Church Post Two - Malew.

[curiouswombat]

I visited Malew church this week, too. This is a little different to most of the other parish churches, a walk around inside with explain why.

This is the outside of the church -



You can see that it was, originally, the same simple shape as most of the others, for example St Mark's in the pictures yesterday. But then someone has added a bit at the end - and another bit on the far side...

Which gives odd effects inside the church.



This is the view when you enter the door -



Dark wood box pews, a rather nice arched roof, and a better class of lighting than in some of the smaller churches.

Just inside the door, near the stairs up to the balcony, is the font - which is clearly filled with a rather nice jug -



As you walk up the aisle towards the chancel the church suddenly opens up at your left - the north side of the church.



Remember that odd extension you could see at the side of the church on the first picture? This is it. It is a north transept. But there is no matching south transept, which is a bit odd. And anyone sitting near the back of this area would not be able to see the priest at the altar, or even when he preaches. Opposite the North transept, instead, is the organ; beyond it is the chancel, which was also added to the original, and is a slightly different width and height to the original church.

Here is that north transept -



And yes - it does slope up away from the central aisle, a bit like a theatre!

There are some rather beautiful stained glass windows in the main body of Malew, again unlike most of the other parish churches which only have stained glass in the widow over the altar - almost all the windows are Victorian, but very high quality Victorian I think, although I am no expert.

Again they are all set in dark wood -







There are signs, here of more money than in the other country parish churches. Where it has come from is clear if you look at the memorials around the church (more, and fancier, than in the other churches, too). Here are a couple -



Governor John Wood.



And some Goldie-Taubmans - a name long associated with the Manx aristocracy, and money. For Malew was the parish church for Castletown - the ancient capital of the island. This is where 'the great and the good' worshipped...

Here is a Christian family memorial -



You can see she was a Taubman before her marriage. And she is a Christian whose main address is in Cumberland - the very same Christian family from whence came Fletcher Christian of Mutiny on The Bounty fame.

And here a more recent memorial to William Christian of Milntown and Ronaldsway (a large estate about 2 miles from the church) - known as Illiam Dhone and a well known figure in Manx History.




This one also caught my eye -



That young man lived quite a life when he left the island and became an officer in the Queen's Army.

And a last memorial - this one is to... well, read it and see -




Yes - it does say Julius Caesar. It was amongst some Christian Family memorials and so I would assume he was Julius Caesar Christian, as Caesar, in particular, is still not uncommon as a forename in some families on the island.

Enough of memorial stones.

This is the view back down the body of the church from the chancel steps, showing the small balcony at the back -



And a look at the roof, for I rather like it -



And here a list of the priests for the first 500 years of the parish from 1368 -



Richard Bydecrosse seems to have remained in place for a long time....

And finally a piece of twentieth century glass - the war memorial window.







So, that was Malew church - a little more ornate than some - but no matter what, we never really change the basic style!

Comments

[mummy-owl.livejournal.com]

Beautiful!

I agree that the roof is really exceptional and the quirky shape is nice too. I assume the congregation grew and they had to extend to fit everyone in :-)

One name caught my eye on the list of priests - "Dampnaldus Nigellus" sounds like a character from 'Harry Potter'!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

"Dampnaldus Nigellus" sounds like a character from 'Harry Potter'!

He really does!

and yes - I assume the congregation got a bot too big - although I'm not sure why they didn't do for the more traditional matching transepts!

[mummy-owl.livejournal.com]

Two transepts would have been twice the price! And maybe they didn't want to intrude too much onto the surrounding graveyard?

[estelcontar1.livejournal.com]

A lovely church and the roof is indeed beautiful.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you - that roof is rather beautiful, even though it is only wood and plaster - no glorious stone arches, I fear.

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

Julius Caesar is my favourite. It's a beautiful church all round.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

He is my favourite too. Who'd have guessed that, when Mark Antony came to bury him, he brought him all this way?

[sulien.livejournal.com]

Wow, that really is a beautiful church! I can imagine it was fun to go in and read all of the memorial stones while you were photographing it. I agree that Dampnaldus Nigellus really does sound like a character from Harry Potter; I'm guessing JK Rowling didn't make up nearly as many of the names in her books as she may have read them from old memorial stones and church roles like this one.

As for the long gap between Richarch Bydcrosse and Harfelson (now that's an Anglo-Saxon name if ever there was one), there was either a gap in the use of the church or there were one or more priests who lost the favor of the local bishop. I'm more inclined to think it was the latter.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Dampnaldus Nigellus really is a name to conjure with, isn't it?

I would guess the gap between fifteen and sixteenth centuries may well have a lot to do with poorly kept or preserved diocesan records.

There were a lot of bishops of the period whose dates are unknown (although two of them were, rather satisfyingly, called Huan - I especially like the idea of Bishop Huan Blackleech!) - so if the records of the bishops is a bit vague I'm not really surprised the list of priests for the parishes is, too!

There is an almost identical gap in the Lezayre records (http://www.flickr.com/photos/voirreys_pics/4826815611/lightbox/) Perhaps there is a record of all the parish priest written in 1408, and then no further one until the 1560s.

It is fascinating that Harfelson seems totally Anglo-Saxon to you - whereas, with our mixed Celtic and Viking Heritage, I had assumed he was a local and the name was from our Scandinavian forefathers, rather than that he was an Anglo-Saxon incomer.

[sulien.livejournal.com]

You're right. The Angles, Saxons, Jutes, etc. were all German, whereas the Vikings were mostly Swedish and Norwegian. Unfortunately, to someone like me, their names all sound basically 'Germanic'.

Again, I didn't even think about the possibility of there just being a lack of records for a period of time. I could smack myself for that one, considering I know how information has been lost over the centuries since I frequently read up the history of various places and people just for fun. Geez, not only is my memory getting bad, but my thought processes are getting sloppy. :( Man, I really am getting to be like an old computer!

Huan Blackleech is definitely an interesting name! Besides the fact that it was used by Tolkien, that is. I wonder if Huan Blackleech was a physician of the time, or if he earned the moniker 'Blackleech' another way.... No, apparently that was the family name. Yes, I just had to go and look that up; that sort of thing is how I get started on a research binge. Pity I don't remember so much of it after I've read it. :-p And now I'm going to have to go and look up some Manx history, as well as some of the archaeology of the place.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I go off on that sort of wander through history quite often, too. It's fun.

We have a lot of history for such a small place - it is our strategic position, of course, as until fairly recent times the main thoroughfares were the water around and between places, rather than across the land.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

Richard Bydecrosse seems to have remained in place for a long time....

I noticed that too. I guess records were poor for those years because I just don't see him being able to hold the office for 158 years - LOL.

It's a really pretty church. I adore the glasswork and the odd addition is really rather fun. The ceiling is simply lovely.

- Erulisse (one L)

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I've just looked at the picture I took of a similar board in another church (http://www.flickr.com/photos/voirreys_pics/4826815611/lightbox/) - and it has an almost identical gap. I wonder if the diocese had a record of all the parish priest in place in 1408, but then nothing was recorded again until the 1560s?

The Victorian windows are really rather beautiful, aren't they? Some of the nicest of their period I've seen in small churches.

It is odd - British parish churches usually have stone pillars to hold up their roofs - whereas ours are almost all wooden beams - I guess it was a form local builders knew well.

I, too, like that quirky added transept.

[makd.livejournal.com]

A lovely church - though I'd prefer to sit with the priest in the sight line.

The windows are gorgeous. Lovely, (again) just lovely.

Thanks for sharing these.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I thought, at first, that some of the younger parishioners might have liked to sit in that transept to keep out of the vicar's eye, and chat or get up to mischief. Then I realised that, with the slope, they would be clearly seen by any of their elders sitting behind them...

I do like these windows - some of the Victorian ones are a bit insipid, but these are lovely.


And sharing them is my pleasure.

[shirebound]

So interesting! I could spend hours roaming thoughtfully through an old cemetery like that.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It was too cold! I usually do like a good root around amongst the graves - perhaps I'll do that in a few months when it is warmer.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

That's really quite lovely. No where near what you'd expect from the outside.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I am genuinely curious as to what you would expect, from the outside. I guess I am just so used to whitewashed walls inside and out, and dark wood pews, that the only thing that seems unexpected to me is the sloping single transept. It is interesting to know what that low, white washed, exterior would suggest to you.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

Just something a bit less polished looking? I don't know. The stained glass windows were a bit of a surprise. I think I expected it to be more stark inside.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, that makes sense. Thank you. Those windows are rather gloriously rich in comparison to all the whitewash!

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Wow, what a fascinating post! Gorgeous little church, I do like seeing the memorials. Really interesting! I always feel like a learn at least a little something from your posts!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It had quite a lot of memorials - due, I think, to being the parish church for the capital for so long. To me it was interesting to see so many for the Christian and Goldie-Taubman families - especially how intertwined they were.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, what an interesting church with the extra transept and all. Maybe the records for the missing years were lost or accidentally destroyed. stranger things have happened.

Those memorial stones are fascinating, what an insight into life and death in those times they are.

More rain today, fairly heavy at times too. Still doing happy dance about it!

Huggs,
Lynda

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

That odd single transept is really quite fun.

I realised, looking at a picture I took in another church, that 1408 is also recorded thee followed by a gap of over 100 years, and so I would guess that there was a diocesan record made in that year, but ones for the intervening years were either not kept at all, or were lost or destroyed hundreds of years ago.

The memorial stones always fascinate me - like the poor man who survived so many battles only to die of sunstroke.

I must have a good look around the graveyard there some time, as I think there might be a number of interesting people buried there.

What's the betting that, after another couple of days of rain, you'll all be fed up with it?

[(Anonymous)]

You're probably right but it is still a novelty! It does tend to make me want to stay home and curl up with a good book. Ah, but the cat needs Kitty Kibble and I have bills to pay so off to work I go!

Hm, just checked forecast, we are supposed to be getting thunder storms! What next, water spouts and whirlwinds?

Good job I work at an inside Mall, the only one in the area, so not too many soggy customers!

I think Miss Kitty must be getting used to the dampness, at least she is not croaking like a frog or developing webbed paws!

Stay warm and dry,
Huggs,
Lynda

[kazzy-cee.livejournal.com]

The war memorial window is rather good. For a moment I thought the lights in the second picture were skylights.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

There are skylights in the picture as well, of course - they are why there is so much natural light in the church - again a bit of an oddity - you don't often get churches with skylights!

I really like that war memorial window - and the cross in front of it that doesn't show up terribly well. It looks as if it is made from two bundles of twigs tied together in the centre - but is actually silver.

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Another nicely cozy church, I even like the way the headstones are snuggled up against it.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

The old churches usually have quite a few old stones near at hand - it has a couple of extensions in what were originally neighbouring fields, too.

The stones are rarely as old as the church, though, as the spaces were refilled regularly in the earlier centuries.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

That is truly a lovely roof. We don't have much wood construction here in Spain...it's all stone so wooden beams always get my attention.

Chuckling over Julius Caesar...a studious lad it would seem.

There must be a name or two missing after Richard Bydecrosse!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I think almost all our churches had wooden beams to support the roof - I tend to think they were built by local craftsmen using the same techniques they used to build houses and barns.

Julius Caesar made me smile, too!

I realised, when I looked back at a similar 'priest list' in another church, that it also had a name given for 1480 and then a big gap - so I would guess the diocese did a sort of 'census' that year so all the parishes can check who was in post then - but the records are then very sketchy until the mid seventeenth century.