The Story of St. John the Baptist

The Story of St. John the Baptist The Parish Church of Saxmundham 1

Welcome to our church. We hope that you will enjoy your visit and be enriched by the faith, peace and beauty contained within its walls. One of the distinguishing marks of our country is the presence in cities, towns and villages of English parish churches, some 10,000 of them. They stand as a reminder of the Christian basis of our nation and the faith of our ancestors who had the vision and commitment to have them erected. This church is insured for 3 million, which represents the cost of rebuilding it today, but if we were to build a new church, we would be unlikely to spend as much as that. Yet this is what was done here in Saxmundham nearly 900 years ago and also in other towns and villages throughout this land - a tremendous statement of faith. That statement of faith has continued down the years as each generation has worshipped in this building, maintained it, cared for it and adapted it to meet their needs as a worshipping community. This church, like many others bears the marks of those changes which can be seen as you move around the building. As you do so, you will appreciate that this church is not a historical monument to some event in the past but is a living and breathing building that has changed over the years and is continuously changing in line with the God who has changed so many lives throughout history and who is still doing so today. Before you start your tour of the church, you may find it helpful to sit quietly in the pews for a few minutes and allow God to speak to you through the peace and beauty of this building. 2

The church interior is much changed from the original church which was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086. Little evidence of this Norman or possibly Saxon church remains, although some masonry to be seen in the lower stage of the tower may be of this date. We also know that the church had a South porch that contained a simple 11th century doorway. Unfortunately, the porch and doorway disappeared in a major restoration and rebuilding in 1873. However, we do have a picture of the porch from an etching in 1848. Much of the church that we see today stems from the 19th century restoration but the church still contains many original items of an earlier date. To help you identify some of the important features, we have grouped them under the following headings The Nave, The Chancel, Swan Chapel and The Exterior. 3

The Nave The Font c 1400 This is a typical East Anglian design with octagonal panelled bowl carved with lions interspersed with angels holding shields on which are displayed the instruments of the Passion (East), the Cross (South), the emblem of the Trinity (West) and the three crowns of East Anglia (North). The bowl of the font is original. Around the pedestal, which has been re-cut, are placed carved figures, wodewose: wild hairy men with clubs alternating with lions sitting up on their haunches and facing outwards. Between the top of the pedestal and the bowl are two sets of carvings; on the sloping underside of the bowl as though supporting it are angels with outstretched wings, and, round the top of the pedestal, flower blossoms. The font is embellished with a fine Victorian cover based on a 15th century design resembling a crown with a central finial of St John the Baptist, the church s patron saint. 4

The Nave c 1500 Internally the building is harmonious, light and well-proportioned. The aisles are separated from the nave by 15th century (Perpendicular) arcades of four bays, with octagonal piers which have moulded capitals and bases. These are topped by six two light clerestorey windows. An interesting feature is the Eastern Clerestoreys which were next to the great rood or crucifix and the screen beneath, which separated the nave from the chancel. The medieval rood screen has disappeared, apart from a portion retained in the chancel, but its position is marked by the North East and South East clerestorey windows. The north east window has moulded jamb shafts and arch above a heavily castellated ledge, and there is a line of paterae below inscribed with the monograms IHS (Jesus) and MR (Mary). The south east window is moulded internally. Beneath it is carved the inscription Sanct Johannes ora pro nobis (St John pray for us). These references would match the 5

figures on either side of the cross in the rood group, the Virgin Mary on Jesus s right and St John on his left. A simple niche can be seen above the chancel arch which at one time would have contained a carving of John the Baptist or Mary, the mother of Jesus. A small 15th century trefoil-headed niche remains in the eastern jamb of the south arcade, where the arch rest upon an elaborately carved angel corbel. Although this appears to be 19th century, it is interesting to note that a carving of the Annunciation, believed to have been presented to the church in 1348 by Sir John Wingfield, was discovered at, or near, this spot during the 1873 restoration. At the West end of the nave is the comparatively modern glazed gallery, from which the church s peal of six bells are rung. The west window of the tower ringing chamber contains the only piece of mediaeval glass, the head of an angel, to survive in this church. Above the ringing chamber is a large Sanctus bell window, which in mediaeval times allowed the ringer of the Sanctus bell to see over the Rood Screen to the main altar. At the appropriate point in the Communion service when the Priest consecrated the bread and wine, he would ring the bell. On the ground and blocked by the Rood Screen, the congregation of course could not see what was happening at the altar and relied on the Sanctus bell to tell them. 6

Stained Glass The 19th century stained glass throughout the church is of interest because of the subjects represented as well as the makers and artists involved. The West window of the North aisle is described in The Popular Guide to Suffolk Churches as being a fairly terrible product of Ward and Hughes and features an outlandishly dressed centurion. What else can be said? Beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder. The East window of the North aisle depicting two angels against patterned quarries is of interest because of its local connections. It was designed and painted by Mary and Bessie McKean of Saxmundham in 1872 and installed by Mr Howlett, a Saxmundham glazier. The Victorian tour de force is obvious\r Marchioness of Waterford, a friend of the poet John Ruskin, and a\\\ well known artist and book illustrator. The glass is by O Connor and Taylor and illustrates Jesus s ascension into heaven, in brilliant colour. Jesus stands in the centre, and the disciples kneel on either side. The drama of the scene is enhanced by the quality of the artist s work and in particular the facial features. 7

Pews and Pulpit The existing pews and pulpit date from the restoration of 1873 and are made from New Zealand kaurie pine. They replace the old box pews which were so tall that many folk using them could neither see nor be seen The Roof The whole of the nave is crowned with a splendid 15thcentury single-hammerbeam arch braced roof, with castellated hammers and wooden demifigures as corbels below the wall posts. During the Georgian era, or perhaps before, the roof was covered in with a flat plaster ceiling. A church guide book of 1855 states that at the time only the ends of the roof were visible below the ceiling and that the whole interior was disfigured by galleries. Happily the ceiling was removed in 1932 to reveal this splendid roof. It has been restored and the wall plates have been renewed, as have several of the other timbers. The ancient woodwork is less brown in appearance than the modern. The figures beneath the wall posts are mostly original. 8

The Chancel One of the most distinctive features of St John s is its weeping chancel. If you stand in the nave centre aisle and look towards the altar, you will notice that the Chancel is built at a pronounced angle to the nave. This is fairly common in churches built in the shape of a cross (cruciform) but is very rare in a church of this type. The main feature is not the angle, which is much greater than usual, but that it is to the South. Other churches with weeping chancels incline to the North, representing Jesus on the cross with his head towards the penitent thief on his right. Here it is to his left, signifying that Jesus died for the impenitent as well as the penitent. Saxmundham church is one of the few in Europe to have this feature. The Chancel arch and the two bay arcade North and South were replaced as part of the 1873 restoration, but we think that the restorers copied the original forms (Decorated style) The organ by Albert Pease of Hackney was installed here in the early 1950s. It has two manuals, pedals and 15 speaking stops. The piscina in the South wall of the sanctuary was used for washing the communion vessels. Although some of it has been restored, it still retains its original dog-tooth moulding in its arch dating it to 13th century. This is the oldest visible feature in the church. Below the piscina you can see the credence table which incorporates a double panel from the 15th century Rood Screen. The panel retains its original colours and a band of golden gesso work near the top of the left hand panel. Reredos (carved panels behind the altar) This was carved by the Saxmundham stonemason, Thomas Thurlow, in 1873 as a memorial to Thomas Crampin. Its blind 9

arcades display the ten commandments, Creed and the Lord s Prayer. Thurlow also carved the memorial to John Crampin on the North aisle wall as well as the tablet over the vestry door for Susanna Mayhew in 1853. In a final comment on Thomas Thurlow The Popular Guide to Suffolk Churches states- As a relief perhaps, after his clients choice of memorials, Thomas Thurlow lies with other members of his family in a plain table tomb by the (church) path leading to the gate. Stained Glass The East Window is an excellent piece of work by Lavers, Barraud and Westlake consisting of eight shaped panels linked with an interface - the four lower panels showing scenes from the life of John the Baptist and the upper panels showing events in the life of Jesus: his Birth, Baptism, Crucifixion and Resurrection. John the Baptist also features in the tracery, and the complete window is crowned with Christ in Majesty.The figures are exceptionally good, especially Zacharias (bottom left). 10

Memorials Within the church are some finely executed monuments by some famous sculptors. Among them is the memorial, by Nollekens, to Charles Long, who died in 1812, in which a fat putto sits with his torch reversed in mourning against the dark obelisk. Thomas Thurlow provided the tablet over the vestry door for Susanna Mayhew in 1853. Sir Richard Westmacott carved the memorial to Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Long, a prominent politician. He was MP for Dunwich and created Baron Farnborough in 1826. His monument here is a cenotaph as he is actually buried at Wormley in Hertfordshire. At one time there were at least two ancient sepulchral brasses in the church which were removed in 1644 by the notorious iconoclast, William Dowsing. Noted for his Puritan zeal, he was appointed Parliamentary Visitor of the churches of Suffolk with a commission to destroy or remove all crosses, images of saints and superstitious inscriptions. Many items of artistic and religious value were destroyed or mutilated by his puritanical vandalism. His diary entry for Saxmundham reads January 26 (1644). We took up two superstitious inscriptions in brass. Under the heading superstitious inscription were included those inscribed in Latin, those which contained invocations of the Blessed Virgin or Saints, and those which included a petition for divine mercy on the dead or any other prayer for the souls of the dead. Those which ended, as a large number of pre-reformation inscriptions did, with the words Cujus animae propitietur Deus ( on whose soul may God have mercy ) qualified for removal on two counts. Unfortunately, when inscriptions were torn away from effigied brasses, the effigies were also detached or mutilated. 11

The Swan Chapel The South chancel chapel was founded in 1308 as a chantry by Robert Swan, Lord of the Manor, although little workmanship of this date remains. Its southern windowsill is lowered and may at one time have formed a sedilia (seats for officiating priests). Nearby is a cinquefoil-headed 14th century piscina, with a sexfoil drain. The border of its arch is studied with flowers. In the East wall is a good trefoil-headed image niche, with an ogee shaped arch. The Swan chapel was refurbished in 1948, and its floor renewed with stone brought from the church of St. John, Fitzroy Square, London. Beneath it is a vault containing the coffins of John Eade and his two wives. The altar was made by Alfred Barnes of Ipswich and designed by the architect H.Munro Cautley. Further work was done in 1994 when the chapel was glazed in. It is now used for early morning communion services and by the young people s group. Stained Glass Windows. The Swan Chapel houses a rich variety of stained glass from the 16th to 19th century. The East window has three rows of three Flemish roundels of varying dates and subject matter as follows - From left to right, starting with the top row The Virgin and child with John the Baptist. by School of Caumont, Leuven Netherlandish 17th century Charlemagne or St Louis. by the School of Caumont, Leuven Netherlandish 17th century St. Peter holding the key in his right hand. by the School of Caumont, Leuven Netherlandish 17th century 12

middle row left to right The Prodigal Son being received by his father. Netherlandish early 17th century St. Mark Netherlandish 1520 The Virgin and St. Ann with the Child. Netherlandish 1530 bottom row left to right Act of Mercy giving drink to the thirsty. Can you see the haloed head of Christ at the back of the scene on the left? It was customary to put Christ in the Acts of Mercy to illustrate his words in Matthew 26:40 As you have done it unto the least of one of these my brethren, you have done it to me. The Acts of Mercy are stated by Christ in Matthew and are six in number, but burying the dead was added to make the number up to the mystical seven. Netherlandish early 17th. century. 13

The Four Seasons- Winter Some guides suggest that this represents an alchemist tending his crucible with the signs of Pisces, Aries and Gemini behind him. However, more accurate research shows that it is based on an engraving by Jacob Matham after Goltzius, Winter of the Four Seasons. Netherlandish 17th. century Acts of Mercy, welcoming the stranger Christ with a halo is the pilgrim at the back. Netherlandish early 17th. century The three light window (Perpendicular) in the South wall has glass by J. Powell and Sons designed by Harry Ellis Wooldridge, a talented painter and Professor at the Slade Academy. It is based on the Beatitudes and has Christ preaching in the centre surrounded by his disciples, a family group, and the disabled. (Was Wooldridge seeing them as The poor in heart, linking with the words in the tracery above?) The Y tracery window further along contains some excellent work by the same combination of Powells and Wooldridge, this time depicting Jesus and the woman at the well. Memorials There are several wall memorials to the Long family. One on the North wall of the chapel commemorating Beeston Long(1765) and his wife, Sarah, is by William Tyler, who had studied under Roubiliac and was an original member of the Royal 14

Academy.Another, in similar style over the small South doorway,commemorates Charles and Mary Long (1778). A memorial with anchor and ensign draped over the obelisk commemorates George Long, who as a young man was killed in 1782 leading the storming of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. The Long family originally came from Wiltshire, but their association with Saxmundham dates from the 17th century. Lord Farnborough s great-grandfather, Samuel Long (1638-1683), was appointed secretary to the Jamaica Commissioners immediately after the conquest of that island, and on his return to England purchased Hurts Hall, Saxmundham. The Outside The Western tower (14th. century) has diagonal buttresses at its western angles. The two light belfry windows and the similar west window are in the Decorated style of the early 14th. century. The restored west doorway is also of this date, although some of the masonry in the lower part of the tower is arranged differently from the rest and may have formed part of the 11th. century church. Above the west window is a niche for a statue. The clock was given in 1880 and was restored in 1938. The parapet has lovely 15th. century flint panelling (flushwork) with traceried panels. Beneath it is a band of flowers (flearons) and carved heads, in addition to a large head at the centre of the west side and a gargoyle head on the south side. The tower is home to a peal of six bells. Three of these bells were cast c.1480-1510 by John Kebyll of London. Another was made in 1609 by Brend, the Norwich bell-founder, and the tenor, weighing 8cwt.3qtr.7lb, is by Lester and Pack of Whitechapel, made in 1762. The ring was completed by the addition of a new treble bell by John Warner of London in 1880. The second bell was recast in 1938, and the bells were rehung in new oak frames by Bowell of Ipswich. The north aisle, rebuilt in 1851, has Perpendicular windows on the North side and a lovely early 14th. century west window, which 15

seems to have been removed here from elsewhere in the church during the restoration. The east window of the chancel dates from 1873 and has four lights in the Decorated (14th. century) style. The south aisle, with its fine 19th. century flint facing, extends the entire length of the nave and chancel. Its eastern part forms the Swan Chapel and the western bay replaced the old south porch in 1873. This aisle is lit by three-light Perpendicular windows, except for the eastern window in the south wall which has two-lights with Y tracery. Although the stonework in this window has been renewed, the original 14th. century shape has not been altered. The window immediately to the west has different tracery from the other three-light windows and may be original. The small doorway is entirely 19th. century workmanship. Above the aisles are sets of six two-light clerestorey windows which light the nave. These are in the Perpendicular style, and those on the south side are linked by a horizontal string course forming hood-moulds around them. Surrounding the two western clerestorey windows on this side are the remains of some beautiful flushwork. This traceried panelling in flint and stone is a fine feature to be seen in many of our Suffolk churches and here it probably extended for the full length of the clerestorey. Above the traceried panels are inscriptions in stone, also the emblems of Our Lord, his mother Mary, and other motifs. 16

The final gem in the crown that is St John s can be found in the churchyard on the tombstone of John Noller (1725), which can be found south west of the church steps and in eight yards. The east and west faces of the tombstone are small, inclined oblong recesses which form a simple and imaginative sundial. Every sundial needs a pointer or gnomon projecting in front of the dial to cast a shadow on to a marked scale. Any such projection low down on a tombstone would certainly, sooner or later, be damaged. To prevent this happening, the designer of John Noller s headstone hit upon the ingenious idea of making the edge of the headstone s surface the gnomon and obtained the relative projection by recessing the dial. As the stone faces east and west, he carved a morning dial on one side (east face) and an evening one on the other (west face). If you look in the recesses on both faces you will see the hour markings 1,2,3,4,5 on the west recess and 7,8,9,10,11 on the east recess. 12o clock is not marked because at the moment of noon each dial is completely in shadow. 17

You will also notice that the dials are not upright on the stone but at a slant. The upper edge which acts as the gnomon is so slanted as to point exactly to the north star, or in other words, be parallel with the earth s axis. And why was it done? Well, we are not sure, but just as some clocks are marked with the inscription Tempus fugit or time flies, so this gravestone with its sundial marking the passing of time also reminds us, the living, that our time soon passes. Or perhaps it was picking up on another thought about time from the Bible: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2) Thank you for visiting our church. May God grant you a safe journey home and may he bless you with his presence as you journey through life. 18

Rectors of Saxmundham 1301 Robert Swan 1903 Leonard Staniforth 1349 John de Lancomb 1908 Charles Morgan Gale 1349 John son of Geoffrey 1919 Frederick Conway Page of Halesworth 1930 Arthur Roderick McDougall 1389 Thomas Revel 1934 Frank William Moyle 1394 John Boteler 1966 Michael John Walker 1405 John Everdon (jnr) 1971 Thomas John Curtis 1410 Richard Drax 1977 Harold Leslie Boreham Robert Wales 1986 Andrew Martin Platt 1424 Thomas de la Pole 1998 Richard Frederick Webb 1426 John Cadon 1447 John Grymbald 1454 Alan Howson 1495 Henry Everton 1501 William Watkynson 1510 John Sooper 1551 Thomas Pynder 1558 George Cooper 1616 Thomas Ruttall 1662 Samuel Salmon 1707 Gilbert Collier Harrison 1571 John Byrlingham John Spinke 1584 Nicholas Cannapp 1612 Thomas 1716 Isaac Grace 1730 Philip Wilkinson 1762 Richard Taylor 1780 Caroline Robert Herbert 1783 William Brown 1788 Richard Taylor 1798 William Brown 1826 Lancelot Robert Brown 1868 Adam Washington 1891 George Frederick Richardson 19

Acknowledgements Marjorie Gibbs, Ron Howarth, Brenda Webb, and Victoria Webb for their help suggestions and proof reading of this guide. Bibliography The Popular Guide to Suffolk Churches vol 3 The Church of St John the Baptist Saxmundham Suffolk St John the Baptist Saxmundham Suffolk Saxmundham Sundial on Tombstone in Churchyard D.P. Mortlock Roy Tricker Roy Tricker T.W. Cole Suffolk Churches 5th Edition H. Munro Cautley William Cole for his work on the Flemish Roundels Richard Webb June 2001. 20