St Peter & St Paul, Stondon Massey, Essex

St Peter & St Paul, Stondon Massey, Essex. (c) Philip McDonnell 2014

You will come to learn that I spend a lot of time visiting, exploring and photographing churches that still contain some material fabric from the Saxon to 12th century.  Whether you have any belief or not, they are fascinating buildings with stories extending back over 1000 years.

Today, my wife and I escaped the hot, polluted air of East London and headed out into the Essex countryside.  We didn't go far really.  Initially, we had only intended to go to Wanstead to visit the Oxfam Bookshop (I got a bargain there) and have lunch.  However, despite a breeze, the traffic was quite intense and the air stale.  So we skipped the lunch idea and drifted through Epping and Chipping Ongar on our way for tea and cake at Megarry's, a delightfully quirky antiques and tea room in Blackmore.

As we meandered, we happened to pass St Peter and St Paul's church at Stondon Massey (although it's a good half mile or so outside the modern village) and noticed it was open.  That was an immediate cause to stop for exploration and photos.  I know we stopped and looked at the outside in 2014 when I was occasionally using my wife's Canon.  But this was an opportunity to get inside.

This church, dating from around 1100AD, has endured the reconstructions of the ages like most.  The external walls were rendered in a typical act of protection of what is clearly a beautifully patterned exterior constructed of tufa, Roman tile-brick and flint (see below).

The gable of the nave, Roman tile-brick forming a saw-tooth pattern. (c) Philip McDonnell, 2018

Inside, the main feature is the timber structure supporting the bell-turret.  I was once told this is a common feature in poorer churches and was omni-present by 1600.  Whether that's true or not, I cannot say as I haven't researched it.  (It's later than my period of interest, after all.)  What is unusual as far as I am concerned is that the structure is free-standing, only being tied in at the roof.  I have never seen this in a church before.

The timber structure supporting the bell turret built inside the older stonework. (c) Philip McDonnell, 2018

Close-up of the bell turret support framework. (c) Philip McDonnell, 2018

Elsewhere, the features are comparatively few as the building has a large Victorian vaulted extension that was originally a mortuary chapel (I didn't photograph it, sorry) but is now where Sunday school appears to be taught.  Apparently, it's very cold in winter - which is why it was a mortuary chapel!  The chancel arch was removed when the extensions were done so any 12th century features have long since gone.  The only ones left are the south entrance door and some small windows typical of Saxo-Norman architecture.

The Saxo-Norman doorway. (c) Philip McDonnell, 2018

One final photo is of the carved lectern that stands besides the pulpit.  One of the ladies in the church said it's not used today but, again, it is far from the usual type of lectern I've seen in so many other churches.

The lectern.  The side to the left is carved with a sheath of wheat and the word Christis. (c) Philip McDonnell, 2018

Until next time...