St Mary's Church, East Ruston

St Mary's Church, East Ruston
St Mary's Church, East Ruston
	St Mary's Church, East Ruston, from the southeast
	St Mary's Church, East Ruston Location in Norfolk
	Coordinates: 52°48′13″N1°30′22″E / 52.8037°N 1.5061°E
OS grid reference	TG 364 287
Location	East Ruston, Norfolk
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Churches Conservation Trust
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	16 April 1955
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Flint and brick

Last updated February 23, 2019

St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of East Ruston, Norfolk, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building,^[1] and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.^[2] The church stands in an isolated position on the east side of the B1159 road, some 2 miles (3 km) north of Stalham.^[2]^[3] It is noted for its 15th-century painted and carved chancel screen.^[2]^[4]

Redundant church is a phrase particularly used to refer to former Anglican church buildings no longer required for regular public worship in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world.

East Ruston is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is 17.5 miles (28.2 km) North East of Norwich, 14.7 miles (23.7 km) South East of Cromer and 136 miles (219 km) north-east of London. The village lies 5.2 miles (8.4 km) East of the town of North Walsham. The nearest railway station is at Worsted and is connected to the Bittern Line which runs between Sheringham and Norwich. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport.

Norfolk is a county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the northwest, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea and, to the north-west, The Wash. The county town is Norwich. With an area of 2,074 square miles (5,370 km²) and a population of 859,400, Norfolk is a largely rural county with a population density of 401 per square mile. Of the county's population, 40% live in four major built up areas: Norwich (213,000), Great Yarmouth (63,000), King's Lynn (46,000) and Thetford (25,000).

History

The church dates from the 14th century. It was remodelled during the following century, and the north aisle was removed in 1778. The chancel was restored in 1887, and the tower was restored in 1985–86.^[1] Although the church is now redundant, an annual carol service is held each December.^[5]

An aisle is, in general (common), a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other. Aisles can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments and legislatures, courtrooms, theatres, and in certain types of passenger vehicles. Their floors may be flat or, as in theatres, stepped upwards from a stage.

Chancel space around the altar of a traditional Christian church

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary, at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. It is generally the area used by the clergy and choir during worship, while the congregation is in the nave. Direct access may be provided by a priest's door, usually on the south side of the church. This is one definition, sometimes called the "strict" one; in practice in churches where the eastern end contains other elements such as an ambulatory and side chapels, these are also often counted as part of the chancel, especially when discussing architecture. In smaller churches, where the altar is backed by the outside east wall and there is no distinct choir, the chancel and sanctuary may be the same area. In churches with a retroquire area behind the altar, this may only be included in the broader definition of chancel.

Victorian restoration movement to refurbish and rebuild Church of England churches and cathedrals

The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same process as is understood today by the term building restoration.

Architecture

Exterior

St Mary's is constructed mainly in flint with ashlar dressings, although the north wall is in brick.^[1]^[4] The roof of the nave is tiled, while the aisle and chancel have lead roofs. Its plan consists of a five-bay nave, a south aisle with a chapel at the east end, a south porch, a two-bay chancel, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages, with angle buttresses and a battlemented parapet. In the lowest stage are two windows, one above the other, the upper window being blocked. In the middle stage are lancet windows, the window on the north side being blocked. Above the window on the south side is a circular clock face. The bell openings in the top stage have two lights. The window in the west wall of the aisle dates from about 1340 and has two lights, but is blocked. The south porch is gabled and has a niche for a statue above the entrance arch. Along the south wall of the aisle are three three-light Perpendicular windows dating from the 15th century, and one two-light window with Y-tracery from the 18th century. The east window in the aisle has a three-light 15th-century window. In the south wall of the chancel are two two-light windows, and the east window has five lights. The north wall of the chancel contains one blocked window. In the north wall of the nave are three Perpendicular windows moved from the former north aisle.^[1]

Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white or brown in colour, and often has a glassy or waxy appearance. A thin layer on the outside of the nodules is usually different in colour, typically white and rough in texture. From a petrological point of view, "flint" refers specifically to the form of chert which occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Similarly, "common chert" occurs in limestone.

Ashlar Finely dressed stone and associated masonry

Ashlar is finely dressed stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared or the structure built of it. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally cuboid, mentioned by Vitruvius as opus isodomum, or less frequently trapezoidal. Precisely cut "on all faces adjacent to those of other stones", ashlar is capable of very thin joints between blocks, and the visible face of the stone may be quarry-faced or feature a variety of treatments: tooled, smoothly polished or rendered with another material for decorative effect.

The nave is the central part of a church, stretching from the main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type building, the strict definition of the term 'nave' is restricted to the central aisle. In a broader, more colloquial sense, the nave includes all areas available for the lay worshippers, including the side-aisles and transepts. Either way, the nave is distinct from the area reserved for the choir and clergy.

Interior

The five-bay south arcade is carried on octagonal piers. In the south chapel is a pedestal on two steps, and a piscina. There is another piscina in the south wall of the chancel. The chancel screen has five bays with an arched opening.^[1] On the west side, each lateral bay contains two panels with paintings of figures, the Four Evangelists on one side, and four doctors of the early church, Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, and Saint Gregory on the other. On the east side of the screen are carvings of lions. Above the panels is arched tracery.^[1]^[2]^[4] The font dates from the 15th century and was restored in 1884. It stands on three octagonal steps and consists of an octagonal bowl on a stem. At the base of the stem are carvings of grotesque beasts. The bowl is supported by angels and its panels are carved with symbols of the Evangelists.^[1]

An arcade is a succession of contiguous arches, with each arch supported by columns, piers. Exterior arcades are designed to provide a sheltered walkway for pedestrians. The walkway may be lined with retail stores. An arcade may feature arches on both sides of the walkway. Alternatively, a blind arcade superimposes arcading against a solid wall. Blind arcades are a feature of Romanesque architecture that influenced Gothic architecture. In the Gothic architectural tradition, the arcade can be located in the interior, in the lowest part of the wall of the nave, supporting the triforium and the clerestory in a cathedral, or on the exterior, in which they are usually part of the walkways that surround the courtyard and cloisters.

A pier, in architecture, is an upright support for a structure or superstructure such as an arch or bridge. Sections of structural walls between openings (bays) can function as piers.

A pedestal or plinth is the support of a statue or a vase

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Historic England, "Church of St Mary, East Ruston (1169839)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 14 March 2014
1 2 3 4 St Mary's Church, East Ruston, Norfolk, Churches Conservation Trust , retrieved 9 December 2016
↑ East Ruston, Streetmap, retrieved 20 February 2011
1 2 3 East Ruston, St Mary's Church, Britain Express, retrieved 20 February 2011
↑ East Ruston Village Church, Benefice of Stalham, Sutton and Ingham, retrieved 20 February 2011

External links

Media related to St Mary, East Ruston at Wikimedia Commons

Norfolk Churches, with photographs of the exterior and interior, including the screen

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[hg-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Historic England, "Church of St Mary, East Ruston (1169839)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 14 March 2014

[cct-2] 1 2 3 4 St Mary's Church, East Ruston, Norfolk, Churches Conservation Trust , retrieved 9 December 2016

[3] East Ruston, Streetmap, retrieved 20 February 2011

[bex-4] 1 2 3 East Ruston, St Mary's Church, Britain Express, retrieved 20 February 2011

[5] East Ruston Village Church, Benefice of Stalham, Sutton and Ingham, retrieved 20 February 2011