Church of St Thomas à Becket, Ramsey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Thomas à Becket, Ramsey |
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| Church of St Thomas à Becket, Ramsey | |
view from the southwest
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| 52°26′56″N 0°06′08″W / 52.448981°N 0.102234°W | |
| Location | Ramsey, Cambridgeshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | https://www.ramseysandupwood.org/ |
| History | |
| Status | church |
| Dedication | Thomas Becket |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Style | English Gothic |
| Years built | 12th–17th centuries |
| Specifications | |
| Nave width | 19 feet (5.8 m) |
| Materials | stone |
| Bells | 6 |
| Tenor bell weight | 0 long tons 13 cwt 3 qr 26 lb (1,566 lb or 0.71 t) |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Ely |
| Province | Canterbury |
The Church of St Thomas à Becket, Ramsey is an old and important church in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. It belongs to the Church of England. This church is part of a group of churches that also includes Upwood and Great and Little Raveley.
The church was first built in the late 1100s. It was part of Ramsey Abbey, which was a large monastery. It might have been a guesthouse or a hospital for the abbey. In the early 1200s, it became a parish church for the local people. It is a very special building, listed as Grade I. This means it is one of the most important historic buildings in England.
Contents
History of the Church Building
The oldest parts of the church were built around 1180–1190. At that time, it was a hospital, infirmary (a place for sick people), or guesthouse for the nearby abbey. It had a main hall with side areas (called aisles) and a small chapel at one end.
The building was changed into a parish church for the local community around 1222.
Building Materials and Design
The church is mostly made of rough stone (called rubble masonry). But some parts, like the aisles, use finely cut stone blocks (called ashlar). The roofs of the chancel (the area around the altar) and the nave (the main part of the church) are covered with tiles. The side aisles have lead roofs.
The church has a very unusual design. The chancel is quite small, but the nave is very long. Also, the original church did not have a tower. Experts believe this design suggests it was indeed built as a hospital or guesthouse. The chancel would have been the chapel, and the long nave would have been the main hall.
From Abbey to Parish Church
In the past, people living near monasteries had the right to use the monastic church for their own services. But in the 1100s, monasteries began to have stricter rules and more complex services. This meant the local people's services sometimes got in the way of the monks' worship.
So, a separate chapel was built for the local people outside the main monastery church. This was the Holy Cross Church in Bury, Cambridgeshire.
Changes Over Time
The church built in the late 1100s had a chancel, side chapels, a nave, and aisles. The south chapel was removed around 1310. The north chapel was still there in 1744. The aisles seem to have been rebuilt around 1500.
The large west tower was added in 1672. Before that, there was a wooden porch on the south side, which was removed in 1843. A new room, called a vestry, was built on the north side in 1910. The church was also repaired and updated in 1844 by Edward Fellowes. During this time, some old features, like a screen and old glass, were taken out. A gallery inside the church was removed in 1903.
The chancel has a vaulted ceiling (a curved roof). It gets light from a large east window with three rounded lights. Above this, there is a special oval-shaped window. In the south wall, there is a window from the early 1300s. There are also doorways from different periods.
The vestry has a window from the late 1400s. Inside the vestry, you can still see parts of the old 12th-century chapel's vaulted ceiling. The arch leading from the nave to the chancel is also from the 12th century. There used to be a screen across the nave and aisles, but it was taken down in 1844.
The nave used to have eight sections, but one is now part of the west tower. The arches in the nave are beautiful examples of 12th-century work. The pillars supporting these arches are all different. Some are round, some are octagonal, and some have groups of shafts. Their tops (called capitals) also have different designs, like scallops or leaves.
High up, there is a row of windows (called a clerestory) from the 1400s. The north and south aisles also have windows from around 1500. The doorways on the north and south sides are from the same time.
Special Features Inside
The church has a blue marble font (a basin for baptisms) from about 1200. It was found buried under the floor around 1844. It has a round central pillar and six smaller pillars around it.
There is also a 15th-century oak lectern (a stand for holding books). It has a double rotating desk and is supported by a square stem with decorative supports (called buttresses). On it are two old books: Paraphrase of Erasmus and Comber on the Book of Common Prayer. One of these books still has a chain attached to it, showing how books were kept safe long ago.
West Tower
There was a plan to build a stone tower at the west end of the church in the early 1500s. John Lawrence, who was the last Abbot of Ramsey, left money in his will in 1537–38 for a tower. But at that time, only a "low wooden steeple" was built.
In 1672, this wooden steeple fell down. It was replaced by the stone west tower we see today. This new tower was built using stones taken from the old monastic buildings. The tower has four levels and a decorated top with pointed ornaments (called pinnacles).
The doorway at the west end of the tower uses stones from the original 12th-century doorway. Above this doorway, there is an inscription that says, "Take heed, watch and pray for ye know not when the time is. S. Mar. 13, 33".
Church Bells
Before the tower was built in 1672, there were four bells in the old wooden steeple. These four bells, plus some extra metal, were melted down and recast into five new bells. Later, in 1810, Robert Taylor recast these five bells into the six bells that are used for change ringing today. The church also has a small sanctus bell, which is thought to be from the late 1400s.
Monuments Inside the Church
The church has many monuments and memorials. These remember people who were important to the church or the local area.
On the north side of the chancel, there are memorials to members of the Fellowes family, including William Henry Fellowes (died 1837) and Edward Fellowes, 1st Baron de Ramsey (died 1887). The beautiful stained glass in the east window was also given in memory of the Fellowes family.
In the north aisle, there are memorials to local people like James Smyth (a surgeon) and James Jones (an agent for the Fellowes estate). There are also memorials to soldiers who died in wars, including Coulson Churchill Fellowes (died in France in 1915) and others who died in the Second South African War. Windows also remember soldiers like Private Leonard Fuller (died in Flanders, 1915) and Lord Guernsey (died on the Aisne, 1914).
In the south aisle, you can find memorials to Lance Corporal Ronald William Shelton (died at Cambrai in 1918) and Rev. James Saunderson Serjeant. There is also a tablet that thanks Edward Fellowes for restoring the church in 1843–44. Another window remembers Christopher Mawdesley and his wife Catherine Jane.
Churchyard Cross
Outside the church, to the east of the chancel, stands the base of a 14th-century churchyard cross. It is about 9 feet (2.7 m) tall, but its top part is now missing.
