St Mary's Church is a ruined
redundant
Redundancy or redundant may refer to:
Language
* Redundancy (linguistics), information that is expressed more than once
Engineering and computer science
* Data redundancy, database systems which have a field that is repeated in two or more table ...
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
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of
Tilney St Lawrence,
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, England. It is recorded in the
National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...
as a designated Grade II*
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 under the care of the
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...
.
The ruins stand in an isolated position adjacent to Islington Hall Farm, immediately to the south of the
A47 road
The A47 is a major trunk road in England linking Birmingham to Lowestoft, Suffolk, maintained and operated by National Highways. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114 road, B4114. From Peterborough ...
between
King's Lynn
King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...
and
Wisbech
Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and ...
.
History
The oldest fabric in the ruin dates from the late 13th century, and is found in the
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 ...
, the
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 ...
, and the
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
s. The tower was added when the church was remodelled in the 15th century.
[ Although it is now a ruin, the church was still intact in 1883.][
]
Architecture
The church is constructed in stone, some of which has been rendered, with brick in the upper part of the tower.[ Its original plan was ]cruciform
A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...
, with a nave, a chancel, north and south transepts, and a west tower. Only the tower and the chancel have retained their roofs.[ The chancel roof is tiled. The tower is in three stages, with stepped ]buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...
es at the angles, and a stair 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 ...
on the southwest. In the lower stage is a west door and a three-light Perpendicular
In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', ⟠...
west window. The middle stage contains twin lancet window
A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...
s, and in the top stage are two-light bell openings. The parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
is battlement
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 ...
ed. The nave walls contain three-light square-headed windows. Only the gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
ends of the transepts are standing. In the north transept gable is a window of three stepped lancets, and in the south gable is a three-light Perpendicular window. The west wall of the chancel contains three lancet windows, the east wall a three-light Perpendicular window, and the south wall a two-light window with Y-tracery
Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...
, a priest's door and a pair of lancets. Inside the chancel are two monuments. On the north wall is a memorial to Edward Bragge who died in 1846, and on the east wall is a marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
monument dated 1723, dedicated to the sons and daughters of Anthony Dixon.[
]
See also
*
References
External links
Norfolk Churches: includes photographs of the exterior
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islington, St Mary's Church
Church of England church buildings in Norfolk
Former Church of England church buildings
English Gothic architecture in Norfolk
Church ruins in England
Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust
Grade II* listed ruins
Grade II* listed churches in Norfolk