St Mary's and All Saints' Church, Checkley

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St Mary's and All Saints' Church, Checkley
Checkley Church 3.jpg
The tower and nave, seen from the south
52°56′18″N1°57′35″W / 52.93833°N 1.95972°W / 52.93833; -1.95972 Coordinates: 52°56′18″N1°57′35″W / 52.93833°N 1.95972°W / 52.93833; -1.95972
OS grid reference SK 028 379
Location Checkley, Staffordshire
CountryEngland
Denomination Church of England
Website http://www.checkleychurch.co.uk/
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade I
Designated3 January 1967 [1]
Administration
Deanery Uttoxeter Deanery [2]
Diocese Diocese of Lichfield

St Mary's and All Saints' Church is an Anglican church in the village of Checkley, Staffordshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The oldest parts of the building are 12th-century, with later medieval and 17th-century work.

Anglicanism The practices, liturgy and identity of the Church of England

Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition which has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation.

Checkley village in Staffordshire, UK

Checkley is a village and civil parish in the district of Staffordshire Moorlands in the English county of Staffordshire.

Listed building Protected historic structure in the United Kingdom

A listed building, or listed structure, is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland.

Contents

Description

The lower storey of the tower is 12th-century, the later upper part being in Perpendicular style. The south door, protected by a porch, is of about 1300. [3]

The nave has four bays, and the clerestory windows above are 17th-century. The north arcade is 13th-century, and the round-arched north aisle windows are 17th-century. The south arcade is taller than the north arcade; although parts are of the 12th century, it was later remodelled. The pointed chancel arch is early 13th-century. [1] [3]

Nave main body of a church

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.

Clerestory architectural term

In architecture, a clerestory is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. The purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.

The chancel, of four bays, is late 13th-century; the pointed five-light east window and three-light side windows have intersecting tracery. The glass in the chancel is 14th-century. [1] [3]

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.

Tracery

In architecture, tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out. There are two main types, plate tracery and the later bar tracery. The evolving style from Romanesque to Gothic architecture and changing features, like the thinning of lateral walls and enlarging of windows lead to the innovation of tracery. The earliest form of tracery, called plate tracery, began as openings that were pierced from a stone slab. Bar tracery was then implemented, having derived from the plate tracery. However instead of a slab, the windows were defined by molded stone mullions which were lighter and allowed for more openings and intricate designs. Other notable styles of tracery to follow include geometrical tracery and curvilinear (flowing) tracery.

The chancel, showing the east and north windows Checkley Church 4.jpg
The chancel, showing the east and north windows

The font is a cylindrical bowl on a shaft, both 12th-century. The bowl is decorated with low relief carvings: there is a Lamb of God on an altar, with panels around the bowl containing irregular patterns of triangles. [3]

Lamb of God lamb symbolizing Jesus Christ

Lamb of God is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

Anglo-Scandinavian stone crosses

In the churchyard, south of the church, are three early medieval stone crosses; they are close together and are thought to be standing in or near their original positions. There is a tradition that the crosses were erected in memory of three bishops killed in a battle near the village. They are regarded as among the finest Anglo-Scandinavian crosses in Staffordshire. [4]

Anglo-Scandinavian is an academic term referring to the archaeological and historical periods during the 8th to 13th centuries in which there was migration to - and occupation of - the British Isles by Scandinavians generally known as Norsemen or Vikings. It is used in distinction from Anglo-Saxon.

They each have a tapering, rectangular section, each being part of a longer cross-shaft. The southern cross (height 1.6 metres (5.2 ft)) and central cross (height 1.35 metres (4.4 ft)) are decorated on all four sides; there are full-length human figures and plaitwork patterns, on panels separated on the southern cross with curved divisions, on the central cross with straight divisions. The northern cross (height 1.43 metres (4.7 ft)) is undecorated. [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Church of St Mary (1037959)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. ↑ St Mary and All Saints, Checkley Diocese of Lichfield. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 St Mary, Checkley, Staffordshire CRSBI. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 Historic England. "Three Anglo-Scandinavian crosses in St Mary's and All Saints' churchyard (1012671)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 19 October 2017.
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