Nominal: 1303 Hz Weight: 328 lbs Bell 1 of 1
Founded by John Taylor & Co 1939
Dove Bell ID: 61542 Tower ID: 24369 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Walberswick: St Andrew
Diocese of St.Edmundsbury & Ipswich
Church, 633385
http://www.solebayteamministry.co.ukOverview
Grid reference: TM 489 747
West tower, ruinous nave of eight bays, south aisle roofed and now used as church, south porch; the north aisle and chancel, like the nave, are ruinous.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
West tower, ruinous nave of eight bays, south aisle roofed and now used as church, south porch; the north aisle and chancel, like the nave, are ruinous.
Footprint of Church buildings: 277 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
The agreement for building the tower dates from 1426, and this names Richard Russel, MP for Dunwich, and Adam Powle of Blythburgh as the master masons; they were to take the towers of Tunstall and Halesworth as models.
The rest of the church was completed and consecrated in 1493, and replaced an earlier church on the same site.
After the Restoration, the visitors appointed to inspect the churches cited the churchwardens to appear in the ecclesiastical courts, as a result of which they were required to put the church into good repair and to provide books and other goods to replace those which had been lost. Very little was done, so that by the late 17th century the fabric had stood neglected and ruinous for over a hundred years.
On 29th June 1695, a Faculty was granted to unroof the nave, chancel and north aisle and sell the materials, also three of the four remaining bells. The sum raised from the sale of materials was £303.1.11, and the conversion of the south aisle into a small church cost £291.8.9.
Exterior Description
The west tower is about 85 feet high, of four stages, with diagaonal buttresses at the angles decorated with slender paired panels of flint flushwork. The ground stage has a doorway in the west wall flanked by a plinth of flushwork arcading which continues round the north and south faces of the tower. The doorway has a two-centred arched head, with continuous mouldings from ground to apex of the arch and an inner hollow moulding with equally spaced shields, and above it is a continuous band of lozenges from buttress to buttress. This also performs the function of sill to the large four-light west window, while the string course at a higher level forms a hoodmould to the same. The tracery in the window is composed of small panels contrasting with the slenderness of the main lights. The next stage is lit by tall windows of two lights also with panel tracery, in each of the three external faces, while on the east face may be seen an opening which formerly gave access to the nave roof timbers. The bell openings are each of three lights, the middle taller than the flanking pair, and the mullions are missing at several points. The diagonal buttresses which rise to this point with a shallow offset at each stringcourse continue above the parapet as short pinnacles. The parapet between these is of the attractive double-stepped type, which gives a varied skyline unlike the unbroken silhouette of the rest of the tower. The outer face is decorated with panels of flushwork, and below these are a frieze of shields, a frieze of blind quatrefoils and a corbel-table, all of finely detailed execution. In the centre of each wall is a gargoyle and the middle merlon of each face of the parapet is decorated with a knob-like finial.
The remainder of the church under consideration consists of an eight-bay nave, which formerly had a clerestory, and the north aisle, together with the chancel which projects two bays to the east. On the assumption that the north aisle followed the plan of the south, it is possible to reconstruct in the imagination the appearance of the outer wall. What, however, now exists is simply the ragged remains of the west window, with an octagonal stair turret at the north-west corner nearby which formerly led to a parvise, and then a continuous range of flint piers which are all that remains of the walls and buttresses between the windows. The present church stops two bays short of the east end of the south aisle.
More remains of the chancel than of the nave, including the moulded responds to the east window, although the head of the window and all tracery has long since disappeared. The sill is also much dilapidated. At the north-east and south east angles of the chancel diagonal buttresses survive, with outer faces panelled in flushwork similar to that on the buttresses of the tower.
Moving westward, in the north and south walls are huge apertures with two-centred heads which must once have filled the chancel with light, and above these are four clerestory windows (three on the south and one on the north) showing the tracery pattern of windows which doubtless extended in an unbroken line from this point to the west tower; that is, three lights with the mullions continuing up to form intersecting tracery, all within four-centred arches emphasised by alternating voussoirs of flint and stone.
The south aisle, save the eastern two bays, forms the present church, and is approached through the south porch, which is rather simple by comparison with the lavish decoration on the tower, but nevertheless decorated with flushwork and a statue niche over the entrance with an attractive crocketted canopy.
Interior
Interior Description
Internally is a stone groin vault supporting the floor of a chamber above, and the doors retain some original tracery. The windows are large, of three lights with lower centre light and panel tracery above. Built into the north wall (facing into the old nave) is a stone giving the date 1696. The interior is whitewashed and abviously well kept and cherished.
Bells
Churchyard
Grid reference: TM 489 747
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
The churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Quinquennial Inspections
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