Oakham: Chapel of St John and St Anne
Overview
Grid reference: SK 857 87
The history of the fabric, however, reached further back than the earliest recorded date of foundation, for the original form of the east window and of the three doorways is characteristic of c.1300. A window towards the east end of the south wall is only slightly later in style (c.1320-30). The walls are largely the product of a thorough rebuilding in the late fourteenth-century. Later insertions are two windows of the seventeenth century (perhaps dated by the stone on the west gable which gives 1667), and the chapel was restored in 1912-13.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Rectangular with west doorway and blocked north and south doorways. There is a bell-cote in the west gable.
Description of Archaeology and History
A modern stone tablet set into the north corner of the east wall summarises the history of the building as follows
THE HOSPITAL OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST AND OF ST ANNE IN OAKHAM
This Hospital Chapel of St. John and St. Anne was founded and erected by William Dalby in the reign of Richard the Second about 1380 A.D. It was refounded by Archdeacon Robert Johnson under Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth the First in the year 1597.
The history of the fabric, however, reached further back than the earliest recorded date of foundation, for the original form of the east window and of the three doorways is characteristic of c.1300. A window towards the east end of the south wall is only slightly later in style (c.1320-30). The walls are largely the product of a thorough rebuilding in the late fourteenth-century. Later insertions are two windows of the seventeenth century (perhaps dated by the stone on the west gable which gives 1667), and the chapel was restored in 1912-13.
Exterior Description
There are two openings in the west wall, the lower being a two-centred doorway of c.1300 with double chamfered jambs and a hoodmould ending in crudely carved and badly weathered florets. The door itself is nineteenth century, of oak with simple but pleasing ironwork. The west window is tall, rectangular with a transom; all the members are finely moulded with two orders of wavy moulding separated by a deeply-cut hollow moulding.
The south wall is the most varied part of the structure; in the centre is a blocked doorway which is of the same general form as the west doorway save that it has carved heads rather than florets at the label stops. To the west of the doorway is a small rectangular window set high in the wall; this seems to be a seventeenth-century insertion, with a horizontal label; the reason for it is obscure, but it may have given light to a pulpit. At the south-west corner, eight feet from the ground is a shield-shaped stone which was once a sundial. East of the doorway is a two-light window with tall rectangular lights each of which have remains of cusping in the heads. The square label has a contorted face carved on the west stop; the east stup is missing. A further window towards the east end has a two-centred head with two cinquefoiled lights and simple curvilinear tracery.
The east window is in outline of c. 1300, with tracery inserted in the fifteenth century incorporating three cinquefoiled lights and panel tracery. The outer moulded jambs of the window were also renewed at this time and the hoodmould has heads carved at the stops. The ogee-headed crocketted finial on the gable may be paralleled on the parish church, where its counterparts carry gable crosses. Pinnacles may once have stood at the angles of the parapet also.
Of the north wall there is little to be said. In its present form it is entirely blind, but the evidence shows that there have once been at least two openings in it.
Interior
Interior Description
As it now appears, the interior is structurally undivided, but it seems most probably that there would have been at one time a screen dividing the chapel proper from an antechapel, a feature which doubtless disappeared when the Hospital was closed as a monastic institution under Henry VIII. During the restoration of 1912 , the original floor level was discovered five inches down and the floor was lowered in accordance with this, so that there are now two steps down inside the west doorway. The present floor is paved with stone flags and wood blocks laid in 1912.
The roof is of three bays, with two end tie beams and two between, all cambered with wall-pieces resting on large well-carved capitals. Three of these are grotesque heads, and another pair have blank shields against foliage. That on the south is original and retains traces of colouring; its pair on the north is a replacement.
All the windows stand within plain reveals of which that to the east window is the most interesting. It gives the reason for dating the form of the window earlier than the tracery with which it is now filled, for the rerearch is carried on small round corbels with concentric mouldings like the capitals of shafts as they would have been carved in c.1300.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
The stone altar mensa is medieval.
Churchyard
Grid reference: SK 857 87
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.
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 | 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
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