Summary

C14 and later.

Full description

C14 and later. <1> Flint and pebble rubble; dressings are Barnack Stone and a close limestone. Roofs covered with slates and lead. Evidence for a C12 nave but whole structue was rebuilt c1330, including the chancel. Nave adn W tower, N and S aisles were added - a late C12 doorway was reset in the S aisle. The N vestry was built late in C14 and the S porch added. Late in C15, the N chapel was added, followed soon after by the S chapel. Features and fittings include: windows of C14, C15, early C16; late C12 (photo in RCHM), C14, C15 doorways C15 door in late C12 S doorway; late C14 door in N vestry doorway (also late C14); C12 and C13 coffin lids in N and S chapels respectively; reused C12 work in C14 tower arch; C15 N chapel and N vestry roofs; C15 pent roof to S chapel; C14 pent roofs to N and S aisles; nave roof, date doubtful; late C15 brass indent in chancel; late C15 or early C16 indent in S porch; other indents not dated by RCHM; late C15 funeral helm in vestry (photo in RCHM) C14 niche in chancel - another of uncertain date in the S chapel; C15 piscinae in chancel and S chapel; C15 or early C16 seating in chancel; slip tiles on sills of windows in N vestry; C15 screen of East Anglian type, much restored. <2> <5> Almost entirely C14. N and S chapels only are C15. S doorway is c1200. Roofs are all original, of diverse varieties, but not of special note. <3> Roman and medieval brick in walls. Large but not impressive. Remarkably pronounced misalignment of nave and chancel. Only early feature is reset Norman S doorway. Likely pre-conquest foundation (see 8123 and site assessment). Graded BIb by Rodwell. <4>

Site Assessment = Late C12 doorway is a good eg of the period. C15 chancel screen is noteworthy. <1> There is an open drain around the walls. The graveyard is rather bleak, having been cleared, and many tombstones placed around the boundary. In 1974 faculty was obtained to discard the old bell-frame and replace it with steel. Archaeologically, the church and site may have great potential and no future opportunity for investigation should be missed. The church lies just outside the `burh' of Chipping Hill camp (8108), an Iron Age hillfort refortified by Edward the Elder in 913. St Nicholas' may already have existed then. <4>

The parish church of St Nicholas (TL 8172 1537)
The parish church of St Nicholas is located 150m to the north-west of the outer defences of Chipping Hill Camp. Rodwell (1993) has suggested that it was located within a circular enclosure, but this remains to be proven. The current structure is medieval in date but it is probable that it had a late Saxon predecessor on the site. It has been argued (Rodwell, 1993) that it would have been the Minster Church for Witham Hundred.

Parish Church of St Nicholas (TL 8172 1537)
The parish church is thought to have had a Saxon predecessor on the site. The current structure is however medieval in date; the earliest surviving portions are twelfth century, but the church was substantially rebuilt and enlarged from c.1330. The early fourteenth century structure consisted of a nave with north and south aisle, chancel and west end tower. The chancel chapels on the north and south side are fifteenth century.

The parish church of St Nicholas (TL 8172 1537)
The church remained largely a medieval structure, although some re-modelling of the upper storeys of the tower took place in the seventeenth century.<8>

Hunting Surveys Limited, 1960, TL81 (AP). SEX59103.

<1> unknown, unknown, SMR (MENTION). SEX74.

<2> RCHME, 1921, An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex - Volume 2, Vol 2, p263-265 (DESC TEXT). SEX183.

<3> Pevsner, N, 1954, The Buildings of England, Essex, pp393-394 (DESC TEXT). SEX83.

<4> Rodwell, Warwick J with Rodwell, KA, 1977, CBA Research Report No. 19 Historic Churches - a wasting asset, p124 (DESC TEXT). SEX148.

<5> Department of the Environment, 1973, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Witham, p8 (DESC TEXT). SEX26226.

<8> Medlycott, Maria, 1999, Witham Historic Town Assessment Report (DESC TEXT). SEX61565.

Monument Types

• CHURCH (C12-C15, Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• TOWER (C14, Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

• BENCH (SEAT) (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• BRASS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• BRASS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• BRASS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• DOOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• DOOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• FLOOR TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• HELMET (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• WINDOW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Protected Status

• Conservation Area: Witham (Chipping Hill)

Sources and further reading

Related records

Images

Witham Church, Chipping Hill, Witham © Essex County Council

Witham Church, Chipping Hill, Witham © Essex County Council

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