Stanstead Abbots

123. STANSTEAD ABBOTS.

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)xxx. S.W. ^(b)xxxvii. N.W.)

Ecclesiastical

^b(1). The Old Parish Church of St. James, stands about ¾ mile S. by E. of the village, in a somewhat isolated position on a hill. It is built partly of flint rubble and partly of brick, with stone dressings; the roofs are tiled. The Nave is probably of the 12th century, as in the 13th century the chancel was re-built to its present size, and windows were inserted in the nave. Early in the 15th century the West Tower was built, and late in the same century the South Porch was added. In 1577 a North Chapel was built of brick, and probably about the same time the chancel was altered and partly re-faced, also with brick. The building is no longer used as the parish church.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (32 ft. by 17½ ft.) has a late 15th-century E. window of three lights. In the N. wall is an arcade of four bays; the first arch is of one chamfered order, and is probably of later date than the other arches, which form a continuous arcade, of the same date as the chapel; they are two-centred and of one double ogee moulded order, on octagonal columns with moulded capitals; the whole arcade is heavily plastered and probably of brick. In the S. wall are two windows of two lights with almost completely modern tracery; they were inserted in the 15th century, when three 13th-century lancet windows, of which traces remain, were destroyed. There is no chancel arch. The North Chapel (41½ ft. by 15½ ft.) has an E. window of three lights and two N. windows of two lights, all original but much restored. In the E. gable, outside, is a stone inscribed 1577. The Nave (47 ft. by 17½ ft.) is in one range with the chancel, and without structural division. The N. wall has been considerably altered in fitting it to the 13th-century chancel, and in it are the blocked remains of a doorway. In the S. wall are three windows of two lights, probably inserted in the 15th century, but the tracery is nearly all modern. The westernmost window is set in the defaced splay of a 13th-century lancet. The S. doorway is also of the 13th century, and of two chamfered orders. The West Tower is of two stages with an embattled parapet, angle buttresses, a stair-turret, in the S.E. angle, which rises above the parapet, and a lead-covered needle spire. The early 15th-century tower arch is of two moulded orders with shafted jambs and moulded capitals; the original W. doorway is of two moulded orders, the outer being square; the three-light window above it, and the bell-chamber windows, of two lights, are also original. The South Porch is of open timber construction with a cusped barge board. The Roof of the nave is plastered on the rafters and collar beams, but the 15th-century strutted king-posts and moulded tie-beams and wall-plates are visible.

Fittings—Bells: three; 2nd 1617, 3rd 1605, both by Robert Oldfeild. Brasses: in a slab on S. wall of chancel, of knight, in armour, late 15th-century: on floor of chancel, of William Saxaye, 1581, figure of civilian, with inscription and arms: in the nave, of a man and his wife with their hands joined, mid 16th-century, indents of inscription and shields, much mutilated: shield, charged with three cheverons quartering a cheveron between three bears' heads erased: large slab with shield charged with arms of Boteler, checky a fesse, and indents of three others. Communion Table: late 17th-century. Door: in S. doorway of nave, possibly mediæval. Font: circular basin, part of a 13th-century base reversed, on 15th-century octagonal stem. Glass: in E. window of chapel, dated 1573, with Elizabethan Royal arms. Monuments: on N. wall of chapel, of Sir Edward Baeshe, 1587, effigies of man, his wife and children, in an architectural setting with inscription. Piscina: in the chancel, double, with plain pointed heads, 13th-century. Pulpit: standard for canopy, 16th-century. Screens: in the nave, lower part of 15th-century rood-screen now forming the back of a pew: under the tower arch, screen made up of fragments, late 16th-century, with head apparently part of 15th-century rood-beam, with the three mortices for the great rood. Miscellanea: Coffin Slab: in churchyard, crudely worked, probably 13th-century, broken and overgrown.

Condition—Fairly good; there is a dangerous amount of ivy; the stair-turret of the tower is unroofed and the top steps are dangerous.

Secular

^a(2). Homestead Moat, in Moat Wood, fragment.

^b(3). Rye House, remains of (see also No. 9), about one mile S.W. of the church, with a Moat. The remains consist of a large 16th-century gate-house, and a long low wooden building, possibly of the 17th century. These buildings were the scene of the "Rye House Plot" in 1683, and are now open to the public. The two-storeyed gate-house, facing E., is built of red brick, covered with a diaper pattern of blue bricks; the roof is flat, and the embattled parapet has cross-shaped piercings in the merlons. The stone doorway is in the centre, and has a pointed arch in a square head; on each side of it is a small brick-moulded window under a square hood-mould. Over the windows are slightly projecting bays, carried on a corbel-table, which is repeated over the doorway at a higher level. In the bays are mullioned oriel windows, one of two lights, the other of three, which light the first floor; they are finished with embattled parapets, at the level of the main parapet string-course. At the back is a brick chimney stack, with a fine twisted shaft. The entrance passage is flanked by small rooms; on the first floor is a single large room, which has a fireplace of clunch, with moulded jambs and a flat four-centred arch; the overmantel and the carved frieze under the ceiling are of late 17th or early 18th-century date; in the fireplace is a pair of old dog-irons; the room also contains two 17th-century chests, and a writingdesk, dated 1670. A circular staircase, opening into the S.W. corner of this room, leads up to the flat roof and down to a pseudo-dungeon. The wooden building on the N. of the gatehouse contains a considerable quantity of panelling of various designs and dates, much of it probably collected from elsewhere; some is of 16th-century linen pattern, and the rest appears to be of the 17th century; a large fire-place has 17th-century woodwork round it. On one of the panels are the arms: a cheveron between three lions' heads erased, impaling a chief with three stags' heads cabossed thereon.

Condition—Good.

^b(4). Stanstead Bury (Manor-house), E. of the old church, is a two-storeyed building, cemented outside; it was probably built late in the 16th century, but was entirely remodelled in the 18th century. The cellars are original, and in them are two triangular-headed niches. In a bedroom window is some heraldic glass, dated 1563.

Condition—Good.

^a(5). Bonningtons, about three miles N.E. of the old church, is an almost entirely modern building, but the E. wing may be of the 17th century, though it has been considerably altered. It is of two storeys, and has twin tiled roofs and tall brick chimneys. Inside the house is an oak door, of two large panels, also probably of the 17th century.

Condition—Good.

^a(6). The Baeshe Almshouses, about ¾ mile N.W. of the old church, were built by Sir Edward Baeshe early in the 17th century, and consist of six brick cottages, of two storeys, under one tiled roof. The upper windows are set in three gables, and the original oak doorposts and moulded oak window-frames remain.

Condition—Good.

^a(7). The Old Clock School, at the E. end of the High Street, is a small two-storeyed building of early 17th-century date, coated with rough-cast; the roof is tiled. The plan is rectangular, and the W. front is gabled, but has been altered. The school-room on the ground floor retains original beams in the ceiling, and oak mullioned windows.

Condition—Good; much repaired and altered.

^a(8). The Red Lion Inn, in the middle of the village, is a building of two storeys, coated outside with modern rough-cast; the roof is tiled. It is at least of early 17th-century date, but as it has been much altered, nothing more definite can be said. On the street-front the upper storey projects, and there are five gables; the date "1538," worked on the central gable, is in modern figures. The rough-cast leaves visible some plaster ornament in low relief, of early 17th-century date, consisting of a carbuncle and a lion rampant, etc., repeated several times.

Condition—Good; much altered.

^b(9). The Great Bed of Ware, is kept at the Rye House (see above, No. 3); it has the date 1463 painted on it, but was made late in the 16th century. It was mentioned by Shakespeare in Twelfth Night, and may have come originally from a manor-house in the neighbourhood of Ware. It is a carved oak four-post bedstead, about 11 ft. square and 8 ft. high. The posts are square at the bottom; more than half-way up is an arcading of four round-headed arches on round pillars, surrounding an open space; below it the posts have plain sides, with square panels enclosing smaller lozenge-shaped panels. The upper parts are round, elaborately carved in low relief. The back or head of the bed is panelled, and the top has an enriched frieze and cornice.

Condition—Good.

Unclassified

^a(10). Tumulus, in Easneye Wood.

Condition—Poor.