Nominal: 872.5 Hz Weight: 728 lbs Diameter: 32.75" Bell 1 of 3
Founded by John Woolley
Dove Bell ID: 3026 Tower ID: 16784 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: unturned Cracked: No
Haltham-on-Bain: St Benedict
Overview
Grid reference: TF 246 638
The nave is late fourteenth-century, the chancel fifteenth-century. The church was much restored from near-dereliction in 1880 and 1891. The building dates of the church divide quite clearly from outside at the junction of the nave and chancel, and must have been even more distinct before the nineteenth-century restoration when the chancel was thatched and the nave lower and leaded. Now both roofs are slated, but the distinction is evident in the architecture of the walls, the nave being the older part. The window in the south wall of the nave is simple with Y tracery and no surround or dripstone.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave of three bays with north aisle and south porch, small west bell turret; chancel.
Description of Archaeology and History
The nave is late fourteenth-century, the chancel fifteenth-century. The church was much restored from near-dereliction in 1880 and 1891.
Exterior Description
The building dates of the church divide quite clearly from outside at the junction of the nave and chancel, and must have been even more distinct before the nineteenth-century restoration when the chancel was thatched and the nave lower and leaded. Now both roofs are slated, but the distinction is evident in the architecture of the walls, the nave being the older part. The window in the south wall of the nave is simple with Y tracery and no surround or dripstone.
The stonework is of greensand and has been cemented over in some places. The west wall is supported by two brick buttresses which do not perform their function adequately. The west wall is of greensand up to the eaves. Move this level the gable is of brick, part of the nineteenth-century work which by raising the pitch of the roof engulfed what was a small turret for the bell so that now it hardly rises above the ridging.
The chancel is much more refined than the nave, about a century later in date. It is roughly symmetrical with (moving from west to east) a pair of low-light windows, each of two trofoiled lights (the northern pair blocked); then east of these are two-light ogee-headed windows and then three-light-windows on the same patterns further east, so that the chancel gets progressively lighter towards the altar.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
In the tracery of the east window are two crosses which appear be made of mediaeval glass.
Building Materials
Sandstone
12th onwards
GLAUCONITIC
Sandstone
12th onwards
SANDSTONE
Interior
Interior Description
Although the architecture of the chancel is more impressive, the main interest indide the church is centred upon the nave. The reason for this is the furnishing of the two parts, and again, as outside, the dividing line is the chancel arch. Each part belongs to a tradition' quite different from the other, although the nave has a Victorian roof, it has survived otherwise virtually untouched since the eighteenth-century, and so carefully (or cheaply) was it refurnished then that much of the mediaeval woodwork has survived.
Architecturally, the nave is (as outside) plain. The west bay is taken up entirely by the, internal structure supporting the belfry, very much on the pattern of some Essex churches. The wooden uprights and braces are mediaeval, as is the ladder which leads to the trap-door in the roof of the ringing chamber. The panels of wood run vertically, and halfway up the wall is a group of panels painted with the Royal Arms of Charles I. To the left of that are the panels of the Ten Commandments, arranged without care for the proper order to that they are illegible. The painting is in any case very faded. Three steps lead up to the small door which leads into the rinsing chamber, which like the rest of the rive, is floored with red mediaeval bricks.
The north arcade which divides the nave from the aisle has three arches, the west one much narrower than the others and more pointed, the rest wider than semi-circles. The piers are surprisingly slender octagons, both with octagonal stone seats round the base (although the eastern one is engulfed in the floor under the pews). The capitals are foliated and the chamfers of the arches are very bold and deeply cut. The imposts at both ends are corbels with heads beneath them.
The chancel has quite a different atmosphere from the nave, much lighter as a result of the large windows and less cluttered as a result of nineteenth century re-furnishing. The architecture preserves its mediaeval quality well, the walls whitewashed as in the nave, although the roof was entirely renewed in 1880, and, like that in the north aisle, is carried on angular corbels with none of the character which the mediaeval craftsmen imparted by use of the carved heads which may be seen at so many places in this church.
To the north of the altar is a plain square aumbry and in the south east-jamb of the south-east window is an angle piscina with two ogee arches supported on a polygonal colonette.
Fixtures and fittings
Bench (seat)
Eleven of the benches (the majority) seem to preserve their original ends with curved elbow rests and small lozenge-shaped poppyheads.
Screen
The parts of the screen which survive are finely carved with panel tracery in the spandrels and pretty cusping within the arches.
Pulpit
The pulpit is hexagonal with bold fielded panels and a wide cornice. The steps up to it have a delicate rail of wood.
Font (object)
The Font is hexagonal on a square base without a stem. The bowl is deep and decorated with square flowers as in diaper work.
Bells
Nominal: 1242.5 Hz Diameter: 26.38" Bell 2 of 3
Founded by Tobias III Norris 1662
Dove Bell ID: 23308 Tower ID: 16784 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: unturned Cracked: No
Nominal: 1093 Hz Diameter: 28.75" Bell 3 of 3
Founded by Tobias III Norris 1662
Dove Bell ID: 23309 Tower ID: 16784 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: unturned Cracked: No
Churchyard
Grid reference: TF 246 638
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.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
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 | N/A |
| Solar Thermal Panels | N/A |
| Biomass | N/A |
| Wind Turbine | N/A |
| Air Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ev Charging | N/A |
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
Submit a change
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