SOUTH LUFFENHAM : CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN
Church Post Code LE15 8NX
Open to visitors
It had been a mild start to the winter of 2022, but that ended in mid December with temperatures dropping sharply. The frost was on the ground as we headed in to Rutland, with the church of St Mary the Virgin, South Luffenham being the fourth church of what turned in to a 12 church crawl, with all 12 being open to visitors.
South Luffenham is a pleasant village, which had a population of 455 at the time of the 2011 census. North Luffenham can be found, logically, a short distance off to the north, with the two villages separated by the river Chater. Rutland Water is a few miles further away to the north; Stamford is off to the north east and Uppingham to the west.
It is always good to be back in Rutland, with its glorious countryside with picturesque villages and for the most part, their open and welcoming churches. The church of St Mary the Virgin stands central in the village, surrounded by delightful cottages. A village green stands just to the west of the church, with benches wrapped around a young tree. What a pleasant place to sit with a drink, watching the world go by. Being Rutland, it would pass by that little bit slower, which is good. Perhaps the benches would not be used much today though with the temperature hovering around freezing.
An old red phone box stands on the green, this having a Grade II listing in its own right, which houses a defibrillator. Flashback to earlier in the year when I was asking for directions on the cycle in Northamptonshire and a lady pointed out where all the defibrillators were on my route just in case!
This was my third visit to this church, and on each occasion I have found it open. Doing a little preliminary work prior to setting out, I noticed that the church website has a section entitled ‘Historical Notes for Churchcrawlers’. A nice touch guys, thanks for this!
The church of St Mary The Virgin started off life as a very basic structure of nave and small chancel. It was enlarged around 1150 - 1200 with the addition of a north aisle. The south aisle was added in the first half of the 13th century. In the 14th century, both aisles were rebuilt, with the tower being added, the south porch being built and the nave clerestory being added. The Chancel clerestory was added in the 15th century.
There was much work undertaken here during Victorian times. The chancel was restored around 1850 and there was a general restoration in 1861. The stained glass that we see here also date from Victorian times.
When Thomas North was compiling his study of the church bells of Rutland, which was printed in 1880, he noted that there were four bells hanging. The first of these was cast by Watts of Leicester in 1593. The inscription reads 'Hew Watts Made Me 1593' but the whole of the inscription reads back to front!
The second bell was blank and was cracked. The third bell, which was also damaged, came courtesy of a local founder, Tobias Norris I, and reads 'OMNIA : FIANT : AD : GLORIAM : DEI : 1618' which translates as 'Let All Things Be Done For The Glory Of God'. Both second and third bells were recast by Taylor of Loughborough in 1886.
The fourth bell is of considerable age, being cast by Mellours of Nottingham as far back as 1510. North also goes on to note that the bell frame has the inscription 'AL : AW l CW 1681'.
We approached the church from the west, the sun shining brightly but failing to burn off the overnight frost. The tower is square, perpendicular, buttressed and battlemented. The church clock faces out from the west face.
A frieze consisting of a repeated quatrefoil design can be seen across the top of the tower, underneath which is a row of small grotesque faces, one of which has cheeks puffed out; possibly struggling with the cold. A large gargoyle, of some age and quality looks out from the west, with similar centrally on the other three sides. A recessed octagonal, crocketed spire rises up from the tower, with three tiers of lucarne windows in alternating directions. The Union Jack flag hangs limply from its pole on this crisp, still winter morning.
The church exterior is quite difficult to photograph; with the grounds quite tight with several trees. South aisle flows seamlessly in to chapel, with the chancel standing taller than the nave. The chancel has its own clerestory, with the windows being of a different style, indicating the different time period from which they date.
An impish figure, with disconcerting evil grin which shows a mouthful of fearsome looking teeth, can be seen at the eastern end of the chancel. There does not appear to be any great age to this.
The visitor enters in through the 14th century south porch, entering in to the church itself through the south doorway which dates to around 1300. On entering the church my eye was immediately drawn to the north arcade, and its elaborately carved capitals.
The late 12th century north arcade is of two bays, with circular piers and carved capitals. There are carvings of human heads with one seeming to be a monk with pudding basin hairstyle.
The south arcade is of three bays, with the most easterly of the three being smaller. The south arcade is not as elaborate, with round piers and capitals, the latter having nailhead pattern.
Nave is separated from chancel by a small screen. The chancel arch dates to around 1300 and is wide with pointed arch; this framing beautifully the five light east window behind it!
The chancel is impressively large and it was very bright inside, with the sun shining in through the chancel clerestory windows. There is a mixture of ancient and relatively modern here with Victorian floor tiles and reredos being set against a treble sedilia and chest tomb of considerably greater age.
Starting off with the ancient; against the north wall of the chancel is a 14th century chest tomb which depicts a recumbent figure at prayer. The figure rests on a chest which has on it a repeated pattern of quatrefoil design. On the west face of this chest is the coat of arms of the Culpepper family.
Against the south wall of the chancel is a triple sedilia, the seating for clergy. There would usually be a piscina immediately to the east of the sedilia, in which the priest would wash his hands and the sacred vessels after mass. This is missing though; however the reredos runs the entire width of the chancel and extends out a little on to the north and south walls. The reredos on the south wall could well have covered over where the piscina was. A closer inspection of the sedilia shows the almost obligatory bottle of hand sanitiser, which dates the photograph to the covid years.
The chancel walls are plain with no memorials on them. The walls look as if they may have been stripped of plaster during the 19th century restorations. There are two bays to the west of the chancel leading in to the south chapel, which now houses the church organ.
As mentioned earlier, the five light east window is of clear glass; but there is stained glass to be seen here. A two light window depicts St Mary and Simeon, to whom Jesus was presented in the temple. Simeon holds Jesus aloft while Mary looks on. She holds two doves; an interesting reference to Jesus’ humble origins, this being the offering for the poorer people who could not afford a lamb.
On another window, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist faces Mary the mother of Jesus. Here, Mary is depicted as golden haired and wears a fine robe; this possibly in contradiction with her humble origins shown in the previous window.
Close by stand St Michael and St Gabriel, both archangels. Michael is shown in armour, carrying a spear and shield. Gabriel, who appeared before Mary at the annunciation, carries a lily, symbolic of purity.
Another two light window puzzles me a little. Jesus is talking to a seated man. I took this to be Jesus calling Matthew, in his tax collectors booth, to follow him.
Other glass includes a depiction of the annunciation, with the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary, with a speech banner which reads ‘Thou That Is Highly Favoured’. Mary is at a prayer desk, with lilies as a symbol of purity.
At the east end of the south aisle is a floor slab, sadly badly worn away, to one Rose Boswell, the daughter of Edward Boswell, the King Of The Gypsies. Rose died on the edge of South Luffenham in 1794, whilst her family were camped there, at the age of 17 years. At first there was an argument over whether she could be buried at the church, with the church wardens of the day not wanting the burial of a non Christian. The vicar had his way fortunately and Rose was allowed to be buried. A marble floor slab was laid, with inscription that reads ‘'What grief can vent this loss, or praises tell, how much, how good, how beautiful she fell.'.
The church grounds are of interest, without there being anything of any great importance. A carving of a human skull peers out from a coating of white lichen, reminding the onlooker that Man is mortal and will die. Therefore live as good Christian life and do not be caught short when your own time comes.
Elsewhere, two finely carved angels hold aloft a crown; this is a symbol of victory with the victory here being over death! This can be seen as a testament as to the faith of the deceased. He has won his rewards in Heaven, now onlooker, do the same!
A double grave is very weathered, with the date of 1677 just discernible though. Close by stands a Victorian gravestone which simply reads Mrs Diana Trollope 1823. This one intrigued me and I attempted some research, but all that I could turn up is that she died a spinster.
It was good to be back here again, both in Rutland and South Luffenham. This is a church of which I am particularly fond. Open, welcoming and with much of interest! Worth a look if you are in the area; and if you can spare the time this is an area of open churches.
All photographs used on this page are from my visit in December 2022, with the exception of the two gravestone photographs at the foot of the page, which were taken on a previous visit.
NORTH LUFFENHAM : CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST
Church Post Code LE15 8JR
Open to visitors
Our December 2022 churchcrawl continued with a visit to the church of St John the Baptist at North Luffenham. This was a return visit, with my previous time here coming at the end of a Sunday afternoon churchcrawl of churches close to Rutland Water. We ended the day taking in an evening prayer service here; a scattering of people in the choirstalls and a friendly atmosphere after the service. By the time that we got to North Luffenham that day, the light was fading and it was one that I had marked down for a revisit.
North Luffenham can be found north of the river Chater. South Luffenham, not surprisingly is off to the south, with the river separating the two. It is situated some five miles east of Uppingham and seven miles west of Stamford. The population of the village was 672 at the time of the 2011 census.
The church here consists of west tower with spire, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, north and south porches and chancel. It is situated in a quiet, secluded spot at the south of the village. Glorious Rutland countryside can be seen from the south end of the church grounds; sheep grazing as the sun set on my previous visit here on a warm summer evening.
Taking a look around the exterior, the substantial square tower is heavily buttressed, with stair turret to the north west corner. An octagonal broach spire rises up, with two tiers of irregularly positioned lucarne windows. The western ends of the tower are encompassed by the north and south aisles, which are battlemented; the outline of the previous roofline in pre clerestory days is visible on the eastern face of the tower.
Gargoyles and grotesques can be seen throughout the exterior, with some of these looking to be relatively recent. The steeply pitched chancel roof means that the chancel stands taller than the nave. This is an impressive church which no doubt reflects the wealth of the time that it was built. A bench is situated against the south wall of the nave; this would have been pleasant on another day but, even though the frost had started to burn off in the sun, it was a no go today!
The earliest part of the church of St John The Baptist dates back to the 12th century, with the original structure being an aisleless nave with chancel. This was enlarged with the addition of a north aisle later that century, with a south aisle being added in the 13th century. The three stage tower, with broache spire dates from the 13th century. The chancel was re-built around 1300 until 1325 and the clerestory was added in the 15th century. There was much Victorian restoration here during the 1870's.
When North was compiling his Victorian study of the church bells of Rutland, there were five bells hanging here. The first was courtesy of a local founder, Thomas Norris, working from his premises in Stamford. This bell is inscribed with the names of the church wardens of the day, Jo Exton, Ed Hunt, Ro Munton and He Law. It is dated 1630.
The second bell was undated and was attributed to Newcombe of Leicester. The third is another from the Stamford Bellfoundry, but a different generation of the Norris family. This one is dated 1618, and was cast by Tobias Norris I, who founded the Stamford bellfoundry. This is inscribed OMNIA FIANT AD GLORIAM DEI 'let all things be made for the glory of God'.
The fourth in the ring is from Thomas Eayre I, who worked from Kettering, and was cast in 1742. This is inscribed GLORIA DEO SOLI 'Glory To God Alone'. The fifth here was cast in 1619 by Henry Oldfield from Nottingham. North described this bell as being cracked and not used.
Today, the situation is a little different with there being a ring of six bells. One extra was added by Taylor of Loughborough in 1989, with the bell from Oldfield that North found cracked, finally being re-cast by Taylor in 1998.
There are north and south porches here, but the visitor enters in through the north porch. There are four bays here to north and south, tall and elegant. The north arcade dates from the late 12th century and the south bay is from the 13th century. This leads up to the chancel arch which was rebuilt around 1300.
Carved heads look out across the nave, including the almost obligatory mouth puller. One exquisite carving of a female wearing a headdress caught the eye. At first glance she appears to have hands raised in prayer. A closer look suggests that she might be holding something. I have seen several tombs where a human figure is depicted holding a heart. Perhaps this might be the case here! Wall paintings, dating from the 13th century can be found in the arches of the south arcade.
There are some fine monuments here including a head and shoulders to Susanna Noel dated 1640 which is on the north wall of the chancel. Susanna holds a prayer book, with a few of her fingers mossing sadly.
Of great interest is a wall plaque to Simon Digby, which also mentioned the burial of Roger Digby his son. This mentions a few details of Roger’s life and his wife’s name has been erased, possibly by a member of the Digby family. It was suggested to me that this might have been because Mary had been a catholic. Elsewhere on the internet it is suggested that it was due to Mary having remarried.
There is finely carved double sedilia, the seating for the clergy, against the north wall of the chancel, with ogee arches; the piscina in the usual position to the east of that. The piscina was used for the priest of the day to wash his hands and the holy vessels when performing the mass. There is another beautiful piscina in the south chapel.
The east window is a fine affair, made by Kempe in 1892. At the top is Christ in majesty, flanked by Angels wielding censers. The rest of the window is on three levels with the crucifixion at the top. The middle level has the risen Christ as central, flanked by David, Elijah, Malachi and Moses. The bottom level features John the Baptist with the baptism of Jesus as central. This level starts with the angel appearing to Zechariah, John’s father, in the temple, proclaiming the forthcoming birth of John; finishing with John’s head being served up to Herod on a platter.
Kempe was a prolific stained glass artist whose work was ‘signed’ with a depiction of a wheatsheaf until his death in 1907. I did not see the trademark wheatsheaf on this one, but the bottom of the window is hidden by the reredos and I suspect that it may well be found hidden behind that.
Jewel among the windows though is to be seen in the north wall of the chancel. Two windows have glass which dates from the 14th century. One of the windows has glass which is fragments, but the other is more complete; with various coats of arms and three central characters.
These are Mary of Bethany, who is depicted holding a jar of nard, with which she anointed Jesus shortly before his arrest. We can also see Edward the Confessor who, in 1060, bequeathed Rutland to his wife Edith, whose name is still commemorated in neighbouring Edith Weston.
Also depicted is St Barbara a Christian martyr, who is holding a small tower in her hands. The story of St Barbara is an interesting one. She was kept confined by her father in a tower and became a Christian during that time. When her father found out he went to kill her but her prayers opened up a hole in the wall of the tower and she was transported to a mountain gorge, where two shepherds watched their flocks. One of these shepherds betrayed her and she was brought back to her father who had her tortured and beheaded her himself. Her tomb became a site for miracles.
The glass in the east window of the south chapel is interesting. Jesus is preaching to a crowd and there is a variety of responses from those assembled. Some look doubtful, several look puzzled and some are visibly affected by what they are seeing and hearing.
The nave roof dates from the 15th century and has carvings of angels, which are depicted as wingless, can be seen on north and south sides. The roof was restored but many of the angels still retain their original colour. An angel with long flowing hair holds a crown in front of him; others are playing instruments such as trumpets, which are symbols of the resurrection. Other figures have their arms crossed over their chests or their hands raised in prayer. I did notice that a few of the angels’ faces are damaged and I did wonder if this might have happened during the reformation. If that is the case though, why would some be damaged and not others?
Moving back outside, the church grounds are well maintained and there is much of interest. One area of the churchyard is set aside for Air Force graves which are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. These include 11 graves of Canadian airmen from the time that North Luffenham was a RCAF base in the 1950's.
There are many graves here dating back to Georgian times. As with many churchyards in Rutland though, most of the graves of any real age are very badly weathered. One 18th century graves features angels at either side of the grave blowing trumpets, a symbol of the resurrection. Many of the graves are no longer in situ and have been placed against the north wall of the church grounds. The view of the rolling Rutland countryside out to the south is beautiful.
There is nothing of great age or importance historically in the church grounds, but one table tomb, dated 1818 and being to one William Fancourt, does have a Grade II listing.
Open and welcoming; a church with much of interest for the visitor! Well worth a look if you are in this area and with this being an area of open churches for the most part the area as a whole is worth exploring. It was time to hit the road again, and we proceeded, albeit a little gingerly with some areas still tricky underfoot, north westerly towards neighbouring Lyndon.
The photographs on this page are from my December 2022 visit, with the exception of the photograph opposite this text box, which shows the scene at twilight; sheep grazing in a field to the south of the church, as we came out of an evening prayer service in the late summer of 2013.