The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, generally known as The Round Church, is an
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church in the city of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, England. It is located on the corner of Round Church Street and
Bridge Street. Since 1950 the church has been designated a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
, and is currently managed by Christian Heritage. It is one of the four
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
round church
A round church is a church with a completely circular plan, thus a rotunda in architectural terms.
There are many Nordic round churches in Sweden and Denmark (notably the island of Bornholm); round churches were popular in Scandinavia in the ...
es still in use in England.
History
The church was built around 1130, its shape being inspired by the
rotunda in the church of the
Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...
,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. It was built by the Fraternity of the Holy Sepulchre, who were probably a group of
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
canons. It consisted of a round
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) 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 ...
and an
ambulatory
The ambulatory ( 'walking place') is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th century but by the 13t ...
, with a short
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
, probably in the shape of an
apse
In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
. Initially it was a wayfarers' chapel on the
Roman road
Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
known as
Via Devana
Via Devana is the name given to a Roman Road in England that ran from Colchester in the south-east, through Cambridge in the interior, and on to Chester in the north-west. These were important Roman military centres and it is conjectured that th ...
(this is now Bridge Street).
By the middle of the 13th century it had become a
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
under the patronage of
Barnwell Priory
Barnwell Priory was an Augustinians, Augustinian priory at Barnwell, Cambridgeshire, Barnwell in Cambridgeshire, founded as a house of Canons Regular. The only surviving parts are 13th-century claustral building, which is a Grade II* listed, and ...
. Around this time structural alterations were made to the church, with the rebuilding of the chancel and the addition of a north
aisle
An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...
, the aisle being shorter than the chancel. During the 15th century the
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norma ...
style windows in the nave were replaced by larger
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language
** Gothic ( ...
style windows. The carvings of angels in the roofs of the chancel and aisle were added. A polygonal bell-storey was built over the nave. In 1643, during the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, many of the "idolatrous" images were destroyed. By the 19th century the church was in a poor state of repair. Part of the ambulatory collapsed in 1841, and the
Cambridge Camden Society
The Cambridge Camden Society, known from 1845 (when it moved to London) as the Ecclesiological Society,
Anthony Salvin
Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on Middle Ages, medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations, such as those of the ...
for the purpose.
Salvin replaced the bell-storey with a roof similar to the original roof. This was made necessary because the weight of the bell-storey was too much for the walls to support. The 15th-century Gothic windows were replaced by windows in Norman style, and a formerly-inserted gallery was removed, together with the external staircase leading to it. To compensate for this, a new south aisle was added. It was found that the east wall of the chancel was unstable and this was replaced. Then the north aisle, by that time in poor condition, was also rebuilt, extending it to the same length as the chancel. The floor, previously black marble, was relaid in tile. The original estimate for the cost of the
restoration was £1,000, with the parish paying £300; it eventually cost nearly £4,000 (), with the parish providing only £50.
The erection in 1843 of a stone altar was the subject of a lawsuit. In 1845 the
Court of Arches
The Arches Court or Court of Arches, presided over by the Dean of Arches, is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England covering the Province of Canterbury. Its equivalent in the Province of York is the Chancery Court.
It takes its name fr ...
ordered that it be taken down and replaced with a wooden table.
In 1866 the
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic Debate, debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the ...
built their premises in the church's former graveyard, while, in 1899, a
vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...
was added to the north of the north aisle; this was extended in 1980. The
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literatur ...
stained glass in the east window was destroyed by a bomb in the Second World War and was replaced in 1946.
By 1994 the congregation had become too large for the church, and they moved their gatherings to the nearby Church of
St Andrew the Great
St Andrew the Great is a Church of England parish church in central Cambridge. Rebuilt in late Gothic style in 1843, it is a Grade II listed building. The church has a Conservative Evangelicalism in Britain, conservative evangelical tradition an ...
.
[
]
Architecture
The church is built in stone. Its plan consists of a circular nave surrounded by an ambulatory
The ambulatory ( 'walking place') is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th century but by the 13t ...
, a chancel with north and south aisles and a north vestry.[ Over the nave is an upper storey surmounted by a conical spire.][ To the north of the church is an octagonal bell-]turret
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
containing two bells. The church is entered by a Norman west doorway with three orders of colonnettes, decorated with scalloped capitals
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
and zigzags, and crenellations
A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...
in the voussoir
A voussoir ( UK: ; US: ) is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.“Voussoir, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Acces ...
s. Between the ambulatory and the nave are eight massive Norman column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
s and round arches. Each of the capitals of the columns is carved with a different design. Part of the vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosur ...
of the ambulatory has dog-tooth
In architecture, a dog-tooth or dogtooth pattern is an ornament found in the mouldings of medieval work of the commencement of the 12th century, which is thought to have been introduced by the Crusaders. The earliest example is found in the ha ...
ornamentation. In the ambulatory and nave are carved human heads dating from the 19th century. Above the nave is a triforium
A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...
containing double Norman arches. To the east are the chancel and aisles. In the chancel and the north aisle are carved angels dating from the 15th century which are attached to the corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
s supporting the roof; some of the angels are holding or playing musical instruments. The communion table dates from 1843 and was made by Joseph Wentworth. The chancel is floored between the choir stalls with tiles laid in 1842. They depict the Royal coat of arms, and the arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
of Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
and Prince Albert
Prince Albert most commonly refers to:
*Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria
*Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco
Prince Albert may also refer to:
Royalty
* Alb ...
. At the corners are animals representing the Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...
. There are two bells in the bell-turret. One of these is dated 1663 and was cast by Robard Gurney; the other is a priest's bell possibly cast by J. Sturdy of London between 1440 and 1458. Most of the stained glass in the church was introduced during the 19th-century restoration and was designed and made by Thomas Willement
Thomas Willement (18 July 1786 – 10 March 1871) was an English stained glass artist and writer, called "the father of Victorian stained glass", active from 1811 to 1865.
Life
Willement was born at St Marylebone, London, the son of Thomas Wi ...
and William Wailes
William Wailes (1808–1881) was the proprietor of one of England's largest and most prolific stained glass workshops.
Life and career
Wailes was born and grew up in Newcastle on Tyne, England's centre of domestic glass and bottle manufacturing. ...
. The glass in the east window was destroyed by a bomb in 1942 and was replaced by a new window in 1946 depicting Christ in Majesty.[
File:Cambridge,_the_round_church_03.JPG, Interior looking towards the altar
File:cmglee_Cambridge_Round_Church_annex.jpg, The nave (foreground) and north aisle (background right)
]
Recent history and present day
By 1994 the congregation had grown too large to be accommodated and it moved to the nearby Church of St Andrew the Great. Holy Sepulchre is open for visitors[ and contains an exhibition entitled ''The Impact of Christianity in England'', and a study centre known as a ]scriptorium
A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes.
The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...
. The church hosts concerts, recitals and plays, and arranges courses, summer schools, and lectures.
Burials
* John Lowry
See also
* List of church restorations and alterations by Anthony Salvin
* St Bene't's Church
St Bene't's Church is a Church of England parish church in central Cambridge, England. Parts of the church, most notably the tower, are Anglo-Saxon, and it is the oldest church in Cambridgeshire as well as the oldest building in Cambridge.
Th ...
, the oldest building in Cambridge, dating from 1033
* Leper Chapel, dating from 1125
* School of Pythagoras
The School of Pythagoras is the oldest building in St John's College, Cambridge, and the oldest secular building in Cambridge, England. It is a Grade I listed building. To the north is Northampton Street.
The School of Pythagoras was origin ...
, dating from around 1200
* History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes
The early domes of the Middle Ages, particularly in those areas recently under Byzantine Empire, Byzantine control, were an extension of earlier Roman architecture. The domed church architecture of Italy from the sixth to the eighth centuries fol ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
External links
Official website
Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge entry in the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain & Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambridge, Holy Sepulchre
12th-century church buildings in England
19th-century Church of England church buildings
English churches with Norman architecture
Churches completed in 1842
Gothic Revival architecture in Cambridgeshire
Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...
Grade I listed churches in Cambridgeshire
Round churches in England
Former Church of England church buildings
Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...
Buildings and structures completed in 1130
Churches completed in the 1130s