Little Maplestead Church
The Church of Little Maplestead , Little Maplestead Church is a John the Baptist church, dedicated in Essex and dates from the mid-14th century.
history
The church was built around 1340 for the Order of Malta . An extensive rebuilding took place in 1849–1855. The sacristy to the south and the western vestibule date from the late 19th century. Although it was practically rebuilt, the church is of interest because of its floor plan. It is one of the five surviving churches in England with a circular nave .
description
The building material is field stone with lime bonds, the roof is covered with simple red roof tiles. The semicircular choir shows traces of a walled-up east window, there is no arch . In the north and south walls of the choir there are two split stained glass windows from the 19th century. The two-winged passage to the sacristy to the south dates from the same time. In the north wall, traces of a walled-up door can be seen between the windows. The round nave contains an arcade with six arcades, the two central arcades are slightly wavy. The columns each have three fillets, which are divided by V-shaped projections. Capitals and bases date from the 19th century, and the columns have been heavily redesigned. A double ridge arch rises from each pillar, spanning the passage and resting on the outer wall on foliage-like corbels.
The outer wall features four 19th century windows that are longer but otherwise match those of the choir. The west door may date from the 14th century and was restored in the 19th century. Its western door panels contain four-petalled carved flowers. The shield shows upright and inverted triangles, each with carved clover leaves. The arcade walls support a 19th century bell under a pyramidal roof. Small sound slots are located on the weather-protected bell tower, which has an iron weathercock at the top. The enclosed western vestibule with four windows to the north and south, a quarry stone base and a clad front also dates from the 19th century. The vertically lockable double doors with inscriptions probably date from the 11th century.
literature
- William Wallen: The History and Antiquities of the Round Church at Little Maplestead, Essex. 1836 ( online )
- William Page, J. Horace Round (Ed.): A History of the County of Essex. Volume 2. 1907. pp. 178–179 ( online )
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Historic England: Church of St. John the Baptist , accessed February 10, 2017 (English)
Coordinates: 51 ° 58 ′ 28.3 ″ N , 0 ° 39 ′ 7 ″ E