records remain. The old church at Hoveringham had a parapeted spire.
Radcliffe-on-Trent had a Decorated tower and a tall, graceful,
crocketed spire. The crocketed spire of old St. Nicholas’ church,
Nottingham, was destroyed during the Parliamentary wars. The
original parish church at Flawford had a handsome spire steeple
which was demolished in 1773. Ruddington church, which was once a
chapel to Flawford, was rebuilt in 1887, the stones of the old
spire being re-used. Kingston-on-Soar had a small spire previous to
rebuilding, when it was replaced with a square tower. The steeples at
Carlton-on-Trent and Grove are modern erections.
VANES.
“Lo, on the top of each aerial spire,
What seems a star by day, so high and bright,
It quivers from afar in golden light;
But ’tis a form of earth, though touched with fire
Celestial, raised in other days to tell
How, when they tired of prayer, apostles fell.”
--_Lyra Apostolica._
The summit of the spire was generally finished with a vane of the
familiar chanticleer form--emblem of vigilance, watchfulness, and
prayer. In only three instances in the county has this custom been
departed from. Wollaton, Car Colston, and Keyworth have weather vanes
in the form of an arrow. The one at Keyworth has only quite recently
supplanted the original weather-cock, which is still retained in the
church. It was formed out of two sheets of copper cut to shape and
riveted together. It is no unusual thing to find an inscription or date
engraved on the brass or copper plates of which the vane is composed
and the hollow body of the bird filled with corn.
[Illustration: Fig. 10.--Bradmore.]
* * * * *
It may perhaps seem strange to mention botany and ornithology in
connection with church steeples; yet strange as it may appear, some
splendid botanical specimens have made the church steeple their
home--not only mosses and lichens, but wild flowers in profusion. The
rue fern flourishes on the steeple at Holme; a cluster of very fine
harebells adorns the steeple at Gedling; the ivy-leaved toadflax,
wallflowers, polypody fern, and many other small specimens may be found
growing on the sunny side of many an ancient steeple; while at Wysall
large elderberry trees are actually growing all round the spire.
In addition to flocks of starlings, pigeons, jackdaws, swifts, and
other familiar birds that live upon the church, a cormorant once chose
to make its nest at the summit of Newark spire, and during the same
summer (1893) a crow found a nesting-place in the iron corona at the
top of a turret in Nottingham. At Upton a chamber in the upper part of
the tower has been used as a dovecote. The ledges and nesting-holes all
round the walls are still in perfect condition, and give a good idea of
the interior of a medieval columbarium.
THE LOW SIDE WINDOWS OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
BY HARRY GILL
The term “low side windows” is now generally used to denote the
peculiar openings which are to be found in the walls of ancient
churches, generally, but not always, in the chancel; sometimes on the
north side, more frequently on the south side, and occasionally on both
sides, commonly known by the name of “leper windows.”
The popular idea concerning them is that they were made to enable
persons stricken with the dreadful disease of leprosy--painfully
prevalent in England when these windows were first introduced--to
attend the service of the Mass and to receive the solace of Holy
Communion at the hands of the priest without entering the church. Apart
from the fact that the leper was looked upon as a dead man and never
allowed to mingle with his fellows, a very cursory examination of the
openings will prove that they were utterly unsuited for such a purpose.
The height above the ground in some cases, and the great thickness of
the wall in almost all cases, would have made it very difficult for
the priest to administer the sacrament in this way; nor would it be
possible for any one standing outside the church to see through them
to the altar, to the images on the rood-loft, or to any essential
feature within the church. There is only one instance in the county (at
Laxton) where the altar might possibly be seen through the opening.
In this case the window is near the east end of the south wall of the
chancel. The reason for this position is obvious. When the chancel was
rebuilt (_c._ 1400), aisles were thrown out on either side to form
sepulchral chapels for the lords of Laxton: the south side was for the
superior lords--the Everinghams, and the north side for the Lexingtons.
These chapels extend to within 7½ feet of the extreme east end, and in
the middle of this space the wall has been pierced by a small window 18
inches high, 3½ inches wide, which looks straight towards the end of
the altar; but as the opening is rebated for a shutter and the sill is
5½ feet above the ground, it is not likely that it was intended for the
view.
A systematic survey of all the low side windows in the county has led
me to the conclusion that they were not all made for one and the same
purpose, and in order to determine their use it will be necessary to
notice their position and size, and especially the section of the
jambs, which in some cases have a wide rebate which indicates that the
openings were originally fitted with an oak shutter, while in other
cases they were rebated for glass in the ordinary way; and further,
the shuttered openings will be found to be plain rectangles, while the
glazed openings are arched and cusped. The fact that the shuttered
openings have all been “stoned up,” points to the fact that they were
used in connection with some ceremony which went out of use at the
Reformation; while the glazed openings were intended simply to give
light, and therefore remain unaltered. It will be convenient to deal
with them under two separate headings: (_a_) shuttered openings;
(_b_) glazed openings.
[Illustration: LAXTON.]
[Illustration:
COSTOCK. HAUGHTON.
_From photographs by_ Mr. H. GILL.]
(_a_) _Shuttered Openings._--The earliest examples I have
noticed in the county belong to the thirteenth century. In some
instances the string moulding beneath the window sills was “stepped”
so as to allow the sill at the west end of the chancel to be brought
down to a lower level; the lower portion of this elongated window was
divided from the upper portion by a transom, thus forming a rectangular
opening (Flintham). In other instances the string moulding and sill
are carried through level and a small independent opening formed in
the wall space immediately below the window (Stanford-on-Soar).
In either case the opening was fitted with a shutter made to open
inwards and hung with iron bands and hooks. In many instances the hinge
hooks and catches are still _in situ_, notably at Costock, where,
until sixty years ago, the shutter was intact. It is certain that
these shuttered openings were not introduced for the purpose of giving
light; it is equally certain also that they were not intended either
for lychnoscopes or hagioscopes, for it is impossible for the Easter
sepulchre or the altar to be seen through any of them, except the one
at Laxton before referred to. So far as I know, the only documentary
evidence which throws any light on the question is contained in a
letter written by Richard Bedyll to Thomas Cromwell in the reign of
Henry VIII.: “and we think it best that the place, wher thes frires
have been wont to hire uttward confessions of al commers at certen
tymes of the yere, be walled up for ever.” This quotation may seem on
the face of it to favour the confessional theory, but we must remember
that it was specially written concerning a monastic church, and only
bears upon the question, so far as parish churches are concerned, in
that it tells of the way they had in those days of dealing with an
object for which there was no further use; it was “walled up” and “that
use foredoen for ever.”
An example of the openings to which this letter would apply may be seen
in the Galilee porch at the west end of the large cruciform church
at Melton Mowbray (Leicestershire), partly built (1300–1325) and
controlled by the Cluniac monks attached to the great priory of Lewes,
who had a cell here; while fourteen chantry priests were installed only
two miles away at the rectory close by the leper hospital at Burton
Lazars. With such a supply of priests at hand, it may well be that this
porch, containing four shuttered openings, all conveniently placed
as regards height and position, was used “for uttward confessions
of al commers at certen tymes of the yere,” _i.e._ at Easter,
Whitsuntide, Christmas, and during the patronal and dedication
festivals.
But these special openings bear no relation to, and must not be
confused with, the openings in parish churches. If they were actually
used as confessionals, they only prove that the medieval workman knew
how to meet the necessities of a case in the most convenient way, and
it would be a libel on his intelligence to suppose that the openings
to be found in parish churches were the best means he could devise for
communicating lepers or confessing penitents.
The fact that the shuttered openings were all built up with stone,
proves that they were used for some purpose that was discontinued when
the Reformation was completed; not confession, for that did not cease
at once, but something in connection with the office of the Mass.
If we look through the inventories of church goods made in the reign
of Edward VI. (1552), we shall find in almost every case an account of
bells that were used for various purposes.
Hucknall--It. ij hand bells, j sacring bell.
Itm in the stepell, iij small bells.
Bingham--It. iiij belles and ij hande belles.
Whatton in the Vale--Itm iiij belles in ye styple.
Itm ij hand belles.
Itm one lytle saunce bell.
Sometimes the position of the bell is given:--“j little bell in the
churche called the Saints bell, the sacringe bell in the hie chancell.”
Regarding the use of these bells, the “instructions” issued by the
bishops are very precise:--
“At the Elevation of the Eucharist, when it is lifted up, let
the little bell first be rung.”--Bishop of Lichfield, 1237;
Bishop of Worcester, 1240.
“The parishioners shall not irreverently incline at the
Elevation of the Body of Christ, but adore with all devotion and
reverence; wherefore let them be first warned by ringing the
little bell, and at the Elevation let the great bell be thrice
knolled.”--Bishop of Exeter, 1280–1292.
I am disposed to think that all the shuttered openings in parish
churches were made for the purpose of ringing the sacring bell, and I
would like to draw attention at this point to two facts which help to
confirm this opinion:--
(1) Corroboration of dates.
(_a_) At a time when the Church, as a result of
the Pope’s interdict (1208–1214), lay dormant,
neglected, and moribund, the Friars
came (1222–1224), and by their zeal and
influence kindled a revival which lasted
until the Black Death (1349) decimated
their ranks, when the tone of the clergy
began to decline. 1222–1349
(_b_) All the shuttered openings in the county were
made between 1225–1350
(_c_) The instructions as to ringing the sacring
bell in the chancel were all issued between 1224–1300
(2) A peculiar example.
Beneath the sill of a large two-light fourteenth century window in
the chancel at Dersingham, Norfolk, there is a panel, 24 inches
by 22 inches, and 43 inches from floor to sill, pierced with four
quatrefoils. It certainly was never intended for light; nothing
can be viewed through it, and the detail is much too intricate for
any substance to be passed through the apertures. Any one familiar
with the “sound holes” which are so characteristic of East Anglian
belfries, cannot fail to be struck with the similarity between them
and the little panel in question, which I suggest is also a “sound
hole,” intended to indicate the place of the tinkling bell in the “hie
chancell,” just as the larger panels indicate the place of the tolling
bell in the high tower.
The wide internal splays to all the shuttered openings now under
consideration, is evidence that the intention was for sound to go
out rather than to enable any one to look in, either to watch the
lights upon the altar (the church doors were always open save during
divine service), or for any other purpose; nor can they have been for
the purpose of showing a light to scare evil spirits away, for the
medieval mind always imagined that evil spirits came out of the north,
and by far the larger portion of the openings are on the south side;
while the dial markings, so frequently found on the jamb between the
priest’s door and the low side window, and said to be connected with
it, will prove upon examination to be more recent in date, and to be
dial markings and nothing else. I have found them on the south side of
all ancient churches that are built of soft grained stone, but seldom
on the harder and coarser grit stones.
It may fairly be asked why, if the purpose of these openings was to
enable the sacring bell to be rung effectively, are they not to be
found in every ancient chancel. The church at Ratcliffe-on-Soar, for
instance, has no low side window, while the church at Flintham, only
a little earlier in date, has one on either side of the chancel. The
explanation is that the purpose could be achieved in various ways.
Early in the fourteenth century when screen building set in vigorously,
the rood-loft offered a convenient alternative position for a ringer
with a little hand bell.[87] A bell cote or turret at the junction of
the roofs of the nave and chancel, or near the porch, a bracket or beam
projecting from the wall of the tower on which a bell was suspended,
were all expedients variously adopted, the only essential being that
the ringer, wherever he was stationed, should have an uninterrupted
view of the high altar; and I think it will be found that not all
the hagioscopes were made to allow an exalted personage to view the
elevation of the host without the necessity of leaving his private pew,
but in most cases they were made to enable the bell-ringer to see the
altar and give the signal. Wherever a low side window and a bell cote
are found in the same church, it will invariably be discovered that the
bell cote is a later addition, and superseded the window.
Shuttered openings may be seen at the following churches:--
Barnby-in-the-Willows c. 1300 Both sides.
(_a_) Basford 13th cent. S.W.
Burton Joyce 14th cent. S.W.
South Collingham. 14th cent. S.W.
Costock 14th cent. S.W.
Flintham 13th cent. Both sides.
Gedling 13th cent. S.W.
(_a_) Halam 14th cent. N.W.
Haughton Chapel ruined S.W.
Keyworth 13th cent. S.W.
Laxton 14th cent. S.E.
Low Marnham 14th cent. S.W.
Normanton-on-Soar 13th cent. S.W.
(_a_) Nuthall 14th cent. S.W.
Orston 13th cent. S.W.
Stanford-on-Soar 14th cent. S.W.
Trowell 13th cent. N.W.
(_a_) These are built up, thus making classification somewhat
uncertain.
(_b_) _Glazed Openings._--Early in the fourteenth century the
screen developed into an imposing and extensive structure. Surmounting
it were the images of Christ, Mary the Mother, and John. A loft about
five feet wide was necessary to give access to the lamps which were
kept burning before the images, to the row of lights placed along the
top of the hand-rail at the great festivals, and for the purpose of
veiling the images during Lent. The projection of the loft generally
formed a canopy for the two altars which stood on the west side of the
screen, but there is evidence that in some instances the projection
was eastwards, _i.e._ into the chancel, thus necessitating a
special arrangement of the fenestration, in order to get light either
for general purposes, or to enable the priest to read his hours at the
desk, which otherwise would be dark when thus placed under the soffit
of the loft.[88]
With these facts in mind, let us examine the work at Car Colston, one
of a series of beautiful churches built by a peripatetic band of masons
known as the York School, and the only chancel in Nottinghamshire
built by them which contains a low side window. It is evident that the
rood-loft in this case projected eastwards, for the eastern face of the
chancel arch is quite plain, and the mouldings on the responds are not
returned, but cut off square and flush with the walling. No trace of
a staircase or door for entering the loft can be found. A comparison
between the work here and the chancel at Arnold--built about thirty
years earlier by the same school--where a stone newel staircase leading
to the rood-loft is worked in the south pier of the chancel arch, well
lighted by a small aperture in the angle, leads me to conclude that
a similar arrangement was adopted here, but probably the stairs in
this case were formed in wood instead of stone. It would therefore be
necessary to get light at this point, and the skill of the builders is
manifest in the introduction of this small but beautiful window of two
lights, each 7½ inches wide and 36 inches high to the springing, and
6½ feet from ground to sill. It has a sloping sill to throw the light
downwards, while the absence of a rear arch and the substitution of a
flat soffit indicates that it came up quite close to the floor of the
rood-loft. A quadrant splay to the westward distributed the light and
gave access to the rood stairs, and there was a square reveal to the
eastward, because the window was separated from the priest’s doorway by
a jamb only 8½ inches wide.
Wherever the rood-loft projected far into the chancel, it was necessary
to obtain light beneath it; and where the original fenestration did not
admit of this, a small special window was introduced for the purpose.
I think it will be found that in all cases where the jambs were not
originally rebated for shutters, the low side window has been inserted
after the introduction of the rood-loft for lighting purposes. During
the first half of the thirteenth century the lighting of churches
received but little consideration. Narrow lancets with sills high above
the floor were deemed sufficient, while the north wall was often built
without any windows at all. When the friars came, they were supposed
to know the service by heart, and manuscript sermons were unknown.
But as time went on, the desire for more light was felt, and it was
first met by setting the lancets in pairs, and later in triplets; and
not unfrequently the small east window was taken out and fixed at
the west end of the south wall of the chancel, and a new and larger
east window provided (Sutton St. Ann’s). At Kneesall portions of the
original lancets may still be seen in the south wall blocked up with
masonry, and in their stead two beautiful three-light, square-headed
windows were introduced when the chancel was extended eastwards in the
fifteenth century; and a similar thing occurred at East Leake, where a
portion of the lancets still remain, though now superseded by larger
windows. At Burton Joyce, in addition to the shuttered opening in the
chancel, there is a small lancet fixed low down in the centre of the
north aisle wall. This does not command any essential feature within
the church. The probability is that it was introduced to light the
priest’s desk in a chantry chapel which occupied a large space on this
side of the church, and contained the tombs of the dominant owners.
At a later date builders did not hesitate to insert large windows
in the walls in place of the original lancets wherever light
was needed for any special purpose, and in many instances the
original shuttered openings were altered and converted into lights
(Barnby-in-the-Willows). In some cases where chancels were entirely
rebuilt, the S.W. window of the chancel was made with a low sill and a
transom--an obvious development of the earlier shuttered window--but
never intended for any other purpose than to give light, for both on
the outside and inside the jambs are widely splayed and beautifully
moulded (Wilford). In other cases the S.W. window has been kept low
in conformity with ancient custom, and also probably because the S.E.
window has had to be kept high up to clear the sedilia (Plumtree).
Examples of windows for lighting purposes may be found at:--
Balderton 15th cent. insertion in 13th cent. South side.
Barton-in-Fabis 14th cent. S.W.
Car Colston 14th cent. S.W.
Cropwell Bishop 13th cent. N.W.
East Bridgeford 13th cent. S.W.
East Leake 13th cent. S.W.
Kneesall 15th cent. insertion in 13th cent. S.W.
Laneham 15th cent. insertion in 12th cent. S.W.
Lowdham 13th cent. S.W.
Normanton-on-Trent 14th cent. S.W.
Oxton Late insertion in 12th cent. work S.W.
Plumtree 15th cent. S.W.
South Muskham Late insertion in 13th cent. work S.W.
Sutton Bonington St. Ann’s 14th cent. S.W.
Upton 14th cent. S.W.
West Leake 14th cent. S.W.
Wilford 15th cent. S.W.
Plumtree may be taken as a typical example of a dozen or more
fifteenth century chancels having the sill of the S.W. window at
a lower level than the others.
There are two examples in the county that call for special treatment,
as they do not belong to either of the foregoing classes--Mansfield and
Linby.
At Mansfield side chapels were added in the fifteenth century on either
side of the chancel. Near to the east end of the wall on the south a
narrow opening has been formed 4½ feet above the floor level, which
has been described as a “leper window.” One side of this squint is
formed with an ancient incised slab, and several stones with the Norman
chevron moulding have been used. It does not appear ever to have been
external, and in my opinion it was cut through the old wall after the
chapel was built, in order to give a view between the two altars.
[Illustration: CAR COLSTON.]
[Illustration: LINBY.
_From photographs by_ Mr. H. GILL.]
At Linby there is a small squint at the east side of the doorway
of the north porch which has given rise to much controversy. I am of
opinion that it was made to enable the ringer in the belfry under the
tower at the west end of the church to see to the Top Cross in the
village street, which may have been used in the elaborate service
of Palm Sunday, when, after the palm branches had been blessed and
distributed, the priest bearing the Blessed Sacrament went out with
his attendants and took up his station at the Palm Cross. Then the
choir and people came out of the church in procession with their
palms to meet him at the cross and accompanied him back to the church
with the singing of “Hosannas” and other appropriate anthems, in
memory of our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This porch is
always said to have been built in 1548, but the style of architecture
indicates an earlier date; and the shields on the gable and buttresses,
Strelley, Hunt, and Savage, lead me to think that it is the work of the
grand-daughter and heiress of Thomas Hunt (died in 1427, seized on a
moiety of the manor of Linby), who was married first to John Strelley
(died 1487), and the year afterwards to James Savage.
While making this survey, I took particular notice of the relative
positions of the manor-house, parsonage, and village, in relation to
the church, and also the direction and lie of the main roads; but I
found that none of these had any effect upon the low side window. The
date of erection and the internal arrangement of the church appear to
have been the sole determining factors.
THE NOTTINGHAM MINT
BY FRANK E. BURTON, F.R.N.S., J.P.
In contributing a paper upon the coins and tokens either relating to or
struck in the city of Nottingham, or in the county of Nottingham, it
is quite impossible for me to give a complete history or even a brief
description of each coin or token, or to describe all the different
dies from which they were struck in the space kindly allotted to me by
the editor; but the illustrations taken from amongst those specimens in
my possession should, I hope, give the reader a very good idea of what
these coins and tokens are like, and although there are many varieties,
these in most cases only differ in detail in wording and dates; in
fact, generally some small alterations in the die.
_The Nottingham Mint._--In Saxon and Norman times this mint must
have been an important one, considering that we know of eleven kings
who coined silver pennies here. No coins were struck above the value
of one penny, and the coinage of the whole kingdom at this period
practically consisted of silver pennies.
In 924 Edward the Elder captured the town from the Danes, and
afterwards rebuilt it, but we do not know if he established a mint, as
no coins of his are known to have been struck at Nottingham; but the
mint was in operation in the reign of his successor, Athelstan, 925–940.