St Hubert Chapel_Idsworth Downs_Nr Finchdean_Canon 5D Mark III_DxO_PT Gui
THE LITTLE CHURCH IN A FIELD
1053AD
St Hubert's Idsworth STANDING alone amid the fields of Old Idsworth and Heberden's Farms is the little Chapel of St Hubert, for many centuries dedicated to St Peter but rededicated to St Hubert, patron saint of hunters, probably in the late 19th century (after the discovery of the wall painting in 1864). According to legend, St Hubert was converted while hunting on Good Friday by seeing an image of the crucified Christ between the antlers of a stag. He later became Bishop of Maastricht and Liege and died in 727. It is thought that the chapel could well have been used as a hunting chapel in its early days.
The chapel stands some distance from the road, adjoining the site of the old Manor House of Idsworth, of which only the stables, coach house and walled garden remain, the house having been demolished when the railway was built in the mid 19th century. It overlooks a valley in which a stream (lavant) now flows only in occasional winters but which was the site of a village from about the 9th to the 14th centuries.
Idsworth is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, unlike the neighbouring manor of Chalton, which was held personally by Earl Godwin, Earl of Wessex and premier Earl of England, until his death in 1053, when the manor passed to his son, (later King) Harold, who held it until his death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Idsworth began as a chaplaincy of the manor of Chalton but by the 12th century had become independent and later became the dominant of the two manors.
The chapel is believed to have been built by Earl Godwin, who died in 1053, which perhaps explains why this is the latest date normally given to its origin. However, Roman coins and pottery have been found in the adjoining field and it has been suggested that the chapel could well have been built on the foundations of a much earlier building. The oldest part is the nave (later widened), which was built in the new Norman style which Edward the Confessor was then introducing into England. An early English Chancel, a bell turret and a porch were all added later.
St Hubert's Chapel is beautiful in its simplicity rather than its richness, yet some of its contents are rich beyond price. For example, on the North wall of the Chancel is a mural, discovered in 1864 and dated at circa 1330.
Idsworth C14 Painting
Unusual for its completeness and quality, it consists of two parts separated by a horizontal zigzag line. It is generally agreed that the lower picture depicts the presentation of the head of St John the Baptist, on a salver, to Salome (the contorted figure in the foreground) at King Herod's feast (clearly visible in the centre), and that the separate scene at the left-hand end represents St John being thrown into prison. The hunting scene in the upper picture is less easily interpreted and an earlier view that it represents St Hubert converting or curing a lycanthrope (a man who through a form of insanity believed himself to be a wolf) has been discounted in a number of modern treatises on the subject. It is generally considered that the right-hand end of the upper picture depicts the arrest of St John and that the remainder portrays the discovery of a "hairy anchorite", a hermit who, according to legend, in penance for sins of inchastity and murder, undertook to walk on all fours until he knew he was forgiven. In the early 14th century this legend could well have been identified with events in the early life of St John the Baptist, thus providing a thread of continuity through both tiers of the mural.
Click on these links for a detailed and scholarly discussion of these paintings:
Herod’s Feast, with Salome’s Dance
The Legend of the Hairy Anchorite
A new fresco in 14th century style, was commissioned and painted in 2000 to celebrate the millennium. This depicts ‘Christ in Majesty’ together with images inspired by the vision of St Peter and also a rich variety of other symbols and contemporary images.
Idsworth Fresco 2000
The Chancel
The Ceiling was replastered and decorated in 1913. There are 13 medallions set within a framework of diamond panels with ribs in cable pattern, rising from pleasing frescoes of grapes, leaves and a bird at the top of each wall. Two crowns on each side surmount the frescoes. The medallions appear to show: -- The Good Shepherd, four eagles receiving light from a cloud above them, a Cross of Lorraine superimposed by cross keys, the Dove of the Holy Spirit, a Phoenix rising from the flames, three fishes arranged in a triangle with the head of each superimposed over another's tail, a Bishop, a Chalice, the Lamb of St. John holding a flag and staff, a peacock, St. Hubert and the stag, the mother pelican pecking her breast to produce drops of blood to feed her three chicks, and a medieval three-masted ship.
Two braces, boxed in wood, cross the Chancel overhead, and since they partially mask the crowns, these were probably a later addition.
The Altar consists of the stone mensâ of the medieval altar, raised from the floor and placed on stonework in 1913.
Idsworth Window RoundelThe East window is of plain glass with one adornment, a small circular inset picturing St. Hubert's conversion and based on a Dürer engraving, but with the addition of a tiny representation of the chapel itself, in the upper left-hand quadrant, just to the right of the horse's head. This roundel was the gift of the architect of the 1913 restoration (see below).
Idsworth St Peter
On the splays each side of the window, frescos of St. Peter and St. Paul are easily discernible. St. Peter is shown holding the keys of Heaven, and St. Paul with a staff over his shoulder holding aloft a book. On the soffit of the arch are two angels. These paintings are also dated at circa 1330.
Idsworth St Paul
On the wall to the North side of the East window some remains of a mural are faintly visible, but unfortunately the figures are not discernible. On the other side, in a niche in the wall, is a Piscina, the bottom being shaped like a basin with a drain hole in the centre. The water used for cleaning the chalice was poured into this after the service of Holy Communion.
Hanging here is a painting of the Royal Coat of Arms of George III surrounded by the inscription, "The Chapel was repaired in 1793-- Thomas Padwick, Chapel Warden. This Chapel was repaired in 1825-- Thomas Smith, Chapel Warden."
The Nave
Idsworth NaveThe Nave seats about fifty and consists of box pews and narrow, rather uncomfortable benches. In the North wall of the Nave is a small arch, now blocked, only twenty-one inches wide. It is visible from inside and out and might have been an entrance to a much smaller chapel or building. Above the Nave are three tie beams, the centre one conspicuous as the ceiling clings to the line of the roof. The one below the bell turret is partly embedded in the ceiling which at this point reaches down to the beam to form the enclosure for the bell. The third beam is behind the organ in the gallery.
The pulpit is of the early seventeenth century with carved brackets to the back panel. The tester, or canopy, is of later date, probably eighteenth century. The pulpit at one time stood in front of the small blocked archway in the North wall but, in the course of a major restoration by the Clarke-Jervoise family, under the expert hand of the architect, H.S. Goodhart-Rendel, it was restored to what was believed to have been its original position on the South wall, as evidenced by the adjacent inscription "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet . . . . " (Isaiah 58:1). At the same time a vestry was added and the organ was moved to the newly replaced gallery. These restorations and improvements are commemorated by a stone tablet by the door in the West wall.
Among other things of great antiquity are the original Norman light in the North wall and the bench behind the Font. The Font itself, octagonal with quatrefoiled panels is dated 1400, the base having been broken, probably during the Civil War.
The entrance to the Chapel is through the West door. Although the North and West walls are eleventh century,Idsworth Nave from Alter the arched entrance is probably fourteenth century. An eighteenth century porch has been added. The Chancel and Nave were the same width until the sixteenth century when the Nave was widened Southwards.
On the outer side of the North wall of the Chancel is a window with two uncusped lights, anciently blocked, the inner side having the murals previously described.
The earliest walling on the North side is of regularly set flint work, while the South wall is of coarser rubble and sandstone quoins, on one of which (at the SW corner) is what has been assumed to be an incised sun-dial. It has recently been suggested (1995) that this is not a sundial but a much rarer "mass dial" or "scratch dial" in which the priest inserted a bent twig, with one end in the central hole and the other end pointing to the time of the next mass or other service. www.homeshed.plus.com/bcichurches_netobjects/html/history...
St Hubert Chapel_Idsworth Downs_Nr Finchdean_Canon 5D Mark III_DxO_PT Gui
THE LITTLE CHURCH IN A FIELD
1053AD
St Hubert's Idsworth STANDING alone amid the fields of Old Idsworth and Heberden's Farms is the little Chapel of St Hubert, for many centuries dedicated to St Peter but rededicated to St Hubert, patron saint of hunters, probably in the late 19th century (after the discovery of the wall painting in 1864). According to legend, St Hubert was converted while hunting on Good Friday by seeing an image of the crucified Christ between the antlers of a stag. He later became Bishop of Maastricht and Liege and died in 727. It is thought that the chapel could well have been used as a hunting chapel in its early days.
The chapel stands some distance from the road, adjoining the site of the old Manor House of Idsworth, of which only the stables, coach house and walled garden remain, the house having been demolished when the railway was built in the mid 19th century. It overlooks a valley in which a stream (lavant) now flows only in occasional winters but which was the site of a village from about the 9th to the 14th centuries.
Idsworth is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, unlike the neighbouring manor of Chalton, which was held personally by Earl Godwin, Earl of Wessex and premier Earl of England, until his death in 1053, when the manor passed to his son, (later King) Harold, who held it until his death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Idsworth began as a chaplaincy of the manor of Chalton but by the 12th century had become independent and later became the dominant of the two manors.
The chapel is believed to have been built by Earl Godwin, who died in 1053, which perhaps explains why this is the latest date normally given to its origin. However, Roman coins and pottery have been found in the adjoining field and it has been suggested that the chapel could well have been built on the foundations of a much earlier building. The oldest part is the nave (later widened), which was built in the new Norman style which Edward the Confessor was then introducing into England. An early English Chancel, a bell turret and a porch were all added later.
St Hubert's Chapel is beautiful in its simplicity rather than its richness, yet some of its contents are rich beyond price. For example, on the North wall of the Chancel is a mural, discovered in 1864 and dated at circa 1330.
Idsworth C14 Painting
Unusual for its completeness and quality, it consists of two parts separated by a horizontal zigzag line. It is generally agreed that the lower picture depicts the presentation of the head of St John the Baptist, on a salver, to Salome (the contorted figure in the foreground) at King Herod's feast (clearly visible in the centre), and that the separate scene at the left-hand end represents St John being thrown into prison. The hunting scene in the upper picture is less easily interpreted and an earlier view that it represents St Hubert converting or curing a lycanthrope (a man who through a form of insanity believed himself to be a wolf) has been discounted in a number of modern treatises on the subject. It is generally considered that the right-hand end of the upper picture depicts the arrest of St John and that the remainder portrays the discovery of a "hairy anchorite", a hermit who, according to legend, in penance for sins of inchastity and murder, undertook to walk on all fours until he knew he was forgiven. In the early 14th century this legend could well have been identified with events in the early life of St John the Baptist, thus providing a thread of continuity through both tiers of the mural.
Click on these links for a detailed and scholarly discussion of these paintings:
Herod’s Feast, with Salome’s Dance
The Legend of the Hairy Anchorite
A new fresco in 14th century style, was commissioned and painted in 2000 to celebrate the millennium. This depicts ‘Christ in Majesty’ together with images inspired by the vision of St Peter and also a rich variety of other symbols and contemporary images.
Idsworth Fresco 2000
The Chancel
The Ceiling was replastered and decorated in 1913. There are 13 medallions set within a framework of diamond panels with ribs in cable pattern, rising from pleasing frescoes of grapes, leaves and a bird at the top of each wall. Two crowns on each side surmount the frescoes. The medallions appear to show: -- The Good Shepherd, four eagles receiving light from a cloud above them, a Cross of Lorraine superimposed by cross keys, the Dove of the Holy Spirit, a Phoenix rising from the flames, three fishes arranged in a triangle with the head of each superimposed over another's tail, a Bishop, a Chalice, the Lamb of St. John holding a flag and staff, a peacock, St. Hubert and the stag, the mother pelican pecking her breast to produce drops of blood to feed her three chicks, and a medieval three-masted ship.
Two braces, boxed in wood, cross the Chancel overhead, and since they partially mask the crowns, these were probably a later addition.
The Altar consists of the stone mensâ of the medieval altar, raised from the floor and placed on stonework in 1913.
Idsworth Window RoundelThe East window is of plain glass with one adornment, a small circular inset picturing St. Hubert's conversion and based on a Dürer engraving, but with the addition of a tiny representation of the chapel itself, in the upper left-hand quadrant, just to the right of the horse's head. This roundel was the gift of the architect of the 1913 restoration (see below).
Idsworth St Peter
On the splays each side of the window, frescos of St. Peter and St. Paul are easily discernible. St. Peter is shown holding the keys of Heaven, and St. Paul with a staff over his shoulder holding aloft a book. On the soffit of the arch are two angels. These paintings are also dated at circa 1330.
Idsworth St Paul
On the wall to the North side of the East window some remains of a mural are faintly visible, but unfortunately the figures are not discernible. On the other side, in a niche in the wall, is a Piscina, the bottom being shaped like a basin with a drain hole in the centre. The water used for cleaning the chalice was poured into this after the service of Holy Communion.
Hanging here is a painting of the Royal Coat of Arms of George III surrounded by the inscription, "The Chapel was repaired in 1793-- Thomas Padwick, Chapel Warden. This Chapel was repaired in 1825-- Thomas Smith, Chapel Warden."
The Nave
Idsworth NaveThe Nave seats about fifty and consists of box pews and narrow, rather uncomfortable benches. In the North wall of the Nave is a small arch, now blocked, only twenty-one inches wide. It is visible from inside and out and might have been an entrance to a much smaller chapel or building. Above the Nave are three tie beams, the centre one conspicuous as the ceiling clings to the line of the roof. The one below the bell turret is partly embedded in the ceiling which at this point reaches down to the beam to form the enclosure for the bell. The third beam is behind the organ in the gallery.
The pulpit is of the early seventeenth century with carved brackets to the back panel. The tester, or canopy, is of later date, probably eighteenth century. The pulpit at one time stood in front of the small blocked archway in the North wall but, in the course of a major restoration by the Clarke-Jervoise family, under the expert hand of the architect, H.S. Goodhart-Rendel, it was restored to what was believed to have been its original position on the South wall, as evidenced by the adjacent inscription "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet . . . . " (Isaiah 58:1). At the same time a vestry was added and the organ was moved to the newly replaced gallery. These restorations and improvements are commemorated by a stone tablet by the door in the West wall.
Among other things of great antiquity are the original Norman light in the North wall and the bench behind the Font. The Font itself, octagonal with quatrefoiled panels is dated 1400, the base having been broken, probably during the Civil War.
The entrance to the Chapel is through the West door. Although the North and West walls are eleventh century,Idsworth Nave from Alter the arched entrance is probably fourteenth century. An eighteenth century porch has been added. The Chancel and Nave were the same width until the sixteenth century when the Nave was widened Southwards.
On the outer side of the North wall of the Chancel is a window with two uncusped lights, anciently blocked, the inner side having the murals previously described.
The earliest walling on the North side is of regularly set flint work, while the South wall is of coarser rubble and sandstone quoins, on one of which (at the SW corner) is what has been assumed to be an incised sun-dial. It has recently been suggested (1995) that this is not a sundial but a much rarer "mass dial" or "scratch dial" in which the priest inserted a bent twig, with one end in the central hole and the other end pointing to the time of the next mass or other service. www.homeshed.plus.com/bcichurches_netobjects/html/history...