All Saints, Little Munden.
Pearls before peasants.
This hamlet is sunk deep in the countryside, along rural roads that can still leave it cut off in the winter by snowdrift or flood. Indeed, up by the church the snow lies when gone elsewhere, and organ pipes of ice hang from the hedges long after a general thaw, a Little Munden micro-climate. Visible from afar almost alone on its hill, lonely lanes lead to a tiny neo-Tudor schoolroom and a tidy little church which proudly boasts that it is open to all daily. As luck would have it, both doors were locked on my first visit; I was told with profuse apologies that this was due to the keyholder breaking an arm, and that this was the first time in years, and indeed the next day it was open, so you should be o.k.
Pearls before peasants.
This hamlet is sunk deep in the countryside, along rural roads that can still leave it cut off in the winter by snowdrift or flood. Indeed, up by the church the snow lies when gone elsewhere, and organ pipes of ice hang from the hedges long after a general thaw, a Little Munden micro-climate. Visible from afar almost alone on its hill, lonely lanes lead to a tiny neo-Tudor schoolroom and a tidy little church which proudly boasts that it is open to all daily. As luck would have it, both doors were locked on my first visit; I was told with profuse apologies that this was due to the keyholder breaking an arm, and that this was the first time in years, and indeed the next day it was open, so you should be o.k.
The church has been here a long time, there are indications of a north west porticus[25] chapel, and the simple capitals of the arch in that corner are of an eleventh century date. This part of the church has been screened off recently with glass, and an upper room is now reached by a stylish new spiral stair. If churches need modern fittings, let them be of this standard. Many richer places could learn from this small hamlet and provide something worthy of the surroundings when adding to their churches; those responsible can be proud of having done the right thing here. Apart from the Norman priests’ door, the rest of the building is fourteenth and fifteenth century and has only one aisle. The arcade ends in a respond with three niches cut into it, one of which still retains half a saint. A rood stair rises in an internal turret in the aisle, which has a Perpendicular screen between it and the chancel’s north chapel.
This chapel contains the gems of the church, two unexpected tombs with effigies of knights and their ladies laid out in their splendour. That at the west is a chest tomb of circa 1380, upon which recline Sir John Thornbury and his wife Nanarina, with their family represented by the doll like weepers standing in niches on the base, each individual in dress. Sir John’s moustachioed mailed head wears a bullet shaped bascinet and rests on his jousting helm, from which rises a snarling seated lion as a crest. Another lies under his feet, and lions appear on coats of arms on the base. His odd pigeon chest is the result of the globular breastplate of the time, he wears both mail and plate armour under his surcoat. His wife rests her feet on playful lapdogs, and sports a fancy hairdo with jewelled honeycomb nebule nets to hold it in place.
The chapel was extended to take the other tomb, that of Sir Philip Thornbury who died in 1452. It seems from the style that he imported a Yorkshire mason to carve his tomb, using one at Benington nearby as a model. On this tomb, it is the man who has a bejewelled wreath around his head, whilst his wife’s is less ornate. Big angels once knelt by her head, and one remains though bereft of its head. Angels can be a symbol of metamorphosis or inspiration; man aspiring to flight, a link between ego and id, conscious and subconscious; they seem to have aroused a particular ire amongst religious reformers, so often do you find every one conscientiously beheaded. This knight’s head again rests on a lion crested helm, but Sir Philip’s head is bare, he has flowing locks, and his armour is all plate. Above the effigies rises the arch cut into the chancel wall, given shape as an ogee canopy over them, at the apex of which two angels burst out of clouds all cut from clunch, the chalky local stone from nearby Bedfordshire. They at least have their heads intact, but remember that we see these tombs bare of colour, and without the fine detail that was finished in gesso before paint and gilt were applied. They must originally have been a splendid sight, especially in such a small rustic setting, a burst of courtly glory in this pastoral parish to arouse envy and awe.
A lovable church on Church Lane up a hill to the north of the village, and always open.
A lovable church on Church Lane up a hill to the north of the village, and always open.
[25] Anglo Saxon side chapel
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All rights reserved for this entire site. Copyright reserved to stiffleaf for all text and images, which may not be reproduced without my permission.