Comberton Parish Church A descriptive and historical account

by Percival Gardner-Smith Vicar of Comberton, 1916-1923

The Parish Church of Comberton stands on the highest ground in the village, and is surrounded by a spacious churchyard. Like more than fifty other churches it is dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin. It consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and a tower at the west end, with a south porch forming the main entrance to the church. The building is well proportioned and, in the words of an old seventeenth century manuscript, 'is a very neat and seemelie church.''

Entering by the south door we notice that the stonework of the porch is mostly modern, the old decayed stone having been replaced when the south aisle was restored in 1902, a curiously carved corbel remains directly over the door.

Inside the church we are struck by the contrast between the styles of architecture on the north and south sides of the nave. On the south side the arches are plain and pointed, resting on solid octagonal pillars with plain moulded capitals. This means that the nave was built in what is called the 'Early English' period, sometime between 1170 and 1260, when the pointed arch first came into fashion, replacing the rounded arches of Saxon and Norman times.

But the wide flat-topped arches on the north side of the nave belong to a much later period; they are built in the 'Perpendicular' style, which was universal in from about 1370 to 1500.

It is clear therefore that Comberton church was not built all at one time, but that like nearly all our ancient parish churches, it was added to and improved in the course of the centuries. Its history seems to have been something like this.

Thirteenth Century About seven hundred years ago the first church was built; there may have been an earlier church on the same site, but if so it was demolished and a fresh start was made. The new church consisted of the chancel as it stands today, the nave, and one narrow aisle on the south side. There was no north aisle, nor any upper windows to the nave ('clerestory windows' as they are called), and the roof was of the same height and pitch as that which now covers the chancel;

1 most probably it extended in a continuous line over the narrow aisle on the south side. A porch completed the building, for there was no tower.

Here it may be remarked that in mediaeval times the church porch played an important part in the life of the parish; the first part of the baptismal service was taken there, for the child could not enter the consecrated building until the unclean spirit had been exorcised, part of the marriage service was performed there; and the porch was the usual place in which contracts and agreements were signed.

If we had entered this Early English church of Comberton we should have been struck by its darkness. The only windows known in those days were narrow slits called 'lancets', two of which still remain in the north wall of the chancel at Comberton. As glass was rare in the thirteenth century perhaps the windows were unglazed, and the church must have been cold and draughty in the winter. Candles stood on the altar, but no other artificial light was used; few of the people could read and the services were chiefly in Latin so the absence of light would not be a serious inconvenience

Fourteenth century In the following century great improvements were made. Glass was now more easily obtained, so it was possible to enlarge the windows and admit more light. The two beautiful windows in the south aisle of the chancel were made during this period, as was also the window at the east end of the south aisle. Very probably other windows in the 'decorated' fourteenth century style were inserted, but if so they were again replaced in the following century by the 'perpendicular' windows which still serve today.

Two other changes were made in the fourteenth century. One was of minor importance. An altar was placed at the east end of the south aisle and the aisle turned into a chapel dedicated to some saint (probably St. Mary). The drain, or 'piscina', at which the sacred vessels were washed after the Mass, still remains in the wall. The piscina is perhaps more beautiful than the larger one which is still in use in the chancel.

A much more important event in the fourteenth century was the building of the tower. Church towers had a variety of uses. They supported the nave, they served as belfries, they greatly improved the appearance of the church, and sometimes they were used for purposes of defence. Comberton tower is not to be compared with the splendid towers of and , but in its way it is a good example of fourteenth century building. The belfry arch with continuous mouldings down to the ground is fine, and the west window is a good specimen of 'decorated' work. The quaint heads or 'corbels', at the side of this window should be noticed; one seems to represent a monk and the other a

2 grinning devil; monks were not popular with many of the parochial clergy who supervised the building of our parish churches. Two other corbels stand out from the walls of the belfry; the woman appears to be wearing a crown, and it is possible that these are portraits of Edward I and Queen Eleanor; if so, the tower must have been built in Edward's reign, 1272 to 1307. The finely carved corbel heads on the west wall of the nave represent a man and a woman in the head- dress of the period. Just above the doorway leading to the tower staircase may be noticed four examples of the ball-flower ornament common in fourteenth century buildings.

By 1350 Comberton church had reached the second stage in its development. It consisted of a nave, chancel, south aisle, porch, and tower, and the interior was rendered comparatively light by the large 'decorated' windows which had been inserted in place of some of the original lancets.

Fifteenth Century But the people were not long satisfied. In the fifteenth century it was recognised that the appearance of the church would be greatly improved by the addition of another aisle to match the original aisle on the south side of the nave. Accordingly, the north wall of the nave was taken down, arches were built in the prevailing 'perpendicular' style, and a wide north aisle was built. This operation necessitated the removal of the roof, and instead of replacing the original low pointed roof it was decided to carry up the walls of the nave to form a 'clerestory' with large perpendicular windows on either side. The reasons for this alteration are not difficult to understand. The proportions of the church were much improved, the additional windows made the nave much more light and airy, and moreover, they provided additional space for the stained glass with which the people of this time delighted to ornament their churches. A splendid oak roof was put over the nave, and still more beautiful roofs ornamented with carved angels were built over the north and south aisles.

Towards the end of the fifteenth century the furnishing of the church was taken seriously in hand. The rood screen was erected separating the chancel from the nave, and a staircase was built in the north side of the chancel arch to give access to the rood loft.

Rood screens were placed in most churches about this time. Their function was to separate the chancel, which was considered the most sacred part of the church, from the nave, which was used for all kinds of secular purposes. It seems strange to us that in the middle ages the church was the usual place in which public meetings were held, secular business discharged, miracle plays acted, and occasionally dances held. But it must be remembered that the church was the only large building in the parish, and the people loved and valued it not only for its religious associations but also for its practical utility. They would

3 have been horrified at the thought of a church locked up from Sunday to Sunday like some of our parish churches today.

The rood screen was surmounted by a kind of platform on which stood a figure of our Lord on the cross, generally accompanied by the Virgin and St. John. Sometimes these lofts were used for the accommodation of the choir, and in a few Cambridgeshire churches evidences remain that an altar was placed on the top of the screen. At Comberton the rood loft has disappeared, but the staircase which led to it is in good preservation and the beautiful screen remains. A careful examination reveals traces of the ancient paint with which the screen was elaborately decorated; most of us will agree that the old oak looks much better unadorned.

The beautifully carved oak benches, which are one of the chief glories of Comberton church, were put in during the fifteenth century. They were ornamented with fine carved figures at the corners of the pews. Unhappily nearly all of these figures have been mutilated and some destroyed, but a good lion remains near the south door, and several angels, symbolising the praise of God in music, stand in the chancel. In the north aisle will be noticed the figure of a hen covering her chickens with her wings (St. Matt. xxiii, 37).

The letters G.B. are carved in several places on the pews, these are the initials of Geoffrey de Burdeleys, a member of the family which held one of the chief manor farms of Comberton for several centuries; very probably the benches were his gift to the church. Some think that the carved figures on the bench ends were mutilated by Cromwell, but it is much more probable that their condition is due to the carelessness and neglect of a later time.

By the time of Henry VIII Comberton Church was complete, and a beautiful church it must have been. There were altars in the chancel and in both of the aisles; all the furniture was of the finest material, as the roofs and pews testify, and the whole was no doubt painted and gilded according to the taste of the age. Every window was filled with stained glass. The living was in the gift of the Prior of the great abbey of Barnwell, and the priest appointed by him lived in the 'old vicarage' which still stands on the south side of the church.

England was a poor country before the time of Elizabeth, and it may be wondered how a little village like Comberton could afford to build such a church. Of course the Church was wealthy before Henry VIII laid his greedy hands upon her treasures, but the real explanation lies in the fact that the parish church was the pride and glory of the parish, and the people willingly offered both labour and money to build and adorn the house of God. A friendly rivalry existed between parish and parish and it was the desire of each to have a more splendid church than the neighbouring villages.

4

How sadly this spirit decayed is evidenced by the shocking state of neglect into which many churches fell during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. At Barrington they kept their cows in the church in 1830! At Comberton the westernmost part of the roof of the nave was rebuilt in 1767, but the material and workmanship are very inferior, and there was no need for Thomas Holder, churchwarden, to advertise himself by having his initials carved on the beam!

Interesting features We may now continue our walk round the church and notice any points of interest which have not been mentioned.

The roof of the south aisle is plain and modern; no doubt the fifteenth century roof was removed at one of the restorations of the church, Just inside the door is a grave-stone of Purbeck marble inscribed with very ancient Lombardic characters, there is a similar stone in the nave, from which a small brass tablet has been removed.

At the west end of the south aisle will be noticed the royal arms of William of Orange; evidently the people of Comberton were not among those who sympathised with the exiled James II, but they did not go as far as some parishes, where the royal arms were erected in place of the crucifix on the top of the screen!

At the east end of the south aisle now stands the organ placed in the church at a cost of £170 in 1919 by the people of the parish. The brass plate explains their intention.

There is a curious little head carved on the easternmost pier on the south side; probably it was a whimsical freak of one of the masons, and may have been a portrait of his wife.

Entering the chancel we notice on the south side the 'low-side window' which is popularly known as a 'leper window'; in the stone may be seen the hinges and bolt fastenings of the shutter by which it was closed when glass windows were not made to open. The purpose of these low windows is still uncertain, some think they were intended to give a view from outside of the Easter sepulchre which stood on the north side of the chancel; some with more reason believe that they were provided to enable one of the servers at the Mass to ring a small bell outside at the moment of the consecration of the elements, others again quote evidence that they were used for the hearing of confessions by the wandering friars, the arrangement being intended to avoid scandal. Leper windows they certainly were not.

5 This small window at Comberton is filled with fragments of ancient stained glass, all that remains of the glorious stained windows with which the church was once furnished? The same story may be told of nearly every church in Cambridgeshire. In 1643 the Parliament appointed a commission under William Dowsing to destroy everything in the parish churches of East Anglia which offended the narrow prejudices of the Puritans. On March 9th Dowsing came to Comberton, and this is his account of his work: 'March 9. We break down a crucifix, 69 superstitious pictures, we also break part of 36 cherubims, and gave orders for the remainder, with the steps, to be taken down before March 25.'

What must have been the feelings of Comberton people as they watched their treasures thus ruthlessly destroyed! The crucifix referred to was doubtless that over the screen, the 'superstitious pictures' were the beautiful old stained glass windows, and the cherubims were the carved angels which ornamented the roofs of the aisles, fragments of their wings may still be seen on the roof of the north aisle. No wonder that Puritanism was not popular in the village we are not surprised that a visitor in 1676 found 'no recusants and no dissenters'.

One or two objects of interest remain to be noticed. Beside the large piscina in the chancel is a smaller drain sunk in the window sill its origin and purpose are not clear. The present furniture of the sanctuary was provided by the Rev. F.A. Souper, curate-in-charge of the parish from 1910 to 1914. The credence table let into the wall of the east end of the north aisle is evidence that an altar stood there and this ledge was made to hold books and vessels.

The ornamented capitals of the perpendicular arches on the north side of the nave are worthy of study, every one is different and all are well carved. There is some good carving above the north door on the outside, the rose of the Tudors appearing prominently.

Finally the font, though plain, is interesting. It is of twelfth or thirteenth century date, and the stone has been cracked in driving in the staples by which the locked cover was secured. In pre-reformation times the consecrated water was left in the font and it had to be kept covered. The present cover is a good piece of seventeenth century work.

Probably the font has been moved, its present position being most unusual; fonts were generally placed at the west end of the church to symbolize the beginning of the Christian life, the end of which is symbolized by the altar.

There is an oak chest in the vestry. This one is not of any great age, but such chests were nearly always placed in ancient churches to hold deeds and other valuables deposited therein for safe keeping. There were thieves then as now,

6 but few would steal from the house of God. Barrington church contains one of the finest chests in the country.

So ends our brief description of Comberton church. We shall not leave the sacred building without a feeling of awe as we think of the thousands of Comberton people who in the course of seven hundred years have come here to worship. In different ages different forms and ceremonies have been used, and the faith once for all delivered has been expressed in different ways, but beyond all differences there remains the continuity of the holy Catholic Church ministering to succeeding generations the word of God and the sacraments of the gospel. Our earnest prayer is that for all time Comberton church may remain the spiritual home of Comberton people, and within its sacred walls the one eternal God may be worshipped in spirit and in truth.

7