous chapter. Near the door always stands the font, signifying that baptism is the entrance to the Church of Christ. Ancient fonts are large enough to allow the infant to be totally immersed, and are made of stone or lead. Childrey Church, in our county of Berks, has a fine cylindrical, leaden font, of Norman date, carved with figures of bishops. Norman fonts are frequently carved, the favourite subjects being the Baptism of our Lord, the Twelve Apostles, and the evangelistic symbols. Early English and Decorated fonts are not usually carved, but in the Perpendicular style they are rich with ornamentation, the Seven Sacraments being a not uncommon design. We have sometimes noticed the symbols of Freemasonry carved on fonts, as at Bray, in Berkshire. To the same period belong the splendid spire-shaped font-covers, of immense weight, of which I am sometimes a little fearful, lest the mechanism by which they are raised should become damaged, and terrible disaster follow during the progress of a baptismal service. At Sonning, Berks, there is a small stone desk attached to a pillar for the service-book to rest on.
The nave of the church is now filled with seats for the use of the congregation. In early times they do not seem to have been considered necessary, and until the fourteenth century the stone benches ranged against the walls were the only seats provided. Even as late as the fourteenth century it does not appear that many churches had pews, but in the fifteenth they became general. The hideous monstrosities of post-Reformation times did not then disfigure our churches. The pews were low open seats made of oak, sometimes carved at the back, and panelled, with the ends higher than the rest, and often richly carved. Many rich men left money in their wills for the puying of churches.
It was not until the beginning of the seventeenth century that the fashion of erecting high pews set in, which so disfigured our churches, and were frequently censured by the authorities. Some of these (as at Whalley) resemble four-posted beds; others are like cattle-pens, large square boxes with seats all round, wherein the occupants sit and sleep, screened from the rest of the congregation. The carving of the woodwork of these erections is often very elaborate. Modern pews are happily based upon the more primitive fashion.
Preaching not being considered such an important part of the service in pre-Reformation times, pulpits in churches of that period were not so usual as in modern churches. Monastic refectories had pulpits, which the reader occupied when he read to his brethren during meals. Beaulieu Abbey has the most ancient pulpit in this country, which evidently belongs to the thirteenth century.
The churches of Devonshire and Norfolk have wooden pulpits of the fifteenth century, which were painted and gilded, the figures of the four doctors of the church—SS. Augustine, Ambrose, Gregory, and Jerome—being the favourite subjects. In 1603 the churchwardens were ordered to provide in every church “a comely and decent pulpit.” Hence most of our pulpits date from this period. The sides were panelled and carved with scrollwork; and at the same time a sounding-board was introduced. Occasionally the hour-glass which regulated the length of the preacher’s discourse remains, with its beautiful scroll-worked stand.
The most striking feature of the pre-Reformation Church was the rood-loft, a narrow long gallery above the beautifully decorated screen, which separated the chancel from the nave. In this loft was erected the rood, or figure of our blessed Lord on the cross, together with figures of the Virgin and St. John on each side. Both the screen and the loft were richly panelled and ornamented with tracery and carvings, and before them hung one or more lamps. Sometimes tall candlesticks stood on pillars on each side of the figures. A staircase of stone, constructed in the wall near the chancel-arch, led to the rood-loft, and the blocked-up archway of this rood-stair frequently remains. The priest stood in the rood-loft to read the gospel and epistle, and sometimes preached there; official notices were read, and from it the bishop used to give the Benediction. The rood-cloth, or veil, hid the rood during Lent, and in some churches we have seen the roller which was used to raise this veil. A special altar, called the rood-altar, used to stand under the screen.
The Reformers played havoc with these old rood-lofts and screens, which were regarded as monuments of idolatry and superstition. The churchwardens’ account-books of many churches bear witness to this destruction. Those of St. Giles’, Reading, tell of certain items “for pulling down the rood and carting away the rubbish.” Instead of the figure of our Lord they put up the royal arms; and one John Serjente, of Hytchen, is licensed in 1614—
“to paynte in all the Churches and Chappells, within this Realme of England, the Kinges Majesties armes in due forme with helme creste mantell and supporters as they oughte to be—and to wright in fayre text letters the tenn commandments, the beliefe, and the Lord’s prayer, with some other fruitefull and profitable sentences of holye scripture.”
In spite of this destruction of the ancient roods, several lofts still remain, e.g. at Bradninch, Cullompton, Dartmouth, Hartland, Kenton, Ugborough, and Plymtree, in Devonshire; in several places in Somersetshire, and at Charlton-on-Otmoor (erected in 1485) and Handborough, Oxfordshire. A very large number of the old screens remain, ornamented with the arms of Elizabeth or James I.
Proceeding eastward we enter the chancel, so called because it is inclosed with cancelli, or the lattice-work of the screen. If the church was formerly connected with some monastery we shall see some beautifully carved wooden stalls with rich canopies over them. The seats are curiously constructed. They can be turned up, and beneath the seats is a projecting bracket of wood, commonly adorned with carved work—animals, birds, leaves, and flowers, and often with grotesque, satirical, and irreverent devices. They are called miserere-stalls, and were used by the monks or canons to lean against during the portions of the long mediaeval services, when they were not allowed to be seated. As this practice was a concession to human weakness or infirmity, the seats were called in France misericordes, and in England misereres. The subjects of the sculptures are often extremely curious. Domestic scenes, fables, such as the “Fox and the Grapes,” demons carrying off monks, “The Seven Deadly Sins,” are some of these subjects. Miss Phipson has published a learned work on Choir Stalls and their Carvings, which contains reproductions of three hundred of her sketches of curiously wrought misereres.
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VILLAGE CHURCH IN THE VALE
The lectern formerly stood in the chancel; and then, as now, was often in the form of a large eagle, emblematic of St. John. Most of these reading-desks belong to the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, and are made of wood, latten, iron, or stone, as well as of brass. There is a very curious wooden one at East Hendred, Berks, representing a foot resting on the head of a dragon, emblematic of the word of God conquering the powers of evil. Ancient wooden double reading-desks are not uncommon. The ornamentation usually denotes the period when they were constructed.
And now we approach the high altar of the church, made of stone, covered with a beautifully worked frontal and cloth, and inclosed at the sides with curtains suspended on iron rods projecting from the wall. A crucifix hangs above the altar, and two candlesticks stand, one on each side. The furniture and accessories of the altar in pre-Reformation times were numerous. There was the pyx, a box or vessel of precious metal, in which the Host was reverently preserved for the purpose of giving communion to the sick and infirm. There were two small cruets or vessels for containing the wine and water used in Holy Communion, one engraved with the letter “V” (vinum), and the other “A” (aqua). An osculatorium, or pax tablet, of ivory or wood, overlaid with gold, was used for giving the kiss of peace during the High Mass just before the reception of the Host. Of church plate generally we shall write in a subsequent chapter.
NORMAN PISCINA, ROMSEY CHURCH, HANTS
On the south we see the piscina, which is contained in a beautifully carved niche—a hollow basin with a stone drain, wherein the priest washed his hands before consecrating the elements, and poured the water from the rinsed chalice. Above it in the niche was the credence, a shelf of stone, on which were placed the chalice and paten and all things necessary for the celebration. In some churches there is a separate credence table. On the north side was the aumbry, or locker, where the sacred vessels, altar linen, and service books were kept, guarded by a strong wooden door. The doors have usually disappeared, but a very large number of churches have the hole in the wall which was formerly the aumbry.
On the south side are the sedilia, or stone seats, for the assistant clergy, frequently with canopies richly carved, and usually three in number. Opposite to the sedilia in the north wall is a large arch, within which the holy sepulchre was set up at Easter. This was a wooden structure made for the deposition of the consecrated elements of the Eucharist from the evening of Good Friday until the morning of Easter Day; during which time it was watched by a quasi-guard, after the manner of our Lord’s sepulchre. The books of St. Lawrence, Reading, record:—
"Anno 1498. In primis payed for Wakyng of the Sepulchre viii'd."
"Anno 1510. It. payed to Walter Barton to the new Sepulchur iiii'li
xiii's x'd."
As this sum of money was a considerable one at that period, the sepulchre must have been an object of unusual magnificence. Sometimes it was a permanent structure of stone, carved with figures of soldiers watching the tomb of our Lord. Behind the altar was the reredos. In village churches these screens were made up of recessed stone panels, surrounded by sculptured wallflowers and other devices; but in large churches they were very ornate, enriched with niches, statues, tabernacle-work, and other adornments. Many of them were destroyed at the Reformation, together with the stone altars. Some were covered up and concealed by plaster, in order to preserve them from iconoclastic violence. They were buried and forgotten, until by some happy accident their existence was revealed in modern times. Nearly all large churches, and some village churches, especially those connected with a monastery, had shrines, or receptacles for the body or relics of a saint. Some of them were fixed, and made of stone or wood, adorned with rich tabernacle-work, such as the shrine of St. Cuthbert at Durham, or of St. Frideswide at Oxford; and others were portable, shaped like coped boxes, covered with precious metal, enamels, and engraving. Sculptured stones in the walls of our churches often mark the spot in the building where relics were stored.
It is evident from the existence of niches and piscinas in other parts of the church, besides in the south wall near the high altar, that there formerly existed many altars in the sacred building. At the east end of each aisle we usually find these indications of the existence of an altar, which belonged to a chantry chapel, separated from the rest of the church by a screen. Here a priest said Mass daily for the soul of the founder of the chantry, his ancestors, and posterity. Ancient stone altars still remain in some of our churches. Sometimes they have been removed from their place, and used as tombstones, or in paving the floor of the church. They can be recognised by the five crosses engraved on them, one at each corner, and one in the centre of the stone.
Hagioscopes, or squints, are openings in the thickness of the wall, enabling worshippers in the chantry chapels to witness the elevation of the Host at the high altar. They are usually plain; but in some churches we find these curious apertures moulded and decorated with architectural designs.
Pre-Reformation churches had several wooden images of saints, most of which were destroyed by the iconoclastic zeal of the Reformers or Puritans. The brackets on which these figures stood often remain, though the images have disappeared.
Low side windows, commonly called “Lepers’ windows,” are very frequently found in our churches, and usually on the south wall of the chancel. Their object has been, and is, much disputed among antiquaries. The vulgar idea is that poor lepers used to come to this window to see the celebration of the Mass; but unfortunately it is quite impossible in many cases to see the high altar through this window, and moreover lepers were not allowed to enter a churchyard. Another idea is that they were used as confessionals, the priest in the church hearing the confession of the penitent who knelt on the grass in the churchyard. A more inconvenient arrangement could not have been devised; and this idea might be at once dismissed, were it not that one of Henry’s commissioners for suppressing monasteries and chantries wrote: “We think it best that the place where these friars have been wont to hear outward confession of all-comers at certain times of the year, be walled up, and that use to be done for ever.” It appears that sometimes at any rate the low side windows were used for this purpose. However, I am inclined to think that they were intended for the use of the anchorites or recluses, who dwelt in churches. The windows were not glazed, but had iron bars on the outside, and a wooden shutter on the inside of the church. These windows were probably their means of communication with the outside world.
Many village churches then, as now, had no vestry. Where a vestiarium existed it was usually on the north side of the chancel, and its contents were more elaborate than the plain surplice stole and hood of recent times. In the vestry press we should find an alb of fine white linen, somewhat similar to a surplice, ornamented with “apparels,” i.e. embroidery, on the cuffs and skirts; a girdle made of white silk embroidered with colours; an amice, or oblong piece of fine linen, worn on the head or as a collar; a stole with embroidered ends; a maniple, or strip of ornamented linen worn by the priest in his left hand during celebrations; dalmatic, chasuble and other vestments which the ornate ritual of the mediaeval church required.
Before the Reformation the appearance of our churches was certainly splendid, and differed much from the Puritan simplicity of later times. The walls were covered with mural paintings. The windows, soon to be
“Shorn of their glass of a thousand colourings,
Through which the deepened glories once could enter,”
were then resplendent with stained glass. Above, the rood looked down on all the worshippers. Everywhere there was beautifully carved woodwork, gilded and painted, tombs of knights and dames all painted and adorned, altars with rich embroidered hangings. The floor was composed of encaustic tiles, and had many memorial brasses. Armour, crests, and banners hung upon the walls. Lights burned before numerous images, and the whole appearance of our churches was gorgeous and magnificent.
Many changes have taken place since. Coatings of whitewash hide the mural paintings. Sacrilegious hands “have broken down all the carved work with axes and hammers.” The stone altars have disappeared, and instead we have “an honest table decently covered.” Reading-pews for the clergy were set up, and in the last century the hideous “three decker,” which hid the altar and utterly disfigured the sacred building. Instead of the low open seats great square high pews filled the nave. Hideous galleries were erected which obstructed the windows and hid the architectural beauties of former days. The old timber roofs were covered, and low flat ceilings substituted. Brasses were torn up and sold by dishonest churchwardens, and old monuments broken and defaced. The old stained-glass windows were destroyed. The Communion table was taken from the east end of the chancel, and seats erected round it. Crosses were defaced everywhere, and crucifixes destroyed. Puritan profanation and wanton destruction devastated our churches to a degree which has never been equalled since the hordes of heathens and barbaric Danish invaders carried fire and sword into the sanctuaries of God.
Much harm was done by the Goths and Vandals of the nineteenth century. Many old churches, replete with a thousand memories of the past, were pulled down entirely, and modern structures of “Victorian Gothic” style erected in their place, which can have none of the precious associations which the old churches had. Much harm was done to the old features of many churches by so-called “restoration,” carried out by men ignorant of architecture and antiquities. But we are learning better now. The Society of Antiquaries has done much to prevent injudicious restoration and the destruction of our old churches, and if any incumbent and his parishioners are thinking of restoring their church, they cannot do better than to consult the secretaries of that learned body, who will show how best to preserve the interesting memorials of the past which time has spared.