A Brief History Of Church Old Church The Medieval Site Of The Village

Author : Harry Gill
Publisher : READ BOOKS
ISBN 13 : 9781443773355
Total Pages : 156 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (733 download)

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Download or read book The Village Church in the Olden Time written by Harry Gill and published by READ BOOKS. This book was released on 2008-10-27 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. The following pages have been compiled from notes and sketches made during my holiday rambles extending over a period of 20 years. Before making an entry in my sketch book I was careful to verify the facts by reference to competent authorities, but as the notes were originally intended for private use only, I am not now able to acknowledge the source from which some of the information has been gleaned. The notes were first arranged in the form of a Lecture. I now publish them at the request of friends, and I hope they will be found useful to all who take pleasure in the study of this interesting subject. The illustrations in this volume are obtained chiefly from the counties of Nottingham and Lincoln. Owing to the similarity of Village Churches all over England, the letterpress descriptions will apply equally to any district. In the Olden Time, every true born Englishman, proad of the achievements of his ancestors-to the artist, the antiquarian and the historian-to all who take delight in recalling the long story of the past, the village Church will always be an object of interest and veneration. Whether it be the square, buttressed tower nestling anlong the elm trees by the river side, or the tall tapering spire away on the hillside, the village Church is sure to be a pleasing feature in an English landscape. And if the distant view is interesting, how much more interesting the venerable pile becomes on closer inspection. Scarcely a village Church in the land but still contains some memorials of the past something worthy of study in architecture, paintings, vestments or records. And we must remember that however much the Church may have lost of her power and influence in these later days, in ths early and medieval ages it had a real ancl vital connection with the life of the village the sacred building being used not only as the place of worship and prayer, but according to the necessities of the times, as parochial fortress, public school, parish hall, and even as the alehouse, dancing hall, stable and store. As fixed seats or pews were only coming into use at the time of the Reformation, the nave of the old village Church would present a good open space for these purposes. It is true there is not now left to us a single building that possesses in itself all the features of pre-Reformation times, but it is still possible to get a good idea of what a village Church was formerly like, by visiting some of the smaller and less known Churches, and collectilg one detail here and another there and although some of the features and accessories have been entirely obliterated by ruthless destroyers, or by the hand of time, it would not be a difficult task to make an accurate restoration from the information contained in the Inventories made periodically between the XV1ITV1 and XVIT centuries, setting forth the necessary furniture of a parish Church or from the Returns sent by the Churchvardens of every parish to the Comnlissioners appointed by Queen Elizabeth, when the besorn of destruction finally swept away all monuments of superstition and images of Popery, as they were called, in the year of Elizabeth, A.L. I 566...