Newlington: St Matthew
Overview
Grid reference: TQ 322 790
The west front of the church consists of a large gable pierced by a five-light window in thirteenth-century style with a band of arcading below carried on shafts with foliated capitals, alternate arches being pierced to form small windows below the gallery within. At the angels of the nave wall are slender buttresses.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave of seven bays with north and south aisles, south-west tower and spire forming also the main entrance to the church. A door on the north communicates with the hall. The chancel is apsidal and has vestries on the south side.
Description of Archaeology and History
The church was designed by Henry Jarvis and started in 1866. It was consecrated by Archibald Campbell, Bishop of London, on 7 December 1867. A temporary church had been opened on 20 July 1864, which the present building replaced. Jarvis appears to have been a local man, and he designed St. Paul's, Walworth (1851, demolished 1948) St. Stephen's Walworth Common (built in 1870-1 in thirteenth-century style with some French detail but demolished in 1958 after severe war damage).
Exterior Description
The west front of the church consists of a large gable pierced by a five-light window in thirteenth-century style with a band of arcading below carried on shafts with foliated capitals, alternate arches being pierced to form small windows below the gallery within. At the angels of the nave wall are slender buttresses. On the left is the west wall of an aisle, only broken by a small doorway under a gabled hoodmould with uncarved stops and on the right is the tower with a large doorway in the foot of the west face. This has three orders of receding nook-shafts, quite short because they stand on a tall plinth, supporting receding moulded arches outlined by a hood carved with foliage on the soffit. The middle stage of the tower has two small windows set low down on the west face and a flight of steps on the east side which leads up to gallery level from the vicarage garden. The third stage is octagonal and has lost pinnacles which formerly stood on the angles of the stage below to ease the transition. The tall shafted bell-openings have big, rather ungainly louvres and the spire begins directly from the walls of this stage. It is banded alternatively with rock-faced ragstone and smooth limestone with a band of circles about halfway up, altogether most unorthodox. The lower parts of the tower have scale pattern on the weatherings of the buttresses and big grotesque beasts clinging on where the first stage narrows into the second.
The apse is polygonal with a single lancet in each wall (all except the outer pair now blocked up). The aisle walls are provided in each bay (except where the hall abuts on the north) with a two-light window, all with different tracery designs of rather gauche type. There were originally pitched roofs to the aisles (and thus no clerestory) but Travers, in order to provide more light in the church, lowered the roofs to a flat profile and provided clerestory windows in the wall which was thus created above the nave arcade.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
1867
Original grisaille of c.1867 survives in the two unblocked chancel windows.
Stained Glass
Two clerestory windows have glass painted by Travers, showing the Eagle of St. Matthew and the Lion of St. Mark.
Stained Glass
The west window has original fragments of c.1867 in the tracery lights; below, in the central light, is a single figure of St. Matthew with a small censing angel above. This is by Lawrence Lee, 1950, who was a pupil of Travers, and it is very much in the Travers style.
Interior
Interior Description
Of Jarvis interior there remains the basic form, the floor of red and black tiles and the prominent roof structure with bold arch braces supporting collars with small king-posts and curved struts. His also is the basis of the west gallery with its iron columns, and on the south side of this one bay shows the timber arches pierced with plain circles which formerly stood above the iron columns of the nave arcade. Travers encased the columns in plain Tuscan plaster columns and ran a simple moulded cornice along above their capitals. He then filled in the timber arches and in their place, having lowered the aisle roofs, provided clerentory lights in each bay of rectangular shape divided into a square middle light with slender lights at each side. He provided symmetrical staircases to the west gallery with thin wavy banisters and, above all, placed a screen across the apse, bringing the altar forward and provided a reredos against the screen. A sacristy was created behind the screen, approached by doors on each side of the new altar. It is this arrangement which makes Travers' work dominant in the church. He altered the old reredos and placed it in the north aisle, and provided other furnishings detailed below. More recently the altar has been brought yet further west, to stand between the choirstalls, and the Travers frontal has been fixed directly under the reredos. The church was redecorated in 1961; the aisles and apse are blue, the nave cream and the west gallery yellow.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
1926
The altar is probably part of Travers' work of 1926. It is of oak with three large square panels on the front enclosing wreaths or cartouches of foliage with cherub's heads at the top.
Reredos
1926
The reredos of the high altar is by Travers, 1926. It has a tall central panel with a shaped top and lesser panels at each side containing tassels, all executed in wood and plaster with the frames and other details painted gold and the background pink.
Reredos
In the north chapel is the original gothic reredos with four panels heightened by Travers and provided with a painted representation of The Annunciation with plaster figures in low relief. The outer panels have stylised bunches of fruit on ribands.
Pulpit
The pulpit is an adaptation by Travers of the original pulpit, octagonal, with arcade panels. Travers covered the panels with sheets of plywood and provided a thin backboard and rather flat sounding board with winged cherub's heads on each face and a glory underneath. The iron handrail remains, rather inoongruously.
Lectern
The lectern is a large oak eagle of daunting naturalism.
Font (object)
c.1877
The font has a round bowl on a square stem with small round recessed panels with simple mosaic symbols; doubtless by Jarvis, c.1877; the oak cover is octagonal.
Organ (object)
1867
The organ was built by Father Willis in 1867 in the east bay of the north aisle.
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 322 790
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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