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The Parish Church of St Etheldreda

White Notley

“I give from Purleigh into Notley, to God's servants, half a hide
of land on the east side of the street for the sake of my soul.”

Origins of the Church

The origin of the Church is a matter of great speculation. It is known that a Roman villa existed nearby and it is likely that the villa complex would have included a temple. It was common for religious sites to be located at prominent geographical features and the site of the present Church – at the crest of a hill overlooking the valley of the River Brain – is indeed prominent. If there was a temple related to the villa, its site may well have continued to be used for religious purposes after the departure of the Romans. When early Christian missions went to England in the 7^th century they were encouraged to set up their Churches on existing pagan sites (in, for example, a letter from Pope Gregory to Mellitus of 601/2 AD) and it is therefore probable that they would have taken over any existing religious site to build their Church. If this is the case, the position of the present Church will have been the scene of religious observance for nearly two thousand years.

The original Saxon Church consisted of a chancel which terminated in a semicircular apse. This was separated from the nave by a lofty arch. On the north side of the chance, where the vestry now stands, was a small side chapel.

There are a number of similarities between the Saxon White Notley Church and St Cedd's Church of St Peter-on-the-Wall at Bradwell. Both were built in locations where there was earlier Roman occupation and both contain Roman materials – brick and tiles – in their fabric. The original plan and overall appearance of each Church would have been similar. Before the side aisles were built in the 13^th century, the main body of White Notley Church would have been tall and narrow and appeared much as St Peter's does today. Both Churches also had a semicircular apse and, it is thought, small side chapels.

It is known that St Cedd established a number of Churches in Essex; some of the locations (such as Bradwell and East Tilbury) are known but the present locations of the others have not been identified. It is possible that White Notley was one of St Cedd's Churches.

In 1086 Notley was divided between two barons. Roger Bigod, whose descendants became the Earls of Norfolk, received the lands which became known as White Notley. Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, became the overlord of what is now Black Notley. Later, White Notley passed into the hands of the d'Engayne family. The origins of the names "White" and "Black" for the Notleys are unknown, but it has been suggested that the prefix "White" might be derived from the nick-name of one of the d’Engayne family – "Demi-Blanc". The d'Engaynes held the manor from 1211 until 1399 and it was during this period that many alterations were made to the structure of the Church. These changes include the building of the two aisles and the removal of the rounded apse and its replacement with the present square extension.

The Church

The Nave

At the east end of the nave, the chancel arch, which is flanked on each side by a niche, is the most imposing reminder of the Saxon Church. It is built of Roman bricks and tiles; some features of its construction have led to the suggestion that the arch might be a survival form an original Roman building. The remains of 16^th century wall paintings have been found inside the niches but are, at present, limewashed over.

The south arcade and south aisle were built in about 1250 and contain a number of interesting features.

The south door is the main entrance to the Church. This and the wooden porch outside were added in the early years of the 14^th century. On the interior right hand side of the door, set in the arch, is a stone incised with a tiny scratch sundial. At one time this must have formed part of an exterior wall.

Near the South Door is a 17^th century chest of three panels with lozenge carving to the front.

A list of the incumbents of White Notley can be seen hanging by the south door. The last recorded rector was Ralp de Maudalaye, who died in 1273, and the first recorded vicar was Sewallus Sharper in 1330.

Galfr. Jones (or Johannes or Jenny) was deprived of his living in 1559 for not subscribing to a third Act of Uniformity by which the Church of England was re-established at the beginning of Elizabeth I’s reign. He had been priest at the time when George Searles, a tailor from White Notley, died for his Protestant beliefs under Queen Mary. Searles was one of thirteen men who, with two women, were burned to death at Stratford, near London, on June 27^th, 1556. His memorial, with that of his companions, is in the Churchyard of St John the Evangelist, Stratford.

At the east end of the south aisle is a memorial to men of the village who were killed in the two world wars of the 20^th century and those who served in the First World War.

On the wall of the south aisle is a copy of the Will of Leofwine, dating from 998, which contains the earliest known written reference to Notley.

The west window is perpendicular and has three trefoiled ogee lights. The stonework of the west window was replaced in the 1980s.

The wooden bell-cote and spire were added in 1485. In it are three bells; one of which is very possibly 13^th century. The other two were cast in Colchester and bear the inscription "Miles Gray made me"; one of these was made in 1632 and the other in 1662. In 1893 the steeple was repaired with 1500 new oak shingles and copper nails by Mr W Rust of Witham at a cost of £17-2s-6d. At the same time, the vicar (Rev A F Curtis) at his own expense had the tower strengthened with wooden "knees" bolted to the four corners internally and ornamental openings made on the four sides. In 1970 the bells were restored and re-hung; the cost being met by money raised by the parishioners.

The font, the carvings of which include the figure of a baby wearing a chrisom robe, is circa 1400.

A large dug-out chest stands nearby. It is solid oak with a chestnut lid and was hollowed out of a tree trunk in the early part of the 12^th century. A rhyme that used to hang above it suggests that it was used, before the Reformation, to collect Peter’s Pence for Rome. It is more likely that it was used to house important documents relating to the Church and the medieval village. There is a slot for coins in the lid and it has three locks, keys of which were held by the priest and two Churchwardens. These might have been added in accordance with a injunction of 1559 which stated that a strong chest should be provided in every parish. It should have a hole in the lid through which parishioners could drop coins for the relief of the poor.

The north arcade and aisle were built at the end of the 13^th century. The doorway was added about 100 years later and is a very good example of decorated work. The actual door is two or three hundred years old. It is surrounded by the words "Thou God seest me". Such texts were commonly hung in Churches from the time of the Reformation until the mid-19^th century. At one time the chancel arch wall (tympanum) was decorated with similar texts and hung with large sheets of linoleum on which the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments and the Creed were painted. These can still be seen in the vestry.

One of the windows in the north aisle contains two roundels of yellow and white glass. They depict a child’s head and a crowned figure. The glass is Flemish and is of late 16^th or early 17^th century date. It came from an old house in Essex and was installed by the Rev W Alder (Vicar from 1843–1850).

Other items of interest in the north aisle are:

The roof of the nave is 15^th century and is of the truss roofed raftered type which is now plastered in. During the re-tiling of the roof in the 1980s evidence was found on the south side of the roof that suggested that it was once thatched. The corona that hangs from the roof came from Kelvedon Church in 1983and originally held oil lamps.

The wall paintings. In the Middle Ages the walls of the nave and chancel were painted with pictures of saints and scenes from the Scriptures. In 1541 William Byrle of White Notley left money to the Church for candles to be burned on his behalf before the "image of All Hallows". Nine years later began a period of extensive damage to Church property which lasted for over a hundred years. During this period the "image of All Hallows" and the other paintings disappeared beneath coats of whitewash applied by zealous Protestant hands. The wall paintings were inspected by an expert in 1989 and a small part of them uncovered and restored shortly after. These can be seen in the nave on the interior face of the south arcade.

The rood screen and loft. Towards the end of the 19^th century a number of improvements were made to the furnishings of the nave. These were recorded in a document that was signed by the vicar, Churchwardens and architect responsible, as follows:

“This Church was re-paved and re-seated and a new pulpit and reading desk placed therein, in the year Eighteen Hundred and Seventy Five, by which means additional sittings for about Fifty Persons were obtained. A grant of Fifteen Pounds in aid of the undertaking was made by “The EssexChurch and ChapelBuilding Society” on condition that the additional sittings should be free for the use of the poor for ever”

William F Fraser, Minister

Rob. Parris

Albt. Fairhead Churchwardens

E M Forster* Architect

* the father of the novelist E M Forster (1879–1970)

Earlier, in the mid-19^th century, there had been a gallery at the west end of the nave, with a barrel organ and seats for the school children. The Rev J H bailey (1859–1871) substituted a small modern organ and placed it at the east end of the north aisle. This organ was in turn replaced by the present organ, in June 1886. This new organ cost £130 and was built by Alfred Monk of London. A special service was held on 17^th June 1886 (St Alban’s Day) to inaugurate the new organ. At this service, the sermon was preached by the Bishop of St Albans and the organ played by the vicar’s brother, Mr Randolph Curtis.

The pulpit of 1875 was replaced in 1903, together with a lectern and stained glass window, by Mrs Barnard in memory of her sister.

The Chancel

The chancel was restored during the reign of Charles I in accordance with the injunctions of Archbishop Laud. While still Bishop of London, Laud had made his influence felt throughout Essex, which at that time was part of the Diocese of London. He believed that the beauty of holiness should be expressed in the beauty of a Church and so, when he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633, he set about imposing uniformity and ridding the Church of Puritanism, with its attendant tendency to drabness.

In 1639, Henry Neville, who was then the lay rector of White Notley and lived nearby at Cressing Temple, refurnished the chancel. A plaque attached to the chancel roof records this in the following words:

“Henry Neville, Knt. And Alice, his wife, daughter of Sir John Datchcome, Knt. A Chancellor of ye Dutchie (of Lancaster) had issue sons, William, Thomas and John and daughters Dorcas, Mellior and Alice and did adorn the Chancel. Anno Domini 1639”

Henry Neville was the son of Sir Thomas Smythe, alias Neville, who was baptised at White Notley on 14^th June 1555 and grandson of Thomas Smythe of Cressing Temple, whose nephew, William Smythe, lived at White Notley Hall.

Two shields bearing the arms of the Neville family hang with this plaque. One is inscribed:

“William Gilbart, Lord Neville. Born in Normandye and was Admiral to the same”

This could refer to William Neville, Later Lord Fauconberg, who was Governor of Normandy in the early 15^th century.

In 1879 the floor of the chancel was raised and tiled. The reredos of glass mosaic and a new communion rail were added. The chair on the north side of the altar was made from the old altar rails. The other chair is 17^th century and was given by the Rev G P Bennette (Vicar 1850–1859).

The east window is composed of three lancets. These were originally early 13^th century work but were considerably restored during the 19^th century as were the two small round-headed windows in the south wall of the chancel. All contain conventional 19^th century stained glass.

The third and westernmost window of the chancel is circa 1330 and has two trefoiled ogee lights in two-centred head.

The 16^th century piscine has a double arch with trefoiled heads.

Below the second window is a small 13^th century door. It might have been constructed to allow the priest direct access into the chancel when the nave was being used for secular purposes as was frequently the case in the Middle Ages. On such occasions the chancel was shut off from the nave by closing the gates or doors of the rood screen.

The Vestry

The vestry, which adjoins the chancel on the north side, was built in 1885. A brass plate on the wall records that it was built on the site of an ancient chapel.

When the vestry was built the arch which separates it from the chancel was opened up. This arch is of uncertain date and could be very old. Above it a small round-headed window was discovered bricked up. The window, which is now in the east wall of the vestry, is cut in a single stone. It contains 13^th century stained glass, which is said to be the oldest piece of English stained glass in Essex, depicting a crowned figure holding a relic.

When Mr Dennis King of Norwich first examined the vestry window and one of the roundels he pronounced that they both depicted St Etheldreda. She is the only woman saint who is depicted with a crown (queen) and Benedictine Book of Rules (abbess) and these can be seen clearly in the window. The date of the vestry window is about 1220 and the roundel about 200 years later. The fact that the vestry window is older that the main part of the Church suggests that there was an earlier Church dedicated to St Etheldreda, but this is far from certain. The Bishop of Colchester has stated that we may assume that she is the patron saint of White Notley Church. The Church was accordingly dedicated, or rededicated, to St Etheldreda on Sunday, 4^th October 1959.

The stone in which the vestry window is set is also of great interest. It is a single arched stone with an opening cut through it. From the exterior of the Church one can clearly see that the stone bears diagonal cuts; this has led to the suggestion that the stone might have originally been carved with an early Christian Chi-Rho symbol and been reused at a later date as the frame for the stain glass window.

The Churchyard

In 1897 an addition was made to the churchyard of a part of Bell Field, containing about 27 perches at a cost of £25 and fenced by an iron railing (still to be seen separating the churchyard from the allotments). The ground was consecrated by the Bishop of the Diocese on 3^rd September 1897. At the churchyard gates, the lamp with ironwork supports was erected at the same time as a memorial of the 60^th year of Queen Victoria’s reign.

St Etheldreda

St Etheldreda was an East Anglian princess of the 7^th century who was twice married but was wife only in name. Her first husband, Tondbert, gave her the Isle of Ely as a dowry and made no difficulties when he found she wished to live as a nun. He died three years after their marriage.

She wished to spend the rest of her life in the religious retirement at Ely but was forced by her kinsmen into a second marriage with Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria. He was devoted to her but bitterly resented the conditions of their married life. After twelve years he gave in to her entreaties and permitted her to leave him to become a nun. She took veil at Coldingham, but a year later she became the first abbess of a nunnery at Ely which she founded, being consecrated to that office by St Wilfred, Bishop of York.

As abbess, she led a life of great austerity and devotion. She died seven years later in 679 and, it is said, that when the coffin was opened after 16 years her body was uncorrupted. She was said to have been beautiful and certainly possessed great powers for winning affection. Her festival is kept on 17^th October.

White Notley Church Restoration Appeal

The restoration appeal was launched in March 1979 and has, since that time, been successful in raising funds to pay for repairs and restoration to the church fabric. The work carried out in recent years includes:

In the 1990s the church was redecorated and new electric heating installed. The churchyard gates were stolen in 1996 and replaced in 1997 with new gates in the same design with timber from Hatfield Forest.

Acknowledgements

We thank Mrs Elizabeth Ross for research and the original draft, which was edited by the Rev P Harwood Jones (Vicar of White Notley 1968–1981). This publication was revised and updated with additional material by D Bennett in 2005.