The Church of St Michael and All Angels, Copford is a 12th-century parish church located near the small village of

Copford Copford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. It is west of Colchester, and the hamlet of Copford Green is found a short distance to the south. The poet Matthew Arnold not ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. It most likely served as a chapel to nearby

Copford Hall Copford Hall is a manorialism, manorial seat and Grade II listed country house, with gardens by Capability Brown, in the village of Copford, Essex, England, 46 miles (74 km) from London. The building was at one time owned by the Bishop of Lo ...

, once owned by the

bishops of London The bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of ...

. The church is widely recognized for its outstanding collection of 12th-century

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 ...

wall paintings, use of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

brick and semi-circular Romanesque

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 ' ...

. It is 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 ...

Description

Structure

The original Norman church was built sometime after 1130 AD. It originally consisted of an early 12th-century semi-circular chancel and apse with a semi-dome stone vault and 3-bay vaulted nave. In the late 13th or early 14th century, a South aisle was added. The south wall contains four arches: one late 12th-century, one late 13th-century, a possible 14th-century arch and a modern arch. Later expansions include the South porch which was reconstructed in the 20th century and timber belfry with spire. The walls were originally built of coursed rubble with both Roman and medieval bricks and uncoursed rubble on the south side of the church. Much of the original building survives today, especially in the apse with its original Norman vault. A remodelling of the church in the early 15th century replaced the original barrel vaulted nave with the current timber structure. The

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'', � ...

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

"consists of five open divisions on each side of a four-centred central arch, and has a form of straightened reticulated tracery reminiscent of the late fourteenth century"; its cornice was restored in the 19th century. The western timber belfry, shingled in oak, was built in the late 14th century. Romanesque sculpture can be found surrounding the two North doorways, the nave and apse windows, on the apse arch and also on the original stone

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

. A round-headed window opening built from Roman bricks can be found on the west wall, which possibly provided access to an external balcony used for a pulpit or for relics display. The blocked north door holds several of its original hinges.

Wall paintings

The vaulted apse is decorated with a variety of religious themed wall paintings depicting Christ in a

mandala A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...

surrounded by angels and apostles. The nave and chancel are extensively decorated with painted figures. The apse arch displays the signs of the zodiac, and several other walls display complex decorations, inclduding flower and leaf patterns and scrollwork.

History

In 995 AD the

Bishops of London The bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of ...

were granted Copford manor. During the

Middle Ages 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 global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the bishops would use Copford manor as a centre to manage the diocese and often would perform ordinations here. The ownership of the estate, which later became known as

, continued with the diocese until 1559, when Bishop

Edmund Bonner Edmund Bonner (also Boner; c. 15005 September 1569) was Bishop of London from 1539 to 1549 and again from 1553 to 1559. Initially an instrumental figure in the schism of Henry VIII from Rome, he was antagonised by the Protestant reforms introdu ...

was ordered to resign after the succession of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. The 12th-century church was possibly built to serve as a chapel to the Norman manor. It was initially dedicated to St Mary. Later, during the 19th century, it was renamed St Michael and All Angels. The earliest wall paintings in British churches occurred after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. The 12th-century walls of St Michael and All Angels church were probably painted at the time of construction with religious themed paintings. Following the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, the walls were whitewashed to cover the art work; they were uncovered during the late 17th century and then re-covered with fresh whitewash. In 1871 the whitewash in the apse was removed and the wall paintings were uncovered and restored. The nave paintings were restored in 1879, and all the paintings were restored again in 1931-32, in the 1960s, and finally in the 1990s. The Church of St Michael and All Angels was listed as Grade I in 1965.

12th-century wall paintings

Copford,_St._Michael_and_All_Angels_Church,_The_early_c12th_apse_and_its_wall_paintings_4_-_geograph.org.uk_-_5881509.jpg Copford,_St._Michael_and_All_Angels_Church,_The_early_c12th_apse_and_its_wall_paintings_12_-_geograph.org.uk_-_5889302.jpg Copford,_St._Michael_and_All_Angels_Church,_c12th_painting_of_The_Raising_of_Jairus%27s_Daughter_-_geograph.org.uk_-_5889350.jpg St_Michael_%5E_All_Angels,_Copford_-_Wall_paintings_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1862741.jpg St_Michael_%5E_All_Angels,_Copford_-_Wall_paintings_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1862754.jpg

References

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