 St Nicholas, Steventon
Steventon is situated in a beautiful part of Hampshire.
As you approach it through the lanes from Oakley, the countryside becomes
richer and gently undulating, with many trees lining the fields and lanes.
The village is small and attractive, with a number of humble terraced
cottages in flint and brick, which come together at a small triangle near
the village hall. The church lies in a secluded spot away from the village,
and Steventon Manor is near by.
 Jane Austen was born in Steventon, and for
this reason the church is probably visited more than most. But the church is
interesting in its own right, and the architectural detail is of a high
quality for a Hampshire church. It is an idiosyncratic building, not large yet solid and
imposing. It consists of a nave and chancel, with a west tower and short
needle spire contained within the west end of the nave. The church
is entirely rendered. The graveyard is pleasant and open on the south side,
with gravestones appearing mainly in groups
 . The best are to the south of
the nave. An ancient yew dominates and shrouds
the north-west angle of the church.
Chronology of the
building
A church at Steventon is first mentioned in 1238
concerning the presentation of a clerk, and then in 1261 concerning an
alleged robbery (.
These probably relate to the current structure, as it does indeed seem to date from the early 13th century, and has remained
structurally the same ever since. The fenestration of the north and south
sides follow the same sequence, so that one is effectively a mirror image of
the other.
 Early English: Both the nave and chancel date from the early 13th century,
although White's 1859 directory claims that the chancel was rebuilt "about
15 years ago". The
chancel has two lancets in both its north and south walls. The eastern pair
are narrower, chamfered, and of two orders
, while the west pair are simply
chamfered
. They may date from different campaigns, the western lancets
perhaps being later. All look original and still apparently exhibit the
original chisel marks. The stone, which is believed to come from Binstead in
the Isle of Wight, is of good quality, and the west quoins of the nave
similarly exhibit vertical
as well as diagonal
chisel marks.
The south-west quoin also exhibits other marks, including crosses
and at least two
mass dials
.
 The nave
also contains lancets, one each on the north and
south walls. They are tall, of two stepped orders, and appear in the middle
of the nave (see picture below). The south lancet is part original
, and the north lancet appears
to be mostly original. There are no existing north or south doorways. The chancel
arch is pointed and continuously chamfered with plain abaci, and is flanked
by two large recesses which are themselves pointed and chamfered
. The
stonework of all three arches looks mostly renewed. The chancel
has a simple piscina which is now battered, but contains two bowls and a
chamfered arch
.
The west end of the church is
problematic for various reasons. The west doorway is early 13th century
, but
it is believed to have been inserted at a later date, because it cuts into a
blocked lancet above, which can be seen from the inside. The Victoria County History suggests that it was
originally the south door, on account of the mass dial on its south jamb
.
However, the hole of the mass dial cuts into the stone above, so either the
door
was very carefully moved and reconstructed or the mass dial was used in this position. The doorway is of
two orders, with moulded abaci and a label ending in two large heads. It is
difficult to tell whether these heads are modern or original, but they are
in good condition. The north stop is apparently a man's head
,
while the south stop is the head of a woman
. The lancet which now exists higher above the doorway
appears to be modern, but an illustration of the church in the pamphlet
Steventon, Hampshire- Historical notes and anecdotes by Henry Henshaw,
which claims to represent the church c.1800, shows this lancet, as well as
the two flanking Y tracery windows. These are in the style of c.1300, but
also appear to be modern.
Inside, the tower sits on solid walling, pierced
by arches in all three directions. They are, like the arches flanking the
chancel arch, pointed with a continuous chamfer. The low north and south arches,
which die into the west wall,
lead to small chambers. The east arch is tall, but is now filled in. Like
the chancel arch, it is flanked by two arches in the same style, which were
apparently open, but have
also been filled in at some stage
. They are not as wide as those at the
east end of the nave.
Perpendicular: The east window
is of three lights with four-light panel tracery above
. It
 has been renewed
(2),
but the outer label appears to be original, and ends in two small heads. The
north and south walls of the nave have two original straight headed two
light windows at their east ends with excellent mouldings in the frames
.
The sill of the south window has been dropped to form a seat, above which is
a small egg-shaped piscina
.
The tower represents another of the west end puzzles. It
is short and battlemented, and has a fat lancet in its north, south and west
faces. It looks late 18th or early 19th century rather than 13th century,
although it may simply be restored as a medieval belfry must originally
have existed in some shape or form.
At some stage a brick fireplace was inserted into the
north wall of the nave.
 19th-20th Centuries: The two square headed windows at
the west end of the nave's north and south walls are replicas of the two
perpendicular windows at the east end of these walls
. However, they are of
yellow stone and their mouldings are much coarser. These could date from
c.1864, the year which according to White's directory of 1878 the entire
church was restored. The chancel roof, which
is a plaster vault with wooden ribs, appears to be early 19th century, and
the floors are tiled throughout, apart from a few ledger stones. Restoration has been
non-intrusive, and it remains unclear whether windows at the west end of the
church were inserted afresh, or whether they replaced earlier windows. It is
difficult to determine how much of the walling is old, but inside the
plaster looks smooth and renewed, including the window splays. According
to the pamphlet
Steventon, Hampshire- Historical notes and anecdotes, the spire was
added during the middle of the 19th century. It doesn't appear in the
illustration which is claimed to represent the church in c.1800
(see above), but is mentioned by White in his directory of 1859. It is faced with
slate, and has copper ribs at the angles.
Wall Paintings
There are extensive wall paintings on the east wall of the
nave. The recesses contain paintings of green foliage and red flowers
, while
above the three arches there is a similar design consisting of red foliage
and a faded line of text. The soffit of the chancel arch also contains
rich and elegant red foliage and flowers, which are in good condition
. All
this was uncovered during renovation and redecoration in 1988
(3), and is believed to date
from the early 19th century. In the west corner of the chancel north wall is
a fragment of another, more contemporary design in red.
Some medieval painting still survives, most notably on the
west face of the wall between the chancel arch and south recess
. It consists
of flowers and masonry outlines. The Victoria County History also records
the existence of a painted arcade of five arches in the south recess, each
containing a painted figure including either St Laurence or St Stephen. These
can no longer be seen.
Sculpture
A Saxon cross shaft is
situated near the pulpit. Two sides exhibit carvings of interlace and
entwined dragons
.
 Furnishings
The furnishings are simple and
attractive and mostly
date from the 19th century. The family pew in the south-west corner
of the nave is 17th century, and was moved there c.1912 from the south-east
corner of the nave (4)
.
It has two rows of ornament, including crosses dying into semicircles, and
squares and circles above. The pulpit
and choir stalls appear to be of a
piece, perhaps early 19th century when much was apparently done with the
church, and the organ of 1912 (5)
also adds to the composition.
The font
is of white marble and dated 1868.
Monuments
The chancel has a pretty tablet to Ann
Austen (†1795)
, and opposite is a stone gothic wall monument to Rev. James
Austen (†1819), signed by H Hopper. There are three smaller tablets. In
the nave is a white gothic monument to Sarah Digweed (†1870) and opposite is
a tiny tablet to Mary Digweed (†1824). There is also a brass plate to
Jane Austen, erected in 1936
.
Stained Glass
The east window is signed Mayer &
Co of Munich and has a pictorial and highly sentimental scene of Jesus
in the Garden. It is of average quality, but contains some enjoyable
details. According to the
NWSAD-HS
(North Waltham, Steventon, Ashe & Deane History Society) website the
window dates from 1883.
The chancel lancets contain simple foliage designs.
Two north nave
windows have poor quality glass, now badly faded, signed by Gray of
Cambridge. The western window is dated June 1889, the eastern window 1887. The
nave north lancet has small scenes, also of poor quality and badly faded.
Notes
1.
The 1238 event is given in the Victoria County History, and both events are
referred to in Henshaw's Historical Notes and Anecdotes. The church guide
states that the first reference to a church "was recorded in the twelfth
century", but this is probably an error. In any case it provides no source
or context. Back to "Chronology
of the building"
2.
The church guide gives the date of renewal as 1975, "when it was restored
with the help of the Jane Austen Society as a thanksgiving to mark the
bicentenary of her birth". According to the
NWSAD-HS (North Waltham, Steventon, Ashe & Deane History Society) website-
www.dutton.force9.co.uk/nwsadhs/home.htm, the stone used was Peron stone
from the Meuse region of Verdun in France. Back
to "Chronology of the building"
3.
According to the church guide. Back
to "Wall paintings"
4.
Date comes from Steventon Hampshire. Historical Notes and Anecdotes
by Henshaw. Apparently it was moved to make room for an organ. Is that the
current organ, which apparently dates from 1912 (see next note)? Back to "Furnishings"
5.
According to the church guide the organ was "built and installed by Thomas
Jones & Son of London in 1912..." Back
to "Furnishings"
Sources used
- [Anon].
The church of St Nicholas, Steventon, Hampshire [church guide], 2003
-
Green, A R & Green, P M. Saxon Architecture and Sculpture in
Hampshire. Warren & Son, The Wykeham Press, 1951
- Henshaw,
H. Steventon Hampshire. Historical Notes and Anecdotes, c.1949,
reprinted 1997. An interesting little
publication.
- Page, W.
(ed). The Victoria History of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight: Vol.4.
Constable, 1911
- Pevsner, N
& Lloyd, D. Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Penguin, 1967
- White, W. History, Gazetteer, and
Directory of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, 1859
- White, W. History, Gazetteer, and
Directory of the County of Hampshire including the Isle of Wight, 1878
Web links
-
www.dutton.force9.co.uk/nwsadhs/home.htm North Waltham, Steventon,
Ashe and Deane Historical Society.
Questions for further
research
1.
What is the date of the tower?
2.
What is the date of the spire?
3.
Was the west doorway moved, or is it in situ?
4.
Are the two Y tracery windows and open west lancet original features or
modern insertions?
5.
Is the illustration of the which is claimed to represent the church c.1800
(it appears in both the church guide and Henshaw's Steventon Hampshire.
Historical Notes and Anecdotes) an early illustration or a more recent
artist's impression? Where can the original of this illustration be seen?
6. Are
there any other early illustrations of the church in existence, and if so
where are they?
Location
|
|
| Basingstoke & Deane Borough |
|
| Hundred |
Basingstoke |
| OS Landranger map |
185 |
| Grid Reference |
SU5547 |
| Online map (direct link) |
streetmap.co.uk |
| Online 6 inch map (1876-7) |
www.old-maps.co.uk |
|
