Waterbeach Cambridgeshire
Church of St John the Evangelist, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire is built of field stones dressed with ashlar.
There was a church with priests here c1160 probably belonging to the abbey of Denny (Daneia), originally built in 1160 by Robert, chamberlain to the Duke of Bretagne, as a cell of Ely, and dedicated to Saints James and Leonard, but refounded in 1342 by Agnes, Countess of Pembroke, for nuns of the order of St. Clare:
Two eastern arcade bays survive of a small c1200 aisled
church possibly with transepts, which was extended by one bay to the west in early 13c when the tower arch and tower were added.
The south aisle was rebuilt and extended in 15c when clerestory windows were placed over the nave . External battlements were added in 1616.
A guild of Jesus, recorded in the 1510s, presumably maintained the Jesus mass mentioned in 1513, and with guilds of All Saints and Our Lady survived in 1533. The last was perhaps responsible for the image of 'Our Lady in the Tabernacle' mentioned in 1522, in addition to that on the roodloft, and for the anthem of Our Lady regularly sung c1525. One guild had 2 aldermen in 1514. About 1520 a croft and 4 1/2 acres were styled the holy land of St. Mary Magdalen, of which the Crown sold 2 acres of meadow in 1552.
At the Reformation the medieval altar slab of Purbeck marble was broken and buried under the chancel to be rediscovered in 1875 and restored to use by 1883.
Between late 1540s - 1570s the chancel was repeatedly presented as about to collapse. Neither the rectory lessee nor the bishop, who had formally relieved him of responsibility for it by 1577, provided any funds to maintain it.
By 1665 the whole church was in need of repair, however in 1685 the chancel still had seating around its east end, with the communion rails presumably removed in the 1640s which were not been replaced by 1745. Perhaps in the late 17c the wide chancel arch was blocked with a supporting wall pierced with three roundheaded arches, but this wall was apparently removed by 1814 - 1835. A flat ceiling of c1790 concealed the tops of the eastern lancets until the 1840s, .
The upper part of the tower, damaged when the spire was blown down in 1819, was rebuilt 1821.
In the 18c the nave received new seating, including several high pews, and a gallery filled its west bay, blocking the tower arch. The old north chapel, out of repair in 1783, was taken down c 1790, when an altar tomb in the chancel, traditionally thought to be to John Yaxley, was removed.
Restoration began with the complete rebuilding of the dilapidated chancel to a greater height in 1848 by the rectory lessee Edward Mason, later commemorated by a floor slab in its centre. The triple lancets to the east are of that date, but the similar side windows are of 1878.
A fresh campaign of 1870-1, at a cost of £3,500, with W M Fawcett as architect, largely renewed the nave and south aisle walling, removing a brick south porch.
The north aisle was rebuilt in 1878 by John Ladds of London. It was buttressed and embattled and given new windows copying the clerestory, its former central brick porch being replaced with a western porch within the line of the aisle. The elaborate decoration of the chancel included alabaster panelling in the sanctuary, incorporating sedilia and piscina, and inlaid behind the altar with figures of saints in mosaic. Similar mosaic panels by Powell of Whitefriars adorned the new square alabaster pulpit, from designs by diocesan architect J. Ladds,
There were 3 great bells in 1554, four in 1745 recast as five in 1791. A tower clock bought by the church warden installed in 1746 was replaced in 1865.
Waterbeach Cambridgeshire
Church of St John the Evangelist, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire is built of field stones dressed with ashlar.
There was a church with priests here c1160 probably belonging to the abbey of Denny (Daneia), originally built in 1160 by Robert, chamberlain to the Duke of Bretagne, as a cell of Ely, and dedicated to Saints James and Leonard, but refounded in 1342 by Agnes, Countess of Pembroke, for nuns of the order of St. Clare:
Two eastern arcade bays survive of a small c1200 aisled
church possibly with transepts, which was extended by one bay to the west in early 13c when the tower arch and tower were added.
The south aisle was rebuilt and extended in 15c when clerestory windows were placed over the nave . External battlements were added in 1616.
A guild of Jesus, recorded in the 1510s, presumably maintained the Jesus mass mentioned in 1513, and with guilds of All Saints and Our Lady survived in 1533. The last was perhaps responsible for the image of 'Our Lady in the Tabernacle' mentioned in 1522, in addition to that on the roodloft, and for the anthem of Our Lady regularly sung c1525. One guild had 2 aldermen in 1514. About 1520 a croft and 4 1/2 acres were styled the holy land of St. Mary Magdalen, of which the Crown sold 2 acres of meadow in 1552.
At the Reformation the medieval altar slab of Purbeck marble was broken and buried under the chancel to be rediscovered in 1875 and restored to use by 1883.
Between late 1540s - 1570s the chancel was repeatedly presented as about to collapse. Neither the rectory lessee nor the bishop, who had formally relieved him of responsibility for it by 1577, provided any funds to maintain it.
By 1665 the whole church was in need of repair, however in 1685 the chancel still had seating around its east end, with the communion rails presumably removed in the 1640s which were not been replaced by 1745. Perhaps in the late 17c the wide chancel arch was blocked with a supporting wall pierced with three roundheaded arches, but this wall was apparently removed by 1814 - 1835. A flat ceiling of c1790 concealed the tops of the eastern lancets until the 1840s, .
The upper part of the tower, damaged when the spire was blown down in 1819, was rebuilt 1821.
In the 18c the nave received new seating, including several high pews, and a gallery filled its west bay, blocking the tower arch. The old north chapel, out of repair in 1783, was taken down c 1790, when an altar tomb in the chancel, traditionally thought to be to John Yaxley, was removed.
Restoration began with the complete rebuilding of the dilapidated chancel to a greater height in 1848 by the rectory lessee Edward Mason, later commemorated by a floor slab in its centre. The triple lancets to the east are of that date, but the similar side windows are of 1878.
A fresh campaign of 1870-1, at a cost of £3,500, with W M Fawcett as architect, largely renewed the nave and south aisle walling, removing a brick south porch.
The north aisle was rebuilt in 1878 by John Ladds of London. It was buttressed and embattled and given new windows copying the clerestory, its former central brick porch being replaced with a western porch within the line of the aisle. The elaborate decoration of the chancel included alabaster panelling in the sanctuary, incorporating sedilia and piscina, and inlaid behind the altar with figures of saints in mosaic. Similar mosaic panels by Powell of Whitefriars adorned the new square alabaster pulpit, from designs by diocesan architect J. Ladds,
There were 3 great bells in 1554, four in 1745 recast as five in 1791. A tower clock bought by the church warden installed in 1746 was replaced in 1865.