St Mark's, Bilton
Bilton lies immediately west of Rugby and though originally a rural village it is now very much a suburb of the town. It still however retains some of its village character and its ancient parish church of St Mark is happily set away from the busy roads in a more peaceful enclave, its spire and tower emerging from the dense surrounding foliage to announce its presence.
St Mark's church dates back to the mid 14th century and is a good example of the Decorated style with its large windows adorned with flowing tracery. All of the surviving medieval work dates from this phase (there were doubtless earlier buildings on the site that were in turn replaced) and the tower and spire have remained unaltered ever since. The body of the church however has seen some dramatic alterations since it originally only consisted of an aisle-less nave and chancel.
The first major intervention came in 1873 when G.F.Bodley restored the church (the chancel adornments and east window are of this time) and extended it by adding the present north aisle. The second major extension came as recently as 1962 when the south aisle was added to balance that on the north, greatly increasing the interior space. On both occasions the work was done very sensitively by simply dismantling the medieval nave walls and re-assembling them further outwards to create the aisles, so that technically only their end walls are new work (along with the roofs and arcades within), thus one could be forgiven for inspecting the exterior with its ancient stonework and not suspecting any enlargement had taken place (I'd known the church for years having grown up locally, but only recently found out parts of it are only twelve years older than I am!).
The interior is now more open and spacious than it ever was before, the new south aisle being particularly light and pleasant within. Few will notice that the three-bay nave arcades aren't ancient, as Bodley's work on the north ably mimics medieval work and the newer arches on the south side imitate them (a rare example of church architecture of this period being so sensitive, trying so hard to subtly fit in with earlier work). The chancel beyond is more richly furnished with fine stalls and a handsome organ case from one of the Cambridge colleges, redecorated with gilding and Bodley's stenciling on the wall around it. There are several stained glass windows of varying dates and styles from the Victorian period but the real treasures here are the surviving fragments of the church's original 14th century glass, collected mostly into the north chancel window (a few more are set high up in the east window of the north aisle). Most of what remains is a jumble of fragments (with a few deceptive Victorian heads thrown into the mix) along with some reset heraldic tracery lights, but the tiny scene of a man about to slaughter a pig at the lower right corner ('December' from a series of the medieval 'Labours of the Months') is a real gem.
Years ago St Mark's church used to be open more regularly, but these days is normally only open for services, so one is best advised to make prior arrangements to see inside or visit after a service as I did on this occasion (many thanks to Reverend Tim for staying on slightly longer before locking up to allow me a little more time to finish).
stmarksbilton.org.uk/page/13/our-history
St Mark's, Bilton
Bilton lies immediately west of Rugby and though originally a rural village it is now very much a suburb of the town. It still however retains some of its village character and its ancient parish church of St Mark is happily set away from the busy roads in a more peaceful enclave, its spire and tower emerging from the dense surrounding foliage to announce its presence.
St Mark's church dates back to the mid 14th century and is a good example of the Decorated style with its large windows adorned with flowing tracery. All of the surviving medieval work dates from this phase (there were doubtless earlier buildings on the site that were in turn replaced) and the tower and spire have remained unaltered ever since. The body of the church however has seen some dramatic alterations since it originally only consisted of an aisle-less nave and chancel.
The first major intervention came in 1873 when G.F.Bodley restored the church (the chancel adornments and east window are of this time) and extended it by adding the present north aisle. The second major extension came as recently as 1962 when the south aisle was added to balance that on the north, greatly increasing the interior space. On both occasions the work was done very sensitively by simply dismantling the medieval nave walls and re-assembling them further outwards to create the aisles, so that technically only their end walls are new work (along with the roofs and arcades within), thus one could be forgiven for inspecting the exterior with its ancient stonework and not suspecting any enlargement had taken place (I'd known the church for years having grown up locally, but only recently found out parts of it are only twelve years older than I am!).
The interior is now more open and spacious than it ever was before, the new south aisle being particularly light and pleasant within. Few will notice that the three-bay nave arcades aren't ancient, as Bodley's work on the north ably mimics medieval work and the newer arches on the south side imitate them (a rare example of church architecture of this period being so sensitive, trying so hard to subtly fit in with earlier work). The chancel beyond is more richly furnished with fine stalls and a handsome organ case from one of the Cambridge colleges, redecorated with gilding and Bodley's stenciling on the wall around it. There are several stained glass windows of varying dates and styles from the Victorian period but the real treasures here are the surviving fragments of the church's original 14th century glass, collected mostly into the north chancel window (a few more are set high up in the east window of the north aisle). Most of what remains is a jumble of fragments (with a few deceptive Victorian heads thrown into the mix) along with some reset heraldic tracery lights, but the tiny scene of a man about to slaughter a pig at the lower right corner ('December' from a series of the medieval 'Labours of the Months') is a real gem.
Years ago St Mark's church used to be open more regularly, but these days is normally only open for services, so one is best advised to make prior arrangements to see inside or visit after a service as I did on this occasion (many thanks to Reverend Tim for staying on slightly longer before locking up to allow me a little more time to finish).
stmarksbilton.org.uk/page/13/our-history