The Medieval Churches of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire
Talk to the Society by Aymeric Jenkins, 24 February 2015
Report by Jean Gardner
Our eyes were opened to the architectural development of the mediaeval churches in the diocese of St.Albans. First of all Meric, as he is known, defined the architectural language that he was going to use and then took us through a series of pictures illustrating the details of various churches.
St Mary's, East Barnet - substantial remains of a simple village church
A.Jenkins - scan from slide
They ranged from the simple Saxon building such as St.Mary’s, East Barnet, through the Saxon-Norman overlap to the Transitional style and on to the three phases of the Early English followed by the Decorated period and finally the Perpendicular.
Little remains of the Saxon builders work as the Norman conquest saw their plain walls pierced by Norman arches to form arcades. This is visible in St. Michael’s, St.Albans, although the Saxon windows remain above them.
St Albans Abbey/Cathdral - south transept with Saxon columns in triforium; Norman crossing
A.Jenkins - scan from slide
The cathedral that was built as an abbey by Paul of Caen, is a fine example of work from the Saxo-Norman overlap period which lasted until the end of the 12th c. Round headed Saxon arches dot the interior and lathe turned pillars, which were typically Saxon support the Norman arcades below the clerestory. But outside is all Norman in scale which must have seemed an enormous building to people living in small wooden huts.
The massive exterior of St Albans Abbey
A.Jenkins - scan from slide
From Norman to Perpendicular
The Norman styles lingered until the end of the 12th century, merging with the Transitional designs which came in with the Cistercians about 1174. These tended towards the Gothic which is identified by pointed arches that gradually became elongated into the Early English style. This had three phases beginning with lancet windows, then the development of tracery in the windows.
St Mary's, Felmersham, from the SW - a complete and little altered Early English church, built between 1220 and 1240 (top storey of tower rebuilt later)
A.Jenkins - scan from slide
Thirdly the Geometric style saw windows becoming even higher to let in more light. St.Mary’s , Felmersham is one of the best places to see a little altered Early English church. Simple tall, pointed, slit windows light up the interior with its alternate octagonal and round columns. After the Early English came the Decorated churches in the mid 14th c.
Nothing happened quickly. The builders were reliant on the master masons and what they had seen as they journeyed around for work so there was a great deal of overlap of the styles. Increasing wealth in the country from the export of wool and the need to accommodate bigger congregations meant larger grander churches. Most of our Mediaeval churches were built of rubble faced with flints and had wooden roofs because of the shortage of hard stone. But in the north west of the diocese stone was brought from quarries in Northamptonshire and Lincoln as the economy grew. Watford, Luton and Leighton Buzzard are among these churches.
With a lack of hard stone in the area Paul of Caen had re-used Roman bricks from the ruins of Verulanium and brought stone from quarries in Northern France to build the Abbey. In the south of the diocese a few churches incorporated Kentish rag, a sandy limestone. As bigger buildings were envisaged Totternhoe Stone from just north of Dunstable was quarried for churches. It is good for carving and extensively used for interior decorations but outside it is subject to weathering and constantly needs repairs and replacements.
St Mary's, Ashwell, chancel begun in 1340s and completed in 1368
A.Jenkins - scan from slide
One of the worst cases is the 14th c. St.Mary’s Ashwell where the walls are in a poor state. But inside is a gem. A picture of the old St.Paul’s Cathedral is scratched high on the wall of the tower. Ashwell has a typical Hertfordshire spike visible for miles around. Even these small spires were made from wood and metal because of the shortage of stone and most churches had wooden roofs. St.Mary’s, Hemel Hempstead is a rare example of a Norman church with a rib-vaulted stone roof in the chancel.
As the economy grew stone was brought in and saw the Decorated Style incorporate elaborate tracery and the ogee arch. Then the Perpendicular style came in with the emphasis on the vertical lines which lasted for two hundred years until the mid 16th c and the end of the Mediaeval Age.
APPENDIX
Gallery of the illustrations - scanned by Peter Boden from Meric Jenkins's extensive collection of colour slides.
The scans follow the chronological sequence of their interesting architectural features: the chart shows the time-frame for the development of styles. Captions based on Meric's lecture notes.