Redgrave,Suffolk · 2020. 9. 1. · Sir Nicholas’ death in 1624, his son Sir Edmund Bacon commissio ned Nicholas Stone, later to become royal stonemason, to carve the effigies

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www.visitchurches.org.uk Registered Charity No. 258612 Spring 2009

CHURCHOF ST MARYTHE VIRGINRedgrave, Suffolk

£3.00

HISTORYThe church of St Mary the Virgin, Redgrave, was built inthe mid-14th century, probably on the site of the Saxonchurch mentioned in Domesday Book of 1086. It wasbuilt by the Abbots of the Benedictine Abbey ofSt Edmundsbury, to whom the manor had been givenby Ulfketel, Earl of East Anglia, c.1005.(l) The nameRedgrave is derived from the Anglo-Saxon meaning‘Reed Ditch’, and Saxon pottery has been found in afield near the church. This may have been the site of theSaxon hall, and could be the reason for the location ofthe church outside the present village. It stands in anelevated position between the site of the hunting lodgebuilt by Abbot Samson in 1211(2) and Fen Street, whoseinhabitants were mentioned in a rental of 1433.(3)

Redgrave, Suffolk

CHURCH ST MARYTHE VIRGINby Jean Sheehan (Redgrave local history recorder)

Front cover: Monument to Sir John Holt,Lord Chief Justice of England

Left: The chancel and nave fromthe west end

weatherproof were carried out by the Trustin 2006, including restoration of the glass inthe east window and repairs to the pinnaclesof the tower. Steel grilles have replaced thebroken wooden louvres in the tower to excludethe pigeons. The current architect is PhilipOrchard from The Whitworth Co-Partnership.The interior was restored in 2007 by TheChurches Conservation Trust, and RedgraveChurch Heritage Trust has installed toilets in thetower, a mini kitchen and heating.

The church is mainly in the 14th-centuryDecorated style with a Perpendicular clerestoryand a few windows updated to the Perpendicularstyle. Between the windows of the clerestoryare flint flushworked monograms, probablymade by the Aldryche family firm of mastermasons from North Lopham, in the latter halfof the 15th century.(7) The Decorated eastwindow has seven lights with deep mouldingsround it showing that it was built with noexpense spared by the patron. Above the east

The Abbots of Bury were lords of the manorof Redgrave until the Reformation. ThomasWolsey was rector in 1506, but there is norecord that he ever came to Redgrave.(4)Nicholas Bacon purchased the manor andstarted to build Redgrave Hall in 1545.(5)He was made Lord Keeper of the Seal byElizabeth I in 1558 and knighted at about thesame time. His son, another Nicholas, wasknighted by James I in 1611 as premier baronetof England. Sir John Holt, Lord Chief Justice,became lord of the manor in 1703 and it passedinto the Wilson family through the marriage ofLucinda Holt. Mr Peter Holt-Wilson is thepresent lord of the manor and patron.

The abbots’ market was situated in the hamletof Botesdale which was part of the ecclesiasticalparish of Redgrave. A chapel of ease was builtclose to the market place before 1338,(6) laterused as a chantry chapel and as a resultconfiscated in 1547 by Edward VI. Sir NicholasBacon founded a grammar school in the building,

and after closure in 1878 it became a chapel ofease again in 1883 and is still in use. A missionroom was built at Redgrave in 1897 by theRevd Thomas Holt Wilson to hold eveningservices in the winter. This building was renovatedand consecrated as All Saints’ church in 2008.

The ecclesiastical parishes of Redgrave andBotesdale were united with Rickinghall in 1975to become the benefice of Redgrave-cum-Botesdale with the Rickinghalls. St Mary’sRickinghall Superior was made redundant in1977 and vested in the Redundant ChurchesFund, now The Churches Conservation Trust,although Rickinghall Inferior church is still in use.

St Mary’s, Redgrave, was declared pastorallyredundant on 1 April 2005, because the chapelof ease and the mission room were also usedfor services. The mother church was vested inThe Churches Conservation Trust on 1 October2005 because of its great historical valueand interest. Repairs to make the building

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EXTERIOR

Left: Exterior from the south-east

Below: Exterior from the south

piscina to rinse the silver chalice used in thecommunion service with the water running intoa drain through the wall. The roof of thechancel is supported on corbels depicting faces,one of which is an abbot.

On the floor of the sanctuary is a very finebrass, commemorating Anne Butts, mother ofSir Nicholas Bacon’s wife, who died in 1609.She is shown wearing a hooded cloak of theperiod and an embroidered petticoat. Beneaththe figure is a poem as an epitaph stating thatshe was married for seven years and a widowfor 61 years. The brass was originally on atable-top tomb,(9) probably removed whenthe floor of the sanctuary was lowered toaccommodate the monument to Lord ChiefJustice Sir John Holt (cover) in 1709/10. This isan extremely fine monument, carved in marbleby Thomas Green of Camberwell, depictingSir John in his judicial robes with figures of Justiceand Mercy on either side and is said to havecost £1500.(10)

The vestry on the north side of the chancel, withan outer skin of brick, is on the site of the Baconvault where Sir Edmund Bacon built an aisle forthe tomb of his wife. In his will, Bacon requestedthat the vault be bricked over following his burial,which took place in 1649.(11) The bones werelater removed to the new Bacon Chapel at thewest end of the north aisle when the monumentto Sir John Holt was erected. A tomb hadalready been built at the east end of the northaisle by Sir Nicholas Bacon, son of The LordKeeper, for his wife in 1616. The tomb was madeby Bernard Janssen, the king’s engineer. AfterSir Nicholas’ death in 1624, his son Sir EdmundBacon commissioned Nicholas Stone, later tobecome royal stonemason, to carve the effigiesof both his parents in white marble to be placedon the tomb, at a cost of £200.

Nicholas Stone also designed the Bacon Chapelat the west end of the north aisle. It containsblack-and-white marble niches, and a slab ofwhite marble on the floor decorated with a

window can be seen the earlier roof line whichwas much shallower. The chancel has niches onall sides which would have contained religiousstatues before the Reformation, and aDecorated priests’ doorway still exists on thesouth side of the chancel.

On the north-east of the church is a red brickvestry, with a 16th-century ceiling and a largeoval window. The original blocked northdoorway into the church is directly oppositethe south door.

A red brick tower replaced an earlier towerwhich collapsed. Rowland Holt rebuilt thedecaying red brick 16th-century tower in localWoolpit brick to match Redgrave Hall whichhad recently been remodelled with the parklandby Capability Brown.

‘Todd built me in 1784’

is inscribed at the top of the tower. An archwayinto the church can be seen inside which waslater blocked and a narrow stone newelstaircase leads up to the ringing chamber.

The south porch has a sundial over the entrance,and the 14th-century inner doorway is finelydecorated with fleurons and king and queenhead stops, with a niche above, beneath whichis a carved angel.

Inside, the church is very light and spacious.The arcades are 14th century with piers ofquatrefoil section with narrow shafts to matchthe chancel arch.(8) The nave roof dates fromthe 15th century with alternating hammerbeams and arch braces, above which are bracedqueen posts.

On the south wall of the sanctuary is aPerpendicular triple sedilia, with a canopy overeach seat, where the priests sat. Next to it is a

INTERIOR

Left: The vestry on the north side of the chancel

Below: The 17th-century brass to Anne Butts in the sanctuary

Right: The chancel, north aisle and nave from thesouth-west entrance

north aisle which may be contemporary withthe church. The painting depicts a man’s torsoand leg and has now been conserved. Traces ofa wall painting have also been discovered to theeast of the south door.

The pulpit on the south side of the nave wasgiven by George Holt Wilson, a former patron, in1875. There is a 14th-century piscina situated inthe south-east corner of the south aisle, showingthat there was an altar here before theReformation and next to it is a dropped-sillsedilia. This was the Lady Chapel until 1923 whena faculty was obtained to restore the chapel as awar memorial. The carved oak altar which isthere now is dedicated to the men who lost theirlives in the First and Second World Wars.

Edmund Tabour of Botesdale requested in hiswill of 1447 to be buried in the chapel ofSt Edmund in the church of All Saints ofRedgrave. The chapel and the dedication ofAll Saints were removed at the Reformation.He also left 40d to the high altar and money fora chaplain to pray for his soul and his departedfriends in the church and the chapel of Botesdalefor one year.(14)

black marble cross fleury with the wordELEVATVR carved on one side. Two of thewindows in the north aisle were partly blocked,probably to accommodate the memorials.Bones of other members of the Bacon familywere also placed in the vault after beingremoved from All Saints’, Garboldisham, whenit became dilapidated in 1734.(12) On the wallsare finely carved tablets, one by Nicholas Stoneand one probably by his son John, with other

memorial tablets on the walls of the chancel inmemory of members of the Bacon family.

The 14th-century Decorated octagonal font isalso in the north-west corner, close to theblocked north door. Eight heads are carved onit,although in the middle of the 19th century thiswas not in use and a common slop-basin wassubstituted.(13)

Hanging on the wall nearby is a large painted18th-century wooden reredos, depicting Mosesand Aaron with the Ten Commandmentswritten in the centre. This was replaced abovethe altar by a painting of the holy family, whichwas in position by 1810 when David ElishaDavey visited the church. In turn this wasreplaced by blue velvet dossal curtains in 1952.

The north aisle has niches in the east wall tohold statues, now containing imitation gauntlets,helmet and sword carried as emblems at thefuneral of Sir Nicholas Bacon in 1624.

During restoration part of a medieval wallpainting was discovered on the north wall of the

Left: Effigies of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Premier Baronet ofJames I, and his wife Anne.

Below left: The 18th-century reredos depicting Moses amdAaron and the Ten Commandments

Right: The 14th-century Decorated octagonal font

North aisle

South aisle

Southporch

Nave Chancel

Vestry

Tower

scale – metres

0 5 10

N

Reproduced by kind permission of M Roughley

The stained glass in the east window was givenby E P Blake in 1853, and was made by Farrerof Diss.

A small amount of medieval glass found outsidethe church was fitted into a clear-glazed windowin the south aisle when the windows wererestored in 1967. This window has the name ofJ Walker 1800 scratched into the glass, and alsoJ Walker 1870 stating that it was a very cold day.The glass in the east window in the south aisle isdedicated to two former rectors who wereincumbents from 1844 to 1904, Thomas DanielHolt Wilson, and his wife Barbara, and Thomastheir son, members of the family of the lords ofthe manor. John Wood Wilson, brother ofThomas Daniel, is also commemorated in astained glass window in the south aisle. The glassin the east window of the north aisle is inmemory of Hon. Lyon Playfair, Capt. RFA whowas killed in action in 1915. He was the son ofLord Playfair who was residing at Redgrave Hallat the time.

Above the south door hangs a carved andpainted Stuart royal arms probably of Charles II.This may have been made to hang abovethe chancel arch at the Restoration.

The organ, in memory of Lucy Wilson, wasmade by Casson and Company in 1890. Thisreplaced an earlier organ, made by Joseph Hartof Redgrave in 1842, which stood on a gallery,now removed, at the west end of the church.

An early-15th-century iron-bound chest, with itstwo original padlocks, stands at the west end.The keys were held by two churchwardens,so that the chest could not be opened by oneperson. It was used for storing importantdocuments and, after the reign of Queen Mary,

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GLASSFIXTURES and

FITTINGS

Left: The Decorated east window, with glass donatedby EP Blake in 1853

Below: The Stuart royal arms, probably of Charles II

(1) Robertson, A J 1939. Anglo Saxon Charters,Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

(2) White, W 1844. History Gazetteer, andDirectory of Suffolk, Newton Abbot, Davidand Charles, reprint 1970, p 341.

(3) British Library Manuscript BL 14850Rentals 1289 and 1433.

(4) White, W 1844. History, Gazetteer andDirectory of Suffolk, Newton Abbot, Davidand Charles, reprint 1970, p 342.

(5) Sandeen, E R 1962. Proceedings of theSuffolk Institute of Archaeology Vol.XX1XPart 1

(6) Unpublished acknowledgement to JenniferPhillips, Selwyn College, Cambridge.Redgrave Court Rolls 16/05/1338Court 30 University of Chicago.

(7) Blatchly, J and Northeast, P 2005.Decoding Flint Flushwork on Suffolk andNorfolk Churches, Ipswich, Suffolk Instituteof Archaeology and History.

(8) Haward, B 1993. Suffolk Medieval ChurchArcades, Ipswich, Suffolk Institute ofArchaeology and History.

(9) Davey, D E 1831. Manuscript microfilmSuffolk Record Office, Ipswich, BritishMuseum Cat. Add 19089.

(10) White, W 1844. History, Gazetteer andDirectory of Suffolk, Newton Abbot, Davidand Charles, reprint 1970 p 342.

(11) Will of Sir Edmund Bacon, SRO BuryAshton 1 f182.

(12) Davey, D E 1831. Manuscript microfilmSuffolk Record Office, Ipswich, BritishMuseum Cat. Add 19089.

(13) Henry J and Parker J 1855. ArchitecturalNotes on the Churches and otherMedieval Buildings of Suffolk. MicrofilmSuffolk Record Office, Ipswich, BritishMuseum Cat. Add 19089.

(14) Will of Edmund Tabour 1447 NorwichWills 99 Wylbey N.R.O. Translated byPeter Northeast.

(15) SRO Ipswich D5/1 – D5/9.(16) Manuscript of Ives papers at Lewis

Walpole Library, Yale University.(17) Raven, J J 1890. The Church Bells of Suffolk,

Norwich, Jarrold & Son. Suffolk RecordOffice, Ipswich, R6844 p 509.

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SOURCESthe parish registers, which had been ordered tobe kept in churches. The baptismal registerdates back to 1538, and the marriage and burialregisters to 1561.(15)

Also at the west end is a wooden hand-hearsebought for the use of the parishioners byMiss Wilson, and first used in 1886.

Many hatchments hang upon the walls; those inthe north aisle are connected to the Baconfamily, those in the nave to the Holts, and in thechancel to the Wilsons. Hatchments were hungon the outside of a house after the death of animportant resident and subsequently placed inthe church.

The oak desk at the back of the Bacon Chapelwas originally from the chapel of ease and usedin the grammar school founded by Sir NicholasBacon for which he was granted letters patentby Queen Elizabeth in 1561. After theReformation the abbey schools were closed andthe gentry founded new schools for theeducation of the poor.

Three bells were in existence at the time of theEdwardian inventory of 1553, and a further twohad been added by 1691, when they were allrecast by Charles Newman. He inscribed

‘CHARLES NEWMAN MADE MEE.1691.. GOLDSMITH CHURCH.W.D.’

on the tenor bell.(16) They were recast againin 1736 by his son Thomas, who inscribed the

churchwardens as John Munns and JohnGoldsmith. The latter may have been adescendant of John Goldsmith the bell-founderof Redgrave. He cast bells for at least 15 Suffolkchurches, between 1702 and 1713, includingRickinghall Superior in 1712 and was buried inRedgrave churchyard in 1714. Thomas Osbornemade a treble bell in 1785 bringing the total tosix bells.(17)

Prince Charles visited the church on 2 July 1993to attend a concert performed for Music inCountry Churches of which he was patron.

St Mary’s is a magnificent church for the smallparish of Redgrave-cum-Botesdale. This iscertainly due to the fact that the patrons werethe Abbots of St Edmundsbury, and built thechurch in the design of a miniature cathedral,probably because their hunting lodge and deerpark were situated nearby.

Hatchment showing the arms of Holt impaling Ballow forPrisca widow of Rowland Holt

The Churches Conservation Trust isthe national charity that cares for andpreserves English churches of historic,architectural or archaeological importancethat are no longer needed for regularworship. It promotes public enjoymentof them and their use as an educationaland community resource. In 2009 theTrust celebrates 40 years of savinghistoric churches at risk.

There are over 340 Trust churches scatteredwidely through the length and breadth ofEngland, in town and country, ranging fromancient, rustic buildings to others of greatrichness and splendour; each tells a unique storyof people and place. All are worth visiting.

Many churches are open all year round, othershave keyholders nearby; entry is free to all.A notice explaining opening arrangements orkeyholders will normally be found at the church.Such information can also be obtained from theTrust during office hours.

We strongly recommend checking our websitewww.visitchurches.org.uk for the most up to dateopening and access details and directions.

Visitors are most welcome and we hope thisguidebook will encourage you to explore thesewonderful buildings.

Historic churches, due to their age and previoususe, often have uneven and worn floors. Please takecare, especially in wet weather when floors andsteps can also be slippery.

MAKING A DONATIONYour donation, no matter how small, will enableThe Churches Conservation Trust to save morehistoric churches across England. If you wouldlike to make a contribution, please use a Gift Aidenvelope located at the church you visit, see ourwebsite www.visitchurches.org.uk, or contactour fundraising team on 020 7213 0673.

NEARBY ARE THE TRUST CHURCHES OFSt Mary, Rickinghall Superior7 miles SW of Diss on B1113

St Andrew, Sapiston7 miles SE of Thetford off A1088

St John the Baptist, Stanton9 miles NE of Bury St Edmunds off A143

© The Churches Conservation Trust 2009

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THE CHURCHESCONSERVATION TRUST

Right: The nave looking westBack cover: Hatchment showing the arms of Bacon impaling Crane for Sir Edmund Bacon 4th Baronet d.1685

Photographs by Steven Cole 2008