Extract from an article in The Ipswich Journal 13 September 1862
Re-opening of Bramford Church
Bramford Church is a very notable specimen of English architecture, and its external appearance is, perhaps, as symmetrical and pleasing as that of any church in the neighbourhood of Ipswich. It is a structure of very ancient date, and has a time-worn and venerable appearance. It consists of a nave, chancel, and two aisles; and the style of its architecture shows traces of the Early English of the thirteenth century, as well as of the Perpendicular of the later Tudors of the sixteenth.
There is every probability that the Church was built, or altered, at different times during the three centuries which intervened between the perfection of what is known to architects as the Early English style of architecture, and the later development of the Perpendicular style; but through the whole of that period there appears to have been a strong desire to preserve the general uniformity of the structure, and now that time has silvered its walls quite impartially with the mossy characteristics of age, the irregularities we speak of are only visible to those who seek them with some technical knowledge of architectural points of difference, and even to them they are of a character so subordinate as only to give a little relief and variety to the building; and without being remarkably rich in its details – certainly without being remarkable for its size – the Church stands just such a structure as no lover of the ecclesiastical architecture of England could pass without notice, or notice without some expression of admiration.
The interior of the Church is hardly equal, or rather was hardly equal in appearance to the exterior; as the absence of enrichment, for which there is such abundant scope in Gothic architecture, is, perhaps, more observable on the inside of a building than upon the outside. Old Father Time creeps silently and lovingly over the outside walls, and covers them with beautiful mosses, and if, as in this case, the original form is symmetrical and pleasing, a plain substantial building has a kind of venerable beauty of its own after the lapse of two or three centuries. On the inside of the walls the churchwarden operates with his whitewash; and there are many who tax him with producing a far inferior effect at a greater cost. There can, indeed, be no doubt that in many cases the interior of churches have suffered from the additions and repairs which hide their original characteristics, and Bramford Church has not escaped this mild form of desecration. The Church is lofty for its size, and has an open timber roof, consisting of boldly moulded rafters and hammer beams, with a handsome cornice. The roof of the chancel is of a similar character, but the cornice is very elaborately carved – and is in fact a very fine specimen of the wood carving of the sixteenth century. The roof both of the nave and of the chancel is in good order, and all that has been done to this part of the Church during the recent alterations has been to clean the roof of the nave and stain it several shades darker than before. In other directions, however, the architect has made changes which are of so bold and sweeping a character that the most general reader will be able to form some idea of their effect, and the hardest utilitarian must admit that they are improvements. In the first place, the west end of the Church was occupied by a gallery which ran completely across the nave and the aisles, and quite obstructed the view of the steeple arch. This gallery is now removed, and the lofty pointed arch, under which the font is now places with good effect, now gives a noble appearance to that end of the Church. Turning eastward the eye is met by another handsome arch, which spans the entire width of the nave, spring from massive and boldly carved corbels, one of which represents a cluster of grapes and the other a broad and boldly carved cluster of leaves. This arch is supported on three smaller ones which fill the whole width of the nave beneath it, and which were the only means of communication between the Church and the chancel before the present alterations were commenced. The Church and the chancel were in fact divided by a massive wall, pierced with three small arches in order to afford the necessary means of communication. The consequence of this arrangement, which is, we believe, almost unexampled, was that the east window, the roof, and indeed the greater part of the chancel were shut out from the view of those who were in the Church, almost as entirely as if they had been in a separate building; and the general effect was to contract the size of the Church, and make it appear much smaller and meaner than its outward appearance led one to expect. By the removal of this wall, which has added wonderfully to the apparent size of the Church; and the removal of the gallery at the west end, giving a vista from the window in the west wall of the steeple to the east window of the chancel, the architect has contrived, by two very simple strokes, to add so much to the space over which the eye has to travel that those who knew the Church before the alterations would hardly believe themselves to be in the same building. The appearance of the chancel is further improved by the erection of a handsome reredos in carved oak, where there was formerly a cumbrous, and by no means elegant, alter piece. In addition to these changes the old wooden pews, which were perhaps as old fashioned, as unsightly, and as high shouldered as any in Suffolk, (and that is a large expression), are now all swept away; and the floor of the church is now occupied by low benches of stained and varnished deal, a few of which have poppy heads carved at the ends; but the greater part of them have only a very plain triple head at each end, copied from some original benches in Burstall Church. The reredos and benches in the chancel were placed in the church about three years since, but they form part of the present plan, and were executed in the hope of carrying out what has now been executed. The old pews were so ill arranged, that although a large number of sittings were sacrificed by the removal of the gallery about seventy seats in all are gained in the Church by the present arrangement of the benches. There is no vestry connected with the Church, and one of the old pews, a square box almost as large as a modern parlour, was formerly furnished with a table and made to serve as a kind of apology for a vestry. The Church has two fine porches, north and south, both of which are amongst the earliest portions of the building, but by the new arrangement the south porch, which is but little used, is converted into a vestry; an arrangement which is we believe dictated rather by the exigencies of the case than by the taste of the architect or his employers. The pulpit is a very small one, apparently of more modern date than the principle part of the Church. It is a piece of panelled wainscot work, without much enrichment, and is now placed about three feet above the floor, on the north side of the church at the entrance to the chancel, its former position being on the opposite side of the nave. The reading desk forms part of the present alterations, and is a capacious and convenient ambo, having one front to the west and the other to the south; it is now placed on the same side as the pulpit, and is constructed of the same material and in the same style as the benches. The general effect of everything that has been done is to increase the apparent size of the Church, and to improve its appearance to such an extent that visitors who got with a picture of the old state of things in their eyes, are fairly astonished at the effect produced by the clearing away of the modern and tasteless additions which had been ignorantly accumulated upon a handsome gothic building. The comfort of the congregation has been well studied; the benches are of a comfortable width and all the passages have an amplitude of space which will be almost sufficient to accommodate the expanded skirts of the present fashions. The organ, which formerly stood in the centre of the gallery, is now placed at the east end of the south aisle, and a few of the benches in that part of the Church are also occupied by the choristers. The organ was been erected within the three years. It is by Mr. Holdich, of London, and that gentleman was employed to superintend its removal from the gallery to its present position. Mr. Holdich officiated at the instrument at the re-opening, and the beauty of the service was greatly enhanced by his skill. The somewhat anxious period while the collection was being made, was occupied by some masterly extempore playing, so fine in its effect that the congregation might well have regretted the moment when the churchwardens, with their alm dishes brought their duties to a close.
The whole of the works have been under the care of Mr. Barnes, and have been executed from designs furnished by him, by Mr. Girling, of Ipswich. The contract for the recent alterations was £215, but the stone work, which was executed by Mr. Farrow, of Ipswich, was not included in the same estimate. These are heavy sums for a country parish to raise, and Sir George Broke Middleton, mindful of the fact, liberally handed a cheque for £30, to the Hon. And Rev, E. Pellew on Thursday, in aid of the Restoration Fund.
The church was re-opened on Thursday, and it was announced that the Bishop of Norwich would preach a sermon for the occasion. His lordship has, however, unfortunately met with an accident within the last few days, which quite prevents his travelling to any distance; and his place was occupied at Bramford on Thursday, by the Honourable and Reverend Edward Pellew, of St. James Church, Bury St. Edmund’s, who preached and admirable and instructive discourse to a congregation which was large enough to test the capacity of the church to the utmost. The benches were crowded, and chairs had to be placed in nearly all the passages, so that the entire floor of the church was covered. Sir George and Lady Broke-Middleton, Sir FitzRoy and Lady Kelly, a large number of ladies and gentlemen from Ipswich and the surrounding villages, and the principal inhabitants of Bramford were present.
The rest of the article is a detailed account of the sermon and finishes with the statement that nearly £500 had been spent in the last two three years and that a considerable sum still had to be raised. The collection at the close of the service raised £10 6s. 6d.
