THE CHURCH 1549-1878

With the ascension of the Tudors to the throne of England, of the many changes which took place, e.g. dissolution of the Chantry Chapel, the disappearance of the Warden and Clerks from the Old Rectory, the coming of the Savages, no change could have affected the Villagers more than that of hearing the services being read in English instead of Latin.

The Puritan spirit gave birth to a movement which not only stripped away that which was unworthy and misleading, but often times also that which was beautiful and valuable. We may trace the effect of this movement in Elmley. There is evidence that the Church was stripped of much that was ornamental and made to assume a cold and bare appearance. The fragments of old stained glass which remain indicate that there must have been at one time very handsome windows. The walls too were ornamented with figures or patterns painted in vivid colours on the plaster, probably Biblical scenes with wh:ch many medieval churches were decorated, in order to help the parish priest in his teaching of the faith. One might almost think of them as the forerunner of the lantern projector. When the whitewash was scraped off in the restoration of 1876 traces of these paintings were found in several places. Again in the Inventory of the Church goods belonging to Elmley drawn up by the Commissioners of Edward VI there appear, besides a good supply of vestments and altar cloths etc. “a pair of organs” and an endowment for lamps and light.

There is little reason to doubt that the Church at Elmley was both rich in ornamentation and well supplied with all things necessary for services of a high order. Much of these disappeared at about this time. The period that ensued was a period of coldness in respect of the Church, and the condition of St. Mary’s at Elmley, so far as it can be traced, reflects the general spirit of the age. Not that it was altogether neglected, but what was done was done in bad taste and with bad workmanship, with the exception of course of the Savage Tomb.

At some time during that period the roof of the Nave was found to be spreading, and the south wall to be bulging outwards. This was remedied by the building of two unsightly wooded buttresses to support the wall, and by the provision of a ceiling to hide the failing of the roof. A gallery was built at the west end, hiding the west window, and dormer windows were inserted in the roof of the Nave to supply light. High pews were placed at the east end of the Nave, in the transept and in the Chancel; and the Chancel itself was shortened by a wall being built across it, with a plain square headed window in the centre, and the comers were filled up, giving the shortened Chancel the form of an apse.

In this state the Church remained until 1860. In the book ‘Rambles in Worcestershire” published in 1854, its condition is thus described -“This Church stands in need of the skill of the renovator as much as any I know of. The Chancel arch is a paltry thing with wooden wainscot and keystone; a huge gallery and a decayed and unsightly wooden staircase to the tower obstruct the view of the western window and greatly deform that entrance already sufficiently ugly by its large unappropriated space; and .long flight of steps from the higher ground of the yard down to the centre of the Church. There is likewise a doorway in the north wall and the through draught thus occasioned cannot but be dangerous to the persons who sit near. (Worshippers at Elmley still complain of the centuries old draught!) The roof is semicircular, whitewashed and has apparently a wooden cornice; strange holes are also cut out of the roof for windows, the utility of which, not to mention the beauty, is hardly perceptible, the walls are damp and the tower in a splitting condition”.

We can supplement this description from a painting of the interior of the church dated about 1838, which shows the font in. the middle of the centre aisle just in fron t of the chancel steps and the old high box pews with the gallery at the back. In the Sanctuary on either side of the altar stood a high tombstoneshaped table of stone. These two tables between them were inscribed with the Ten Commandments. One of the tables can still be seen in the Vicar’s Vestry. Happily by this time a better spirit was rising in the Church and Nation, and Elmley was not long in fee1ing the effects of it.

A beginning to a whole series of improvements was made by the Rev. William Parker, Rector of Little Comberton, who IIrr for thirty years 1830-1860 held the curacy of Elmley Castle. He I gave a new chancel arch in place of the “paltry thing” spoken of above. Several friends then joined together to provide the Church with a new pulpit and reading desk while the parish itself, through the old church rate, had contributed to the removal d the huge gallery with its unsightly staircase and made possible various minor improvements in the church.

In 1878 the Church underwent considerable restoration at a total cost of £2,074.16.2d. In this work it was the steady aim of those in charge while repairing effectively all that was defective or decayed, to preserve every old feature, and even every old stone and piece of timber that was found to be sufficiently sound. The old decayed roof of the Nave together with the semicircular plaster ceiling by which it was hidden was removed and a new roof of pitch pine was put in on the same pattern as the old one. The walls were stripped of their coats of whitewash and plaster, and the old and lovely cotswold stone masonry, thus exposed to view, was thoroughly cleaned, repaired and painted. During this work some old murals were unfortunately destroyed, but some interesting features of the Church were exposed such as the entrance to the Old Vestry, sundry Norman and other carvings which were carefully preserved, the remains of an old coped tombstone with a fine old 13th Century cross upon it now placed in the Savage Chapel, but found in the Nave beneath the fioor, and some fragments of old painted wall decorations of very good designs.

In the side aisles new roofs were put on in place of the old decayed ones. The unsightly wooden buttresses which propped up the bulging South wall were removed, the wall was then taken down and rebuilt completely. The old windows were carefully restored and one new three light window was inserted into the South wall to make up for the loss of light caused by the removal of the wooden dome windows inthe old roof of the Nave. In the Savage Chapel an entirely new roof was put on, the parapet restored and in great part rebuilt and the walls strenglhened by galvanised iron tiles built in under the parapet. The high pi tched wooden tiled roof of the porch was removed and -i new tlat roof covered with lead was substituied. The walls of the lower were repaired where defective, the lead work done in the roof, new lead gutters joined to the down pipe and the lightning conductor was put up. The belfry floor was substituted, a few of the old beams being retained. The bells were re-hung with new framing and the west doorway was repaired and restored.

On the exterior of the Church the walls generally were repaired, the old defective masonry replaced and the whole was pointed. The old wooden closed front pews in the Nave and in the Savage Chapel were replaced by new open oak pews. Before they were removed at the restoration, iron gates with a crown upon them, opened into the Savage Chapel. The crown was placed in the window of the Chapel, from where it was stolen by some visitors to the Church.

The new three-light east window was inserted at the expense of the Rev. William Parker, Rector of Little Comberton, in place of a poor modern two light window and the stained glass was given by Colonel (later General) H. F. Davies. A new altar table and sanctuary furniture was given by the Rev. Hugh Bennett and a raised platform on which the altar was erected was built and paved with ornamental tiles in memory of the three Bennetts, father, son and grandson -who were successively Vicars of Elmley.

Subsequent improvements in the Church include the erection of the oak screen to cover in the tower arch in 1909, the cost of which wil1ingly borne by the parish was approximately £80; the heating of the Church at a cost of something over £50; and the first instal1ation of electric light, the gift of Miss Frances Bagnal1 of Kersoe in 1932.

From “The Story of Elmley Castle” By The Rev. RH Lloyd, BA L.Th (Written when he was the Vicar of Elmley Castle and living in Church House in 1965)  

Structural History
The church dates from a very early period, the walling of the chancel, which was shorter than the present one, belonging to about the end of the 11th century. The Church at that time consisted simply of nave and chancel, and doubtless much of the original stonework remains in the present nave, though many of the carved stones belong to 12th-century alterations.

The first addition of which there is any definite evidence took place early in the 13th century, when the unusually wide tower was erected at the west end of the nave, which may have been lengthened at the same time.

About 1340 the church was considerably enlarged, the north transept and the south aisle being added. The chancel also was lengthened by some 5 ft., evidently to form a narrow vestry behind the high altar.

The north aisle was an addition of the latter part of the 15th century, the earlier transept arch being retained as the easternmost bay of the arcade and a cross arch constructed in place of the west transept wall. At the same time a new column was substituted for the first pier in the south arcade and the top stage was added to the tower, a new west door and window being inserted.

In the early part of the 16th century the transept was heightened and new windows inserted to form a chapel for the Savage family, the alterations amounting practically to a rebuilding.

The north porch underwent considerable repair in the first half of the next century, and it is not improbable that the western half of the south aisle was rebuilt in 1629, the date inscribed upon a stone between the two westernmost windows in the south wall. To the same date belongs also the embattled parapet of the north aisle.

Prattinton, who wrote in 1817, mentions a semicircular end to the chancel; it was probably an 18th-century addition and has now been removed.

The chancel was restored in 1863, when the east wall was rebuilt, a new roof put up, and new tracery inserted in the side windows. The round chancel arch, which is said to have been of wood, was rebuilt at the same time. The chancel also underwent a general restoration in 1878, when the nave and aisles were re-roofed.

The walling of the church generally is of rubble, varying in the different parts of the building. Besides the herring-bone work in the chancel wall the other parts of the earlier work are of uncoursed rubble. In the east gable of the nave are several ancient carved or worked stones. The parapets generally are of ashlar. The roofs are all gabled and modern.

Internal Layout and Windows
The modern east window, put up by Lieut.-General Davies to the memory of his parents and brothers, is of three lights with a traceried head; a 14th-century doorway opening into the former vestry behind the altar is now walled up, and traces remain of a corresponding door in the south wall.

The first of the two windows on the north is of two lights under a traceried two-centred head; the second also has two lights with a quatrefoil over; the tracery and mullions of both are modern, but the jambs are old, those of the easternmost dating probably from the early 15th century, while those of the western window appear to be of the 14th century.

The two windows on the south side correspond in all respects with those opposite. Between these windows and visible on both sides of the wall is the herring-bone work of the late 11th century, and at the west end of the south wall is a short length of plinth course.

The chancel arch is modern and springs from corbels. In the east wall of the nave flanking it are niches for figures; the one to the south is complete with its square head, but of the other only the lower parts of the jambs remain.

The nave arcades each consist of four bays. The first bay on the north side has a square jamb on the east with a 14th-century pointed arch of two chamfered orders dying on it. The rest of the arcade is of late 15th-century date and has octagonal columns with simple capitals and bases and pointed arches of two chamfered orders.

The arches on the south side are similar to the first bay on the north, but the first column is octagonal and similar in detail to the later work opposite. The second and third piers and the western respond are square, the arches dying on them, and the east respond is dispensed with.

The rood stair formerly existing in the angle of the north transept and the nave has been removed, but the blocked doorways remain. The east and north windows of the transept are both 16th-century insertions, though not quite contemporary. The former, which was of five lights, is now blocked by the large tomb of the first Earl of Coventry) ; the north window has three lights with sunk spandrels under a flat head. The transept has an embattled parapet both to its side walls and to the low north gable.

In the aisle wall west of the transept is a raking stone showing the position of the former steep gabled roof. The cross arch towards the aisle, which stands somewhat east of the line of the transept wall, belongs to the 15th-century work and springs from the first column of the arcade.

The two north windows and the west window of the north aisle are all original and have three lights with feathered tracery in a square head. The entrance doorway between the two north windows has a two-centred drop arch, and is evidently a 14th-century doorway removed here from the former nave wall.

The porch has in its west wall a diminutive and almost shapeless light. The outer doorway has continuous mouldings and a semicircular head with a moulded label. Set in the side walls are many 11th and 12th-century stones carved with various beasts, foliage, and diapering.

The porch is strengthened by diagonal buttresses, and its parapets, with those of the aisle, are embattled with continuous copings; above the porch doorway is a small trefoiled niche. Set in the aisle wall below the string are two gargoyles with grotesque human and animal figures.

The east window of the south aisle is a 15th-century insertion of three lights under a pointed traceried head. To the north of it outside is a shallow buttress, above which can be seen the quoined angle of the original nave. In the south wall of the aisle is a small ogee-headed piscina of 14th-century date the bowl of which has been cut away.

The first window on the south is a later insertion with three lights under a square traceried head. The second window appears to be contemporary with the aisle and has two narrow lights with a quatrefoil above them, the jambs being of two chamfered orders. The third window is modern, and the fourth, of two lights under a pointed head, appears to be an insertion of the 16th or 17th century. Between the last two windows is a stone inscribed 1629 F.F.

The Tower
The tower is of three stages with a pointed tower arch of two chamfered orders springing from moulded abaci. The respond of the inner order is corbelled back to the face of the jambs a little below the level of the abacus. It is evidently part of the original early 13th-century tower, as is also the small lancet window in the south wall.

The west doorway and window above it are 15th-century insertions. The doorway has a two-centred drop arch with a moulded label, and the jambs are of two orders. In the north and south walls of the second stage are large 13th-century lancet windows now filled in. The third stage or bell-chamber is lighted by transomed windows of two lights in each wall, with a quatrefoil above them in a pointed head. The parapet is embattled and has grotesque gargoyles at the angles. The walling of the lower part of the tower is of small rubble with wide jointing, and the third stage is ashlar faced.

Monuments & Items of Historical Interest
In the transept are two large monuments. The first is an alabaster altar tomb, with a black marble slab on which rest the three recumbent effigies of William Savage, Giles Savage, who died in 1631, and his wife Catherine. The latter holds the figure of a posthumous daughter. At their feet are the kneeling figures of their four other children. On mural slabs above the tomb are placed the inscriptions, arms, &c.

The second large monument, against the east wall, is to the first Earl of Coventry, who died in 1699; it is of Renaissance design, and has a white marble effigy of the earl reclining on his elbow under a canopy of the same material, supported on Ionic columns flanked by large allegorical female figures. In the cleft pediment are the Coventry arms and crest with allegorical figures at the sides. The monument, which was refused admittance to Croome D’Abitôt Church by the second earl, was erected by the countess dowager, who in 1700 married Thomas Savage of Elmley Castle.

On the south wall of the chancel is a mural monument to Anne daughter of Sir Richard Fetyplace, 1609; and another, opposite, to E. G. died 1668, has Corinthian capitals and a broken pediment, but has lost its columns.

An undated slab in the floor commemorates William Ganderton.

In the north aisle below the second window is a tablet to Elizabeth wife of Thomas Harper, vicar of Elmley, who died in 1609.

Part of a 14th-century coffin slab with a cusped cross stands in the north transept.

A curious sundial stands in the churchyard; it is a square pillar, on the south face of which is the dial above a carving of the Savage arms in a shield of ten quarters as they appear on the tomb in the north transept.

The font has a 13th-century square base carved with four dragons around a circular stem. The bowl dates from about 1500, and is octagonal, with plain panels inclosing shields carved with the Five Wounds, the rose, feathers, a portcullis, a trefoiled leaf with a bar on the stem, an indented fesse, and a ragged staff.

In the north window of the transept are two pieces of old glass; one is a panel inclosing the arms of Westminster, and over it is a crowned rose, party palewise red and white, a royal badge of the Tudors.

In the south-east window of the south aisle are a few other old fragments, including a crowned red rose and the quartered lilies and leopards of France and England.

In the pewing of the south aisle are four turned legs, which probably belonged to the 1637 communion table mentioned in the churchwardens’ accounts.

There are also four standards for misericordes.

A large number of 16th-century pews with moulded rails remain in use.

An old stone bowl now in the transept was brought from a farm at Kersoe.

The Church Bells
The bells are six in number: the first a treble of 1700; the second cast by Henry Farmer, 1619; the third with the inscription ‘Eternis annis,’ &c. (upon this bell are the heads of a king and queen) ; the fourth by Matthew Bagley, 1686; the fifth an old bell, said to have been of 1556, recast in 1886; and the sixth a tenor bell of 1620.

 Sites with information about the Church:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~engcots/ElmleyCastlePhotos.html

http://members.aol.com/pmdraper10/emleycas.htm

http://www.crsbi.ac.uk/ed/wo/elmle/index.htm
(With Thanks to British History Online
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=301 and
“The Story of Elmley Castle -by The Rev. R.H. Lloyd B.A., L.Th.)