The Heart of the Church: A Brief Orientation

By Barry Richardson

The Re-Awakening Project at St. Mary's includes an extension to the Crossing – the central area of the nave where the church extends in all four directions. 

Historically, this ‘public’ space was separated from the "mystery of faith" by the (still-present) Rood Screen dividing  High Altar and Choir from the Nave. 

The previous blog noted that the Nave Altar at the Crossing was established in the 1970s restoration and cleaning works. The Crossing is being expanded as part of the current Project.  This Nave Altar removed the ‘mystery’ allowing the congregation to witness the various parts of services previously hidden by distance and the Rood Screen.

Inside the Rood Screen is the Chancel, complete with Choirstalls, High Altar and at each side of the High Altar, sit two small stone chapels.

The Chantries

The two chapels, often referred to as "stone cages," are properly known as Chantries.  .

Above - the Markham Chantry as depicted in Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project here

These Chantries are members of a rare cohort, being representatives of approximately 25 surviving ‘stone cage’ examples in England, many of which are located in cathedrals and major chapels (for example WInchester Cathedral has three).

The generous physical size of St. Mary's and the wealth generated in the locality combined to establish and resource these Chantries.  It is highly likely other Chantries existed within St. Mary's and in other local settings with various historical sources citing 17-20.

Each Chantry bears the name of a ‘sponsor’, as establishment and upkeep required substantial endowments. 

In a nod to this historical practice, the new self-contained meeting space in the North Aisle will be named after another benefactor, Thomas Magnus. The  creation of another (semi) private space complements the building and continues a long-standing tradition albeit for a more modern practice, of repurposing and creating dedicated spaces.

What Exactly is a Chantry?

Chantries were dedicated spaces used for offering prayers (or "chants") for the souls of the deceased, typically in the form of (Low) Mass, a simpler form of chanted service usually without a sermon, lasting 45-60 minutes.  High Mass would be sung and feature a sermon (service length 60-90 minutes).  

"Low" masses were usually carried out between the services of Terce and Sext (around 10 a.m.).

Wealthy individuals would pay for Chantries to be built and provide an endowment to ensure that prayers were said regularly for their souls,  This would aid their journey through purgatory (which the Roman Catholic Church teaches is a a state after death, where people who have sinned are purified in a 'cleansing fire', after which they are accepted into Heaven). The idea of a ‘purifying fire’ has its biblical basis in scripture, and remains Roman Catholic doctrine today.

One of the Project Team has shared photographs of both chantries on a dull overcast day, perfectly capturing how dark yet intimate it might have been in the middle of winter as a Priest settled into the Chantry to offer daily Mass.

Above- the Markham Chantry Chapel

Above- the Meryng Chantry

The end of the Chantries - enter Henry VIII

The English Reformation brought an end to this practice.

The initial Act - Henry VIII (1545) provided that chantries and their properties would belong to the Crown for the duration of Henry VIII's lifetime, but few chantries were closed in this time..

The Act of Supremacy (1534) established Henry as Head of the English Church, and Suppression of Religious Houses Act of 1536 started the Dissolution of the monasteries - I speculate there were bigger Crown gains from that broader exercise than gains from Chantries.

Edward VI's Act (1547) dealt the hammer blow, passed by Henry VIII’s son and successor, effectively ending Chantries and seizing assets, dissolving "all manner of colleges, free chapels and chantries" that had existed in the previous five years and which had not already been seized. 

Thus the main aims were to raise badly needed revenue for the Crown, and possibly to distinguish the English Church from its Catholic predecessor.

Survivors of a bygone age

The two Chantries at St. Mary's survived that English Reformation, standing not as historical curiosities but as enchantingly beautiful, intimate chapels in their own right.

St. Mary's Chantries: Markham and Meryng

The Meryng Chantry: A Glimpse into the Past

The Meryng Chantry (to the North of the building)  was established c.1500 through the will of Thomas Meryng, who asked for his body to be buried and a chapel built over his grave. Thomas's brother, Alexander, was also buried here in 1506.

Thomas held land in nearby villages, and his father is mentioned in the History of Parliament Online as having been involved in a court case, accused of recruiting armed retainers for land disputes.

The Meryng surname survives to the present-day - the Meering area, which is situated between Girton and Sutton on Trent.  Modern maps show Meering with a population of zero, likely due to the proximity of the Trent, and the floods that regularly occur.  

This marshland was mined for sand and gravel in the 20th century and is now known as Meering Marsh, part of a wildlife habitat leased by the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and part forming the Besthorpe Nature Reserve.

Above - the boundary of the Meering Parish © Google Maps

The Markham Chantry: A Local Legacy

The south side Markham Chantry bears a name familiar to those in the locality and to travelers on the A1, with signage near Retford, established after the death of Robert Markham in 1505 to provide for the performance of masses for his soul and the souls of his family.

Two panels of Artwork survive from this time on the exterior of the Markham Chantry depicting the ‘Dance of Deat’h.  It is thought that there may have been more panels, but these are lost to time.

This medieval theme was common to art, literature and drama in the late Middle Ages, showing Death to be an equalising force, leading people from all walks of life (regardless of their social status or wealth) to their grave. 

Above - the ‘Dance of Death’ panels

In a curious nod to former religious practice, the Markham Chapel still has its ‘squint;, which would provide a limited view of the Chapel Altar in the East window, allowing co-ordinated elevation of bread (host) in a Mass to allow simultaneous consecration. The Church must have been a very busy place in those times, and the sound of worship providing a headbeat of life and devotion.

Newark Chantries - Shift of Beliefs

Both chantries are small, perfectly formed, and are among several chantries in the Newark area at that time.  The regular chanting of mass at chantries would have required several priests, likely coming from the Chantry House in Newark, which used to be on the site of the current Palace Theatre, just round the corner from the Church.

The historical record dates the original Chantry House as founded in the reign of Edward III (reigned 1327-1377)

Summary

The two surviving stone-cage Chantries in the Church are representative of perhaps just 25 surviving in England.  It is highly probable that the church had others, not made of stone.

Both are dedicated to families whose names endure in the local geographic area, and whilst the Re-Awakening does not touch these beautiful chapels, it does add a dedicated self-contained space for meetings, also to bear the name of a local benefactor, which is an apt link to both the continuation of the life of the Church and re-purposing of space to meet modern needs, and the preservation of memory of those who have gone before.