ST PETER'S CHURCH,
LEVINGTON
We wish to
acknowledge our sincere thanks to Roy W. Tricker,
who wrote the
original version of this guide.
The village of Levington is beautifully situated overlooking the
River Orwell. It contains several attractive houses and has
superb views across the Orwell estuary, which may be enjoyed from
the churchyard. It was at one time a favourite haunt of
smugglers and the lime-washed church, with the old inn beside it,
still preserves an atmosphere of mystery and adventure.
The parish church of St. Peter stands beside the road leading to
Levington Creek. Although only a small building this church
is an absolute gem - a prize example of the beauty and interest,
which can be found in so many of our village churches. It has
a quaint and unspoilt appearance and those who have been
responsible for its restoration over the years have treated it with
taste and care. The exterior, with its mellow brick tower and
lime-washed walls, is picturesque and inviting. The interior,
with its leaning walls, has a homely atmosphere of antiquity and of
centuries of prayer and devotion.
The building comprises nave, chancel, south porch and western
tower. Its total length is just over 69 feet and the width of the
nave and chancel is about18.5 feet.
What to see outside the church
The rubble walls of the nave and chancel have been plastered over
and are pleasantly lime-washed. The south side of the
building has a curious display of windows, whilst the north side
has, by contrast, a distinct scarcity of windows. The leaning
walls of the church are strengthened by heavy brick buttresses. It
is very difficult to date the building, which may well be quite
early and possibly of the 12th or 13th Century origin. Most
of the windows date from the 15th Century, although the north and
south doorways are earlier.
Near the intersection of the nave and chancel is a tiny window
high up in the wall. This probably served to give light to
the Rood, which once stood inside the church at this point.
Looking through the larger rectangular window nearby, it will be
noticed that the level of the churchyard is considerably higher
than the floor level of the church. To the East of this, high
in the chancel wall, are two more rectangular stone windows.
In pleasant contrast to the rendering, the
EAST wall is faced
with flint and stone; the flintwork in the lower part of the wall
having been carefully restored. The three-light Perpendicular
east window is a very attractive example of late 15th century Tudor
brickwork, with brick mullions and tracery, set beneath a brick
hood-mould.
The WINDOWS on the
South side of the
chancel are worth examining. High up are two restored
rectangular brick windows. Beneath the easternmost of these
is a beautiful rectangular window of stone, which has a cinquefoil
ogee arch and dates probably from the late 14th Century. It
is especially noteworthy, as there is a trefoil head to the inside
splay. To the west of this is another rectangular
window. This is of stone and its blocked lower division,
revealed only in 1949, was once a "low-side" window, through which
an external bell was rung at the important parts of the Mass in
mediaeval times.
The nave has a pair of three-light brick windows. Both
have been greatly restored, although that to the east of the porch
still possesses some of its original Tudor bricks.
The south PORCH, of
wood and plaster, resting upon a more recent brick base, has some
fine mediaeval timbers that were uncovered in the 19th
century. The bressemer was renewed in 2005 together with a
new door. This beautifully made door is a testament to the
fact that the highest standards of craftsmanship still
prevail. The very frail old door, which has some large
mediaeval nails and grill, can, for the time being, be seen outside
on the north side of the tower. This door was built for the
inner entrance arch when the porch was in use, but was placed on
the outside when the porch became a vestry during the early years
of the 20th Century.
The western TOWER,
which is 40 feet high and is rectangular rather than square, is
strengthened by diagonal buttresses at its western corners.
It is built entirely of red brick, except for the frieze of flint
round the base and some stone blocks in the buttresses and eastern
corners. Until 1920 it was covered with plaster rendering and
photographs taken at the beginning of the century show the
embattled brick parapet in very poor repair, with battlements
reminiscent of rows of broken teeth! The tower was thoroughly
restored in 1949 and again in 1977, to commemorate the Queen’s
Silver Jubilee, when parts of the roof were renewed, the internal
brickwork was re-pointed, and other work was carried out.
Following the hurricane of 1987, which removed a large area of roof
tiles, a major restoration appeal was launched in 1989. The
restoration work resulting from that appeal was completed in
1995. The wooden flagpole was replaced by one made of
fibreglass in 1996.
The plain stone WEST
DOORWAY is probably a 14th or 15th century doorway
reused. Its hood-mould rests upon crowned corbel heads and in
the wall above is a stone coat of arms. Although this is
rather worn, we can deduce on it the three escallops of the Fastolf
family (who held the Manor here in the 15th century) and the
chevron of the Kyme family. The square-headed west window of
two lights is constructed of Tudor bricks; the stage above has a
single window and the single belfry windows are set beneath brick
hoodmoulds.
In the south wall of the tower, beneath the lower stringcourse
is a block of stone bearing the date 1636. This refers to the
rebuilding of the belfry stage by Sir Robert Hitcham, who was Lord
of the Manor and who also built the attractive almshouses in Bridge
Road. The lower stages of the tower date from c.1480.
This is the date of the oldest bell, which was probably made for
the new tower, and we know that the sum of 6/8d was bequeathed
towards the erection of the tower by Robert Bird, whose will is
dated 1476.
What to see inside the church
The interior is bright and feels "lived-in". All is simple
and homely here; clearly this is a building which is greatly
loved.
People of different periods and traditions have altered and
beautified this interior. Some features survive from the Middle
Ages and others from the 17th Century. In 1643, William
Dowsing, the Puritan Inspector for the "destruction of
superstitious images and pictures", visited the church and gave
orders for "the steps to be levelled, by August 31st, also a double
cross on the church". It seems this was done, because when
David Elisha Davy visited Levington in 1810, the floor of the
church was on one level and the Communion Table was not raised on a
step, although it was railed off. Behind it on the wall at
this time were the Lord’s Prayer, Creed and Commandments, which
another visitor in 1858 described as "black and white, and fixed to
the most melancholy black frames". At the junction of the
nave and chancel hung the Royal Arms of King George III, described
in 1858 as "a dim lion and unicorn hanging from the ceiling".
The church was equipped with commodious deal box-pews, which did
not escape the eye of our critical 1858 visitor, who called them
"pens instead of pews, in which 15 or 16 human beings range
themselves, facing the four quarters of the compass". He did
in fact attend a service, at which he noted that the congregation
numbered almost 100, although there was no singing at all during
the service. He summed up the building as being "a homely
little church - low built but clumsy!"
Near the west entrance is a plain Elizabethan CHEST, of
pine. Beneath the deeply chamfered 15th century
TOWER ARCH is the
ORGAN GALLERY, which
was erected by local people in 1958. Its front balustrade was
made to match the altar rails. A larger gallery, which jutted
out into the nave, was removed in the 19th century; the
stine bracket in the
north wall, which supported it, still remains.
The octagonal FONT
dates from the 15th century. In the panels of its bowl are
roses, alternating with hanging shields, which display the emblem
of St. Etheldreda (three crowns), the arms of the Garnon or
Cavendish family (a chevron between three cups), the emblem of St.
Edward the Confessor (a cross between four birds) and the arms of
the Brandon family (a lion rampant). St. Edward’s shield has
now lost its cross and one of the birds! The Garnon and
Brandon shields may well indicate that the font was given by John
Garnon and his wife Elizabeth, who was a Brandon (the Brandons were
the Lords of the Manor here). The shields and roses are set
within octfoils and beneath the bowl are beautiful angels with
outstretched wings. The font is crowned by a 19th century
cover which was fully restored in 1996. It seems to have been
moved around during the 19th Century: in 1810, Davy noted that it
stood on the north side, opposite the porch door, but when he
returned in 1829, it had been moved to a new position under the
tower. It was placed in its present position in 1860, when
the interior underwent a restoration and the box-pews were replaced
by the present benches.
The arch-braces and collar-beams which form the framework of the
nave ROOF are
mediaeval timbers. They were revealed when a lower plaster
ceiling was removed in 1920 and the roof was restored by Thurmans
of Felixstowe to the designs of H.J.S. Abrams, a London
architect. The chancel roof was also restored at this time,
but its ancient timbers were in a poor state and had to be removed,
apart from the cornices at the tops of the walls.
The carved 15th century ROOD BEAM - now very worn - is still in
its original position at the junction of the nave and
chancel. It once supported the great Rood (the crucified
Christ, flanked by his Mother and St. John). Nearby, in the
eastern windowsill, is the site of the STAIRWAY which led to the
rood-loft. The steps themselves were of Tudor bricks and they
probably went into the brick buttress, of similar date, which is
visible from the outside, but is now almost covered by a more
recent buttress.
The porch - which is now the VESTRY - should be visited, in
order to sign the Visitors’ Book and to see the plain and rather
worn arch of the SOUTH DOORWAY, which may be 13th or 14th
Century. In this confined space we can really appreciate just
how much the nave wall leans!
A great treasure of the church is the beautifully carved oak
PULPIT, which dates from the Jacobean period of the early 17th
century. It is clear that this pulpit has been lowered and it
was probably part of a two or three-decker arrangement, which also
incorporated the 17th century woodwork to be seen in the PRIEST’S
STALL. The COMMUNION RAILS also date from the 17th Century
and, although very simple in construction, they are very
pleasing.
The walls of the sanctuary are lined with late 17th or early
18th Century OAK PANELLING, which came from a room in Brightwell
Hall - a splendid mansion, which was demolished about 1753.
This wainscoting was given to the church by Mr. Pretyman of Orwell
Park in 1910 and was erected by Messrs. Bowman in 1913 and was last
restored in 1950.
It is interesting to note that the chancel is, in fact, a few
inches broader than it Is long. The unusual trefoil-headed
"RERE-ARCH" of the south-west window should be noted, also the
small ROUNDEL of 19th or early 20th Century stained glass
fragments, which hangs in front of the east window. The ALTAR
was made in 1995 and replaced the previous one, which had been made
in 1909.
In the floor of the chancel is a LEDGER SLAB, commemorating
Captain Robert Perrey, who died in 1742, Ann, his wife, who died in
1751, also their children and members of the Raffe family, who were
related to Ann.
The other memorial of note is the ST. FRANCIS WINDOW, near the
pulpit, which was given to commemorate members of the Woolnough
family. The window was made in 1954, although the
manufacturers mistakenly made it to fit the central light of the
east window.
The ORGAN, in the west gallery, was built by Taylor of Leicester
in 1911 for St. Mary’s Hospital Chapel, Bury St. Edmunds. It
was overhauled and installed at Levington by Peter Bumstead (who is
also the current organist) in 1984, when it was given new casework
in the style of an English chamber organ of c.1830, new console
fittings in oak and walnut and other improvements. There are
eight speaking stops (three on the Great, four on the Swell and one
on the Pedal organ) and three couplers.
The TOWER contains three BELLS. The tenor bell was cast by
Stephen Tonni in 1581. The treble was cast by John Kebyll of
London in 1480 and is inscribed "Sit nomen Domini
Benedictum". The second bell, which is believed to have been
made by Gregory Pascall, who died in 1540, bears the inscription
"Em orp aro Airam Atcnas". This must be read in reverse, when
it becomes the Latin for "St. Mary, pray for us".
Amongst the Communion PLATE possessed by the church is a silver
Elizabethan chalice.
The REGISTERS of the parish date back to the year 1562.
STRATTON
This was a parish on the Trimley side of Levington, and, at one
time, there was a church here. It stood at the top of the
hill, on the south side of the road leading from Levington Creek
towards Stratton Hall.
This church was disused at the time of the Reformation, but
Kirby, writing in 1764, states that "the ruins of Stratton Church,
or Chapel, now overgrown with trees and bushes, are still to be
seen in the middle of the first field going from Levington to
Trimley". The foundations could still be seen in 1884,
overgrown with bushes, but they had disappeared a year later.
Fragments of the masonry (possibly septaria from the River
Orwell) have been ploughed up in this field and these may have been
part of the church.