Features
ALTAR TABLE
The South aisle Altar table is Elizabethan.
BELLS
A ring of ten bells. The bells are hung in the top chamber of the tower. The metal bell frame was installed in 1899. The ringing room has been formed by the insertion of a floor in the bottom chamber. The treble and the second bells were given by the Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan Association of Change Ringers as a memorial to members who fell in the Great War. The bells were rehung in 1978 by John Taylor of Loughborough.
Treble G#
5Cwt 0Qrs 15Lbs 1921
Mears & Stainbank, London
2nd F#
5Cwt 3Qrs 10Lbs 1921
Mears & Stainbank, London
3rd E
6Cwt 3Qrs 11Lbs 1899
T. Blackbourn, Salisbury
4th D#
7Cwt 0Qrs 24Lbs 1899
T. Blackbourn, Salisbury
5th C#
6Cwt 2Qrs 25Lbs 1842
T. Mears
6th B
6Cwt 3Qrs 14Lbs 1842
T. Mears
7th A
9Cwt 1Qr 2Lbs 1700
Abra. Rudhall
8th G#
10Cwt 0Qrs 12Lbs1842
T. Mears
9th F#
14Cwt 2Qrs 0Lbs 1722
Abr. Rudhall
Tenor E
23Cwt 0Qrs 0Lbs 1808
John Rudhall, Gloucester
BERKELEY BURIAL CHAPEL
Built c.14502 by James, 11th Lord Berkeley (d.1463). There is an elaborate ogee crocketed arch over the doorway with the Berkeley arms held by an angle. The parapet has carved enrichments and pinnacles.9 This is the property of the Berkeley family and is not open to the public.
The tomb of James, 11th Lord Berkeley lies in the arch between the chancel and the burial chapel. The smaller effigy on the tomb is that of his second son James. The difference in their ages is indicated by their sizes. They are both in armour with Yorkist collars of alternate suns and roses, and both heads rest on tilting helmets. The tomb is of alabaster under a freestone canopy. The tomb-chest is adorned on the north side with a row of canopied niches containing figures of saints and panels with quatrefoils. The ground level on the south side is lower and there are two rows of saints in ogee-shaped canopies separated by pinnacles. The canopy above the tomb has niches without figures.
When Thomas, 10th Baron by tenure died (1417) the castle was inherited by his nephew James, 11th Baron by tenure. Thomas had a daughter Elizabeth married to the Earl of Warwick; she did not inherit the castle and a family dispute developed that was only resolved 52 years later in the last 'private battle' in England, at Nibley Green.
James was 11th Baron Berkeley by tenure and 1st Baron Berkeley by writ.
James' son William (2nd Baron, 1st Marquis of Berkeley, Earl of Nottingham, and Earl Marshall) bartered the castle and the estates with King Henry VII in exchange for his titles and the inheritance remained a Royal Castle until the death of King Edward VI. (The Berkeley chroniclers called him William the Waste-all.)
James' second son also called James, whose effigy is on the tomb, was killed in the French Hundred Year’s War, serving under John Talbot.
James' fourth son Thomas was the first of the Berkeleys of Spetchley from whom is descended the present holder of the castle, Mr. John Berkeley.
The tomb at the east end of the burial chapel is that of Henry, 7th Baron by writ, (d.1615) and his wife Katharine. The tomb is of alabaster; the canopy is of a Renaissance design. By Samuel Baldwin of Stroud. (See also sections Berkeley Burial Chapel and Berkeley Family Monuments.)
CHANCEL
The original mid C13 chancel extended to about the present altar rail; the strings at sill level indicate the extent of this phase of building. The chancel was extended in about 1300. The door on the north side, into the vestry, is ancient and it is a good specimen of ornamental woodwork; it is under a foliated arch2 There is one original window, the narrow lancet window in the north wall (just to the right of the organ). The window above the Easter Sepulchre is early C14 of three stepped lights.9 The rest of the windows are perpendicular except for the one closest to the screen. This window is in a C13 style, is overlarge and probably by Scott.9 The painting in the chancel was further restored by Prof. E.W. Tristram in 1938.
CHANTRIES
The Chantry Certificates show that there were three Chantries in the Church at the time of the dissolution. Canon J.H.W. Fisher suggested the following locations:
St Maurice
Founded in the time of King Edward III (1327-1377). Probably in the north aisle where the War Memorial now is. There is the remains of a piscina, which has now been made into a credence.
St Andrew
Founded by Katharine Lady Berkeley in1388. Probably on the south side of the rood screen, near which is the mutilated remains of a piscina.
St Mary or Our Lady
Founded and endowed by Thomas III, 8th Lord of Berkeley (1326-1361). Probably at the east end of the south aisle near his tomb.
There is a sedila with three seats and credence nearby in the south aisle. The structure seems to have been raised.
James Cooke has the position of the Chantries of St Andrew and St Mary or Our Lady reversed. Canon J.E. Gethyn-Jones used Canon J.H.W. Fisher’s positions.
During work on the nave and both aisles it has been noticed that the eastern most bays of the roofs of these three parts of the church have structures that are not the same as the rest of the roof. There are truncated beams that could indicate that each of the bays had a panelled ceiling. The eastern tie-beams and purlins are not moulded.
The moulding on the beam in front of the doom was added when the roof was restored in 199( ).
CHOIR
The privilege of wearing red was granted by King Edward VII.
CHOIR VESTRY
c. 1980. Some of the wood and moulding used came from pews removed from the back of the Church. Erected in memory of Harold J. Baldwin.
CHURCHWARDENS AND OVERSEERS CHEST
This has on the front:
CW OS
RP Hinton Side IF
1720
CLERESTORY WINDOWS
“A range of broad windows of the second quarter of the C13”. (David Verey considered the north side to have been rebuilt as a blank wall.)
CLOCK
The clock mechanism towards the back of the Church was put into the tower in 1765. It was made by William Meredith of Chepstow and cost £15-15s-0d. Mr. Robert Clark's bill for putting up the clock (and some other work) was £8-5s-3d. The clock lasted for over two hundred years. While it was going it had to be wound every day. In1971 the mechanism was replaced by an electrically driven device. The face of the clock was left unchanged.
COBBLE PATH
CONSECRATION CROSSES
There are three consecration crosses on the west wall of the nave. One is to the north of the west door, it is above intersecting arches. This decoration is considered to be original. Canon J.E. Gethyn-Jones considered the design to be Anglo-Norman and wondered if they were part of an earlier building.
The other two crosses are much more difficult to see; they are at the base of the 1st and 4th window mullions.
CORBELS
Mainly C14. (Some are Victorian, and look it!)
See toad.
CORONATION STOOL
Given in 1953 by Eva Mary, Baroness Berkeley 16th holder of the title.
CREDENCE AND SEDILIA
See Chantry of St Mary.
DISPLAY CASE
DOOM
Christ seated in judgement with upraised hand and a kneeling figure on His right.2 Dated mid C15 (C13?). There are traces of a later decorative pattern superimposed.
EASTER SEPULCHRE/ TOMB RECESS/ SEDILIA
This is part of the c1300 extension of the chancel, it dates from 1325-1350. What ever it was, it is now used as a credence.
FONT
Mid-C12. The rectangular bowl is large enough for the total immersion of infants. The bowl has a scalloped bottom edge; this pattern looks very much like horseshoes. It is supported on corner shafts with moulded capitals and bases and keeled sides.9 It bears signs of rough usage but there is no record of the cause of this. The remains of staples for locking the font can be seen on either side. This was to prevent water, which in Pre-reformation times used to stand in the font for long periods, from being stolen for superstitious uses.
Like the nearby door the font comes from Robert FitzHarding’s Norman Church; both these features have probably been repositioned.
HEATING
Pre-1917 there were heaters at the west end of the south aisle and the east end of the north aisle. A low-pressure gravity fed system was installed Aug-Oct 1917. Over the years the coke boiler was rebuilt and finally replaced by an oil boiler with a pump, the fuel was later changed to gas. The original pipes and radiators remained in use until the winter of 1993. The system was replaced in the summer of 1994, however some of the original 1917 radiators were retained.
JENNER
The Jenner family vault is on the north side of the High Altar. Dr. Edward Jenner is buried here along with other members of his family, including his father who was Vicar of Berkeley (1729-1755). See tombs - Jenner. Also see separate section about Jenner.
LECTERN
Brass with eagle support for the Bible.
“a thank offering from William Legge AD1906”
LIGHTING
Gas Lighting
Gas lighting was installed in (….); the burners were mounted around the pillar capitals. Much soot from the flames was deposited on the wall paintings.
Berkeley had its own gas works from (… to ….); it was at the end of what is now Lantern Close.
Electric Lighting
Electricity was brought to the Church in 1931 at a cost of £200. This was paid for by Mr. T.G. Matthews and the Church Council13. The luminaries in use in the nave probably date from1931. By the late 1960s the lighting circuits kept fusing; when the church was rewired the luminaries were reused. Most of the church was rewired in the late 1960s.
Electricity did not reach the tower until 1948 when lighting was installed at a cost of £3313. When the vicar, Rev. John Fisher, and the verger, Mr. Albert Knott, were digging the trench from the church to the tower to take the new cable someone who was used to trench digging came into the churchyard and offered to do the job, it was done quickly and with seeming ease!
NAVE
The style is Early English.
The six Pillars and two responds on both sides of the nave have slender filleted shafts with deeply undercut stiff-leaf capitals9. One capital (toad) and one respond have a geometrical design. The design is that of nail heads. They date from 1225-1250.
The three eastern most piers on both sides are at a higher level.
See recess, toad, doom, consecration crosses, west front, wesr end pulpit.
NORTH AISLE
C14 The buttresses have set-offs and this indicates that the aisle is slightly later than the south aisle9. The exterior of the windows have a geometrical pattern on the springers. The interiors of the window arches have stones of alternate colours. When the lead flashing was removed from the gutter between the aisle roof and the nave wall, during the re-roofing of 1999/2000, interior wall plaster was found on the exterior nave wall behind the lead. This evidence that the interior plaster went higher than the present roof level plus a string course above, now hidden by the render, add to the idea that the aisle roofs were at one time lean-to.
NORTH DOOR
Original C14 door. (Is there a sanctuary handle?)
The door has been relined but the outside shows signs from the civil war when, in 1645, the church was used by the royalists as part of the defenses of the castle.
A section in the middle bottom has been replaced where it was damaged by a petard. There are axe marks, these are noticeable at waist height on the right-hand door. There are bullet marks. Inside the Church the oaken bolt in the bolt-hole to the right of the door still functions.
ORGAN
The present organ was built in 1898 by Abbott and Smith of Leeds. See Organ in the extra section.
We also know from a faculty of 1791 that the ‘hansome organ’ erected in the chancel was on a gallery 22ft. 6in. x 9ft. 8in. built for the purpose.
ORGANISTS
1792-1796 John Radcliffe
1796-1829 Dr. John Cornelius Hands
1829-?1845 John Wall
? James Newth
c.1867 Mr. Bevan
1868-Jan. 1898 A. M. Moffat
Dec. 1903 G. S. Evans
May- Sept. 1905 W. I. J. Sellar
1905-1909 G. C. Chambers
1909-1916 A. P. Stinchcombe
1916-1919 H. House
1919-1920 A.P. Stinchcombe
1920-1928 J. H. Fussel
1928-1929 E. Mason
1929-1930 D. G. Richards
1930-1932 L. R. Lacey
1932-1940 E. Mason
1940-1963 L. T. A. Edmonds
1964-1975 H. G. Lyall
1976-Oct. 1976 A. J. Viner
1977-1978 D. Bayer
1978-1980 D. E. Collins
1980-1984 H. G. Lyall
1984- D. J. Atkinson
PISCINAS
1.East end of the north aisle, a mutilated piscina now formed into a credence for use at the altar.
2.South of the screen at the east end of the nave, trefoil headed.
3.Pillar piscina by west door, not in situ, ?c.1120.
PLATE
Following a break-in on 23rd. April 1777 when the church plate was stolen the Church Wardens bought two chalices, a salver and flagon. The wrong people were arrested for the crime and the Church Wardens had to pay them compensation.
The plate in general use dates from 1887,the chalice is of a Pre-Reformation style. See Plate in the extra sections.
PORCH
The style is Decorated
The lower part of the porch is C14, the Priest’s room was added c.1450. There is an ogee arch entrance with stone benches to both sides. The vault is a rib-vault (diagonal ribs projecting along the groins) with ridge-ribs (ribs along the longitudinal and transverse ridges)9.The stone between the ribs is tufa. Tufa is a strong but low-density rock. It is formed when calcium carbonate builds up in layers around organic material such as roots as water passes by. The roots subsequently decay leaving the holes.
PRIEST’S ROOM
Built on top of the porch in c.14502. The door at the top of the stairs (not seen by visitors) has a musket loophole - probably from the civil war. There used to be a window between the priest’s room and the church, it is visible from the north aisle.
The external parapet has trefoil-headed panels, the pinnacles were added in the 1950s.
PRIEST’S STALLS
These are fine modern examples of oak worked with an adze by Robert Thompson of Kilburn, Yorkshire, and signed with his mouse.
1 In memory of Henry Crawford Armour, Vicar of Berkeley 1907 - 1934. (£8213)
2 In memory of Charles Edward Ronald Cecil d.1959 and Catherine Mary Cecil d.1998.
The kneelers were carved by Thompson's sons. The needlework designs tell the Jenner story and the legend of the Berkeley Witch. The pictures were worked by Mrs. Catherine Cecil.
PULPIT
Stone, 1918, by Sir Ninian Comper. A monument to Charles Paget, 3rd Baron Fitzhardinge. See separate section ‘The Pulpit - Sir Ninian Comper’
RECESS
To the north of the chancel arch above the door that opened onto the rood loft there is a large recess in the nave wall, its function is unknown. In the opposite wall there is a narrower recess, which runs from just below the roof to the floor; about 3 metres above the ground there are three small ridges.
REREDOS
1881
The figures are (left to right) 1 St Matthew
2 St Mark
3 Christ
4 St Luke
5 St John
When the reredos was erected a cavity formed of dressed stone was found in the wall about 4 feet above the altar, it contained the radius of an arm lying on a quantity of brown dust.2 It was re-sealed.4 This is probably the relic that had been placed in the altar at its consecration.
The reredos was given by Georgina Fitzhardinge, wife of the 2nd Baron Fitzhardinge, in memory of her parents. See plaque above the credence for more details.
ROMAN TILE
Found during the 1866 restoration nearly 4 feet under the chancel floor. The symbol DCLVI gives the number 656.2 It is set in the wall to the south of the screen.
ROOD SCREEN
C15 perpendicular stone screen. It has a bold depressed two-centred arch subdivided into two four-centred arches and a higher, narrow two-centred arch for the doorway. Quatrefoils and daggers in the spandrels.9 The arms of the Berkeley family alliances are of a latter date. They may have been over painted by someone such as a coach painter in C19. The bolts above the central arch may have been for the rood cross; however they may date from the time when the organ was on the screen.
The stairs that would have lead to the rood loft are to the north.
ROOFS
The present nave roof dates from about 1450. The original one doubtless having been a high pitched one, giving a higher gable to the west front.
The nave and aisle roofs are perpendicular supported on carved corbels.9 See chantries, north aisle, C20 restoration.
SANCTUARY LAMP
The lamp hanging in front of the war memorial dates from 1925 and was designed by H.C. King of Dean’s Yard, Westminster. The faculty application contains a small coloured drawing and refers to the ‘War shrine’13. See War Memorial
SMALL WINDOW
A small trifoil-headed window set in the respond at the east end of the south aisle, its function is unknown.
SOUTH AISLE
C14 the buttresses have no set-offs, which indicates that this aisle is probably slightly earlier than the north aisle.9 The exterior of the windows have human and animal heads on the springers; there is a stringcourse running along the wall at window sill level. The interiors of the window arches have stones of alternate colours. The slit recesses along the interior of the south wall were revealed during the 1866 restoration and it is thought that they were used to take the wall timbers of the original lean-to aisle roof.
The east end of the aisle has been re-dedicated as St Andrew’s Chapel - a special place of prayer. This is where the prayer cross is situated.
This area was set up as a Children’s Corner given by W.P. Bound of Redhill, Surrey13 in1931at a cost of £100. There was a further faculty for the ‘erection of a children’s chapel’ in 1951.
SOUTH DOOR
Late Norman doorway having jamb shafts with capitals including decorated trumpets and a moulded arch.9View this from the outside.
Like the nearby font the south door comes from Robert FitzHarding’s Norman Church; both these features have probably been repositioned.
SUNDIALS/ SCRATCH DIALS
Theses are on the south side of the church. Counting the buttresses from the west there is one about 2.5m up the third buttress and rather more at chest height there are two on the fourth buttress and one on the eighth. These are sometimes called mass dials.
TILES
The six tiles let into the wall of the north aisle were found at Green Farm, Breadstone, in1968. They are similar to tiles fired at Malvern c.1480-1520. They are thought to have been made for Thornbury Castle. There are small groups of tiles set into the floor:
i) by the tomb of Lord Thomas Berkeley
ii) by the high altar.
TOAD
Hood-mould corbel of two female gossips’ heads surmounted by a toad. The colouring is medieval. This is a sermon in stone to teach that gossip is like the poisonous tongue of the toad.
TOMBS
See also Berkeley Burial Chapel and Berkeley Family Monuments --separate section.
NAVE
Lord Thomas, 8th Baron by tenure, (d. 1361) and Lady Katharine his second wife. The effigies are life-size and of alabaster. The large tomb chest has an embattled Gothic edge; the sides have panels of shields of arms within quatrefoils. The deep-blue glass strips were mostly renewed in 1864.9 Loose pieces of the tomb have recently been refixed.
Thomas was Lord of Berkeley when King Edward II was murdered in the castle in 1327.
Lord Berkeley and his brother Maurice were at the battle of Crecy with Edward III in 1346, hence the two Berkeley shields in the Crecy window in Gloucester cathebg. Also at Crecy was his son Maurice, who became 9th Lord Berkeley, he was in attendance on the Prince of Wales. Lord Thomas and his son Maurice were also at the taking of Calais in 1347, and again at the battle of Poitiers, 1356, where Maurice was severely wounded, taken prisoner, and later ransomed for 6000 nobles.
Lady Katharine founded Katharine Lady Berkeley School, Wotton-under-Edge; in 1384 it is one of the oldest schools in the country.
John Trevisa
Vicar of Berkeley (d. 1402). A tomb of a cleric is under the central aisle carpet, it bears the date 1402.
John Trevisa was born in Cornwall, possibly on a Berkeley manor. He became chaplain to the Berkeley family. He was involved in the early translations of the Bible.
CHANCEL
Edward Jenner
To the left of the High Altar is the Jenner family vault. Edward Jenner is buried together with his father, who was Vicar of Berkeley, his mother, his wife and his elder son who died young2.
Figure 1
Dr Edward Jenner was born in Berkeley; he returned to become the local doctor. He was a keen scientists and following his observation of cowpox and smallpox he was the first person to successfully introduce vaccination.
Henry Head (Grandfather of Edward Jenner)
On flat stone
In Memory of
the Reverend Mr. Henry Head,
late Vicar of this Parish and Prebendary
of Bristol, who died May the 18, 1728,
aged 64.
Also of Edward, his Son, aged 4 Months.
Also of Mary, his Wife, who died Dec. 1,
1739, aged 75
Also of Henry Jenner, their Grandson
and Son of Siephen Jenner, now
Vicar of Berkeley, who died May
the 12th, 1736, aged a Year and a Half.
Sarah Hayward, widow, and
Daughter of the Rev. Stephen Jenner
died May 15, 1780.
It is possible that this ‘flat stone’ is under the choir stalls?
William Freme
Brass 1ft 10in to the south of the High Altar. (d. 1526) The brass shows a well-to-do yeoman of the reign of Henry VIII.
On the South side of the High Altar is a BRASS of William Freme, which gives a pleasing illustration of the costume of a well-to-do yeoman of the reign of Henry VIII. On his breast he holds a heart inscribed with MCY that was probably intended to indicate his sincere trust in the promises of God. Round the margin of the stone was a fillet of brass with an inscription in Latin. Unfortunately most of it has disappeared, but the words in brackets have been taken from Rudder's "Gloucestershire" (1779) Translated into English it reads ('Here lies the body of William Freme)..... on whose soul may God have mercy, and on the souls of all the faithful departed his relatives and (friends Amen. Strive) to enter in by (the narrow) gate". Below the inscription is cut on the stone "Ob. 1526". The Fremes were for many generations freehold tenants under the Lords of Berkeley for lands in Halmore,Alkington and Canonbury in the parish of Berkeley, by Knight's Service and the rent of twenty horseshoes and their nails, annually.
Jeremias Hopton
SOUTH AISLE
Recumbent figures on the windowsills.
There are several different explanations for these:
I) These represent the three sons of Thomas, 8th Lord of Berkeley, who died in infancy - Thomas, Maurice and Edmund.2
2) Berkeley effigies probably representing heart burials (the bodies would be laid in St Augustine’s Abbey, Bristol): two ladies, end of the C13, and one civilian, early C14.9
CHURCHYARD
Bailey family
Polychrome tombs
Dicky Pearce
Earl of Suffolk’s jester. Killed in Revels at the castle in1728. The epitaph was written by Dean Swift, one time chaplain to Charles, Lord Berkeley. The present table tomb dates from 1822 and is by Daw.
Thomas Peirce (Pearce)
d. 1665.
Clockmaker
President F.D. Roosevelt possessed a clock of wooden construction made by him.
Thorpe
George and Mary Thorpe
Their grandfathers, George Thorpe and John Smyth were co-sponsors (along with Richard Berkeley and Sir William Throckmorton) of the Berkeley Hundred, Virginia in 1619.
TUDOR ROSE
The rose relates to Edward VI. It was conserved in 1990. It covers several different layers of decoration and writing.
TOWER
One of the first things that a visitor to Berkeley Parish Church notices is the tower that stands fifty yards north of the church. The tower, containing a ring of ten bells, is described by David Verey9 as a "Gothic Survival rebuilding with diagonal buttresses, embattled pierced parapet with pinnacles, and simple Gothic openings in the traditional manner."The dimensions have been given as "76ft 3inches high, including the parapet which is in height 6ft 6inches; and 27ft 10inches wide at the base, including buttresses, without them 20ft. l0inches; but the parapet is 22ft inches wide." The tower was built in 1753 for a cost of £750.
In the picture gallery of Berkeley Castle there is a 17th century painting showing the tower that was pulled down before the present one was built in 1753. The painting shows scars of a nave on the east wall of the tower. The church that it had been attached to had already been demolished by the 17th century. The dedication of the church was Our Saviour and His Saints and the tower was dedicated to Our Lady. The present tower therefore replaces an earlier tower, which had been part of a church building.
The two oldest bells in the tower date from 1700 and 1722. They were cast by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester. We know from the Churchwardens' Accounts that bells existed before this, the accounts for 1631 and l637 record payments to ringers. See separate section ‘Bells and Bell Tower’.
VESTRY
C14 with the later organ loft above. Set in the north wall are a trefoil-headed window and a tiny quatrefoil opening, the latter is blocked with a small shutter (or door) on the inside. The outside door has a small carved porch with a gutter. Set into the wall inside the door there is an unexplained feature.
WALL PAINTINGS
The mural paintings date from C13 & C14. They were discovered in 1865 under layers of whitewash and plaster, and carefully restored under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott. They give a fine impression of the colourfulness of a medieval church.2 - See also C14 Building-Wall Paintings&C19 Repair and Restoration- 1865/6
WAR MEMORIALS
The parish war memorial is at the east end of the north aisle. The triptych is by Henry A Payne 1919. The 1939-45-memorial tablet was gilded by Geoffrey Payne and painted by Edward Payne, his two sons.2 The second name up from the bottom in the centre panel of the Great War memorial is that of Phoebe Elizabeth Meadows VAD. Also Capt. J. Fitzhardinge Paul Butler VC DSO is recorded on the memorial; he also features on the war memorial at ( ). See also sanctuary lamp - See also 4th window in north aisle.
WEST DOOR
Viewed from the outside musket loopholes can be seen, they date from the Civil War. There are four in row at about chest level with two more below.
WEST END PULPIT / FEATURE
To the north of the west window there is a very unusual feature. A door from the spiral staircase opens on to a small platform with carved faces of a lady, a knight and a priest on the steps below.4 The function of this feature is unknown; there is a possibility that this formed part of a west end pulpit.
WEST FRONT
The west end of the nave is mid-C13, and has 5 graduated round headed lancets with moulded hoods and slender shafts. Below are three pointed moulded arches with steep gables, jamb shafts, and a cusped and subcusped inner arch over the doorway, Bristol fashion.
WINDOWS
For more details see chancel, south aisle, north aisle. The aisle windows have three stepped lights with cinquefoiled heads.
The interiors of the window arches have stones of alternate colours. James Cooke states3: “It is probable, from the quantities of fragments, of stained glass which were found under the floor during the restoration (1865/6) of the church, that all the windows were once filled with stained glass. They were most probably destroyed during the siege of the castle in 1645.”
CHANCEL
All windows are plain except for the two following:
East Window, 1873, by Hardman.
The parish memorial to Dr. Edward Jenner b.1740 d.1823.
The scenes in the main panels represent some of our Lord’s miracles of healing while the smaller ones contain devices emblematic of medicine and healing. The window was increased from seven to nine lights in1843. The cost was £500. Completion of the work was held up for many years.
For more details see the brass plaque above the credence.
Canon J.E. Gethyn-Jones writes that “The windows in the south wall replaced in1851 three others, one of which was round”.
Window by the screen
Memorial to Maurice Frederick Fitzhardinge Berkeley, 1st Baron Fitzhardinge. For more details see the brass plaque below the window.
Maurice was the second son of the 5th Earl of Berkeley and Mary Cole.
NORTH AISLE
1st window from east
Memorial to Elton Vivian Clifford d. 2 July 1893.
2nd window from east
Memorial to James Croome d. 16 Dec. 1865. Elizabeth Croome, widow, d. 20 Jan. 1879.
3rd window from east
Memorial to Lt. Colonel James Henry Granville Brown d. Apr. 1901.
4th window from east
War Memorial - South African War 1899-1902 (Boar War). Five are named.
No window above north door
There is a blocked-up window to the Priest’s room.
6th window from east
Thomas Pearce Bailey d. 9 Nov 1915. The window was designed by J.A. Hunt.
The window was installed before the faculty was granted; the correspondence with the faculty documentation is interesting. There is a drawing of the design that seems to have not been considered up to standard.
The next two windows are plain.
SOUTH AISLE
East window
Memorial to Francis William, Second Baron Fitzhardinge, and Georgina his wife.
1st window from east
Memorial to Hester Sophia Woollright d. Dec. 1887.
The June 1888 Parish Magazine gives the centre panel as ‘The walk of Emmaus’.
2nd window from east
Memorial to Emily Palaired d. June 14 1884.
3rd window from east
The design is from the firm of Layers, Westlake, and Barraud, London. St. Cecilia, the Patron Saint of Music, is depicted in the canopy work at the top of the Window; in the centre of the Window is our Blessed Lord in the act of healing the Impotent Man at the Pool of Bethesda; on our Lord's left hand stands St. Paul with the sword, which represents his martyrdom, in his hand; on the other side is St. Luke, "the beloved Physician" with the ox at his feet, which is the symbol of that Evangelist. Lower down are three Angels-St. Gabriel with the Madonna Lilly, St. Michael in armour with a torch, and St. Raphael, shown as the Guardian Angel, protecting a boy. The whole is inscribed "to the glory of God, and in memory of John Cox Hickes, Mary his wife, and Susanna Anne, his daughter, also of Thomas Hickes and Mary Theresa his wife."
Between the east end of the aisle and the door there are seven Hickes monuments on the south wall.
4th window from east
Memorial to James Herbert Cook d. Oct 24 1885.
Window 1892.
He was the author of guidebook and notes3
Rose window above south door
1927 by William Aikman.
See plaque to the left of the south door: Memorial to John and Mary Hester Hickes
given by their sister Jane Cann d.6 Dec. 1920.
6th window from east
Parish memorial to Rev. Jonathan Lett Stackhouse d.13 April 1907. The window is the work of G.O. Hemming & Co. There is a drawing included with the faculty application13
The next two windows are plain.
To either side of the south aisle windows there are brackets that I understand were used for blackout blinds during World War II.
WEST WINDOW
A memorial to Francis William Fitzhardinge Berkeley, 2nd Baron Fitzhardinge b.16th November 1826 d.29th June 1896. Erected by Georgina his widow.
A faculty application document 3rd April 1897 (granted 27th April) gives the design as that of ‘The Resurrection’ by Messrs Lavers and Westlake. In September 1899 Lavers, Westlake and Barraud were advertising that they had ‘supplied the last four painted glass windows in Berkeley Church’.
The South aisle Altar table is Elizabethan.
BELLS
A ring of ten bells. The bells are hung in the top chamber of the tower. The metal bell frame was installed in 1899. The ringing room has been formed by the insertion of a floor in the bottom chamber. The treble and the second bells were given by the Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan Association of Change Ringers as a memorial to members who fell in the Great War. The bells were rehung in 1978 by John Taylor of Loughborough.
Treble G#
5Cwt 0Qrs 15Lbs 1921
Mears & Stainbank, London
2nd F#
5Cwt 3Qrs 10Lbs 1921
Mears & Stainbank, London
3rd E
6Cwt 3Qrs 11Lbs 1899
T. Blackbourn, Salisbury
4th D#
7Cwt 0Qrs 24Lbs 1899
T. Blackbourn, Salisbury
5th C#
6Cwt 2Qrs 25Lbs 1842
T. Mears
6th B
6Cwt 3Qrs 14Lbs 1842
T. Mears
7th A
9Cwt 1Qr 2Lbs 1700
Abra. Rudhall
8th G#
10Cwt 0Qrs 12Lbs1842
T. Mears
9th F#
14Cwt 2Qrs 0Lbs 1722
Abr. Rudhall
Tenor E
23Cwt 0Qrs 0Lbs 1808
John Rudhall, Gloucester
BERKELEY BURIAL CHAPEL
Built c.14502 by James, 11th Lord Berkeley (d.1463). There is an elaborate ogee crocketed arch over the doorway with the Berkeley arms held by an angle. The parapet has carved enrichments and pinnacles.9 This is the property of the Berkeley family and is not open to the public.
The tomb of James, 11th Lord Berkeley lies in the arch between the chancel and the burial chapel. The smaller effigy on the tomb is that of his second son James. The difference in their ages is indicated by their sizes. They are both in armour with Yorkist collars of alternate suns and roses, and both heads rest on tilting helmets. The tomb is of alabaster under a freestone canopy. The tomb-chest is adorned on the north side with a row of canopied niches containing figures of saints and panels with quatrefoils. The ground level on the south side is lower and there are two rows of saints in ogee-shaped canopies separated by pinnacles. The canopy above the tomb has niches without figures.
When Thomas, 10th Baron by tenure died (1417) the castle was inherited by his nephew James, 11th Baron by tenure. Thomas had a daughter Elizabeth married to the Earl of Warwick; she did not inherit the castle and a family dispute developed that was only resolved 52 years later in the last 'private battle' in England, at Nibley Green.
James was 11th Baron Berkeley by tenure and 1st Baron Berkeley by writ.
James' son William (2nd Baron, 1st Marquis of Berkeley, Earl of Nottingham, and Earl Marshall) bartered the castle and the estates with King Henry VII in exchange for his titles and the inheritance remained a Royal Castle until the death of King Edward VI. (The Berkeley chroniclers called him William the Waste-all.)
James' second son also called James, whose effigy is on the tomb, was killed in the French Hundred Year’s War, serving under John Talbot.
James' fourth son Thomas was the first of the Berkeleys of Spetchley from whom is descended the present holder of the castle, Mr. John Berkeley.
The tomb at the east end of the burial chapel is that of Henry, 7th Baron by writ, (d.1615) and his wife Katharine. The tomb is of alabaster; the canopy is of a Renaissance design. By Samuel Baldwin of Stroud. (See also sections Berkeley Burial Chapel and Berkeley Family Monuments.)
CHANCEL
The original mid C13 chancel extended to about the present altar rail; the strings at sill level indicate the extent of this phase of building. The chancel was extended in about 1300. The door on the north side, into the vestry, is ancient and it is a good specimen of ornamental woodwork; it is under a foliated arch2 There is one original window, the narrow lancet window in the north wall (just to the right of the organ). The window above the Easter Sepulchre is early C14 of three stepped lights.9 The rest of the windows are perpendicular except for the one closest to the screen. This window is in a C13 style, is overlarge and probably by Scott.9 The painting in the chancel was further restored by Prof. E.W. Tristram in 1938.
CHANTRIES
The Chantry Certificates show that there were three Chantries in the Church at the time of the dissolution. Canon J.H.W. Fisher suggested the following locations:
St Maurice
Founded in the time of King Edward III (1327-1377). Probably in the north aisle where the War Memorial now is. There is the remains of a piscina, which has now been made into a credence.
St Andrew
Founded by Katharine Lady Berkeley in1388. Probably on the south side of the rood screen, near which is the mutilated remains of a piscina.
St Mary or Our Lady
Founded and endowed by Thomas III, 8th Lord of Berkeley (1326-1361). Probably at the east end of the south aisle near his tomb.
There is a sedila with three seats and credence nearby in the south aisle. The structure seems to have been raised.
James Cooke has the position of the Chantries of St Andrew and St Mary or Our Lady reversed. Canon J.E. Gethyn-Jones used Canon J.H.W. Fisher’s positions.
During work on the nave and both aisles it has been noticed that the eastern most bays of the roofs of these three parts of the church have structures that are not the same as the rest of the roof. There are truncated beams that could indicate that each of the bays had a panelled ceiling. The eastern tie-beams and purlins are not moulded.
The moulding on the beam in front of the doom was added when the roof was restored in 199( ).
CHOIR
The privilege of wearing red was granted by King Edward VII.
CHOIR VESTRY
c. 1980. Some of the wood and moulding used came from pews removed from the back of the Church. Erected in memory of Harold J. Baldwin.
CHURCHWARDENS AND OVERSEERS CHEST
This has on the front:
CW OS
RP Hinton Side IF
1720
CLERESTORY WINDOWS
“A range of broad windows of the second quarter of the C13”. (David Verey considered the north side to have been rebuilt as a blank wall.)
CLOCK
The clock mechanism towards the back of the Church was put into the tower in 1765. It was made by William Meredith of Chepstow and cost £15-15s-0d. Mr. Robert Clark's bill for putting up the clock (and some other work) was £8-5s-3d. The clock lasted for over two hundred years. While it was going it had to be wound every day. In1971 the mechanism was replaced by an electrically driven device. The face of the clock was left unchanged.
COBBLE PATH
CONSECRATION CROSSES
There are three consecration crosses on the west wall of the nave. One is to the north of the west door, it is above intersecting arches. This decoration is considered to be original. Canon J.E. Gethyn-Jones considered the design to be Anglo-Norman and wondered if they were part of an earlier building.
The other two crosses are much more difficult to see; they are at the base of the 1st and 4th window mullions.
CORBELS
Mainly C14. (Some are Victorian, and look it!)
See toad.
CORONATION STOOL
Given in 1953 by Eva Mary, Baroness Berkeley 16th holder of the title.
CREDENCE AND SEDILIA
See Chantry of St Mary.
DISPLAY CASE
DOOM
Christ seated in judgement with upraised hand and a kneeling figure on His right.2 Dated mid C15 (C13?). There are traces of a later decorative pattern superimposed.
EASTER SEPULCHRE/ TOMB RECESS/ SEDILIA
This is part of the c1300 extension of the chancel, it dates from 1325-1350. What ever it was, it is now used as a credence.
FONT
Mid-C12. The rectangular bowl is large enough for the total immersion of infants. The bowl has a scalloped bottom edge; this pattern looks very much like horseshoes. It is supported on corner shafts with moulded capitals and bases and keeled sides.9 It bears signs of rough usage but there is no record of the cause of this. The remains of staples for locking the font can be seen on either side. This was to prevent water, which in Pre-reformation times used to stand in the font for long periods, from being stolen for superstitious uses.
Like the nearby door the font comes from Robert FitzHarding’s Norman Church; both these features have probably been repositioned.
HEATING
Pre-1917 there were heaters at the west end of the south aisle and the east end of the north aisle. A low-pressure gravity fed system was installed Aug-Oct 1917. Over the years the coke boiler was rebuilt and finally replaced by an oil boiler with a pump, the fuel was later changed to gas. The original pipes and radiators remained in use until the winter of 1993. The system was replaced in the summer of 1994, however some of the original 1917 radiators were retained.
JENNER
The Jenner family vault is on the north side of the High Altar. Dr. Edward Jenner is buried here along with other members of his family, including his father who was Vicar of Berkeley (1729-1755). See tombs - Jenner. Also see separate section about Jenner.
LECTERN
Brass with eagle support for the Bible.
“a thank offering from William Legge AD1906”
LIGHTING
Gas Lighting
Gas lighting was installed in (….); the burners were mounted around the pillar capitals. Much soot from the flames was deposited on the wall paintings.
Berkeley had its own gas works from (… to ….); it was at the end of what is now Lantern Close.
Electric Lighting
Electricity was brought to the Church in 1931 at a cost of £200. This was paid for by Mr. T.G. Matthews and the Church Council13. The luminaries in use in the nave probably date from1931. By the late 1960s the lighting circuits kept fusing; when the church was rewired the luminaries were reused. Most of the church was rewired in the late 1960s.
Electricity did not reach the tower until 1948 when lighting was installed at a cost of £3313. When the vicar, Rev. John Fisher, and the verger, Mr. Albert Knott, were digging the trench from the church to the tower to take the new cable someone who was used to trench digging came into the churchyard and offered to do the job, it was done quickly and with seeming ease!
NAVE
The style is Early English.
The six Pillars and two responds on both sides of the nave have slender filleted shafts with deeply undercut stiff-leaf capitals9. One capital (toad) and one respond have a geometrical design. The design is that of nail heads. They date from 1225-1250.
The three eastern most piers on both sides are at a higher level.
See recess, toad, doom, consecration crosses, west front, wesr end pulpit.
NORTH AISLE
C14 The buttresses have set-offs and this indicates that the aisle is slightly later than the south aisle9. The exterior of the windows have a geometrical pattern on the springers. The interiors of the window arches have stones of alternate colours. When the lead flashing was removed from the gutter between the aisle roof and the nave wall, during the re-roofing of 1999/2000, interior wall plaster was found on the exterior nave wall behind the lead. This evidence that the interior plaster went higher than the present roof level plus a string course above, now hidden by the render, add to the idea that the aisle roofs were at one time lean-to.
NORTH DOOR
Original C14 door. (Is there a sanctuary handle?)
The door has been relined but the outside shows signs from the civil war when, in 1645, the church was used by the royalists as part of the defenses of the castle.
A section in the middle bottom has been replaced where it was damaged by a petard. There are axe marks, these are noticeable at waist height on the right-hand door. There are bullet marks. Inside the Church the oaken bolt in the bolt-hole to the right of the door still functions.
ORGAN
The present organ was built in 1898 by Abbott and Smith of Leeds. See Organ in the extra section.
We also know from a faculty of 1791 that the ‘hansome organ’ erected in the chancel was on a gallery 22ft. 6in. x 9ft. 8in. built for the purpose.
ORGANISTS
1792-1796 John Radcliffe
1796-1829 Dr. John Cornelius Hands
1829-?1845 John Wall
? James Newth
c.1867 Mr. Bevan
1868-Jan. 1898 A. M. Moffat
Dec. 1903 G. S. Evans
May- Sept. 1905 W. I. J. Sellar
1905-1909 G. C. Chambers
1909-1916 A. P. Stinchcombe
1916-1919 H. House
1919-1920 A.P. Stinchcombe
1920-1928 J. H. Fussel
1928-1929 E. Mason
1929-1930 D. G. Richards
1930-1932 L. R. Lacey
1932-1940 E. Mason
1940-1963 L. T. A. Edmonds
1964-1975 H. G. Lyall
1976-Oct. 1976 A. J. Viner
1977-1978 D. Bayer
1978-1980 D. E. Collins
1980-1984 H. G. Lyall
1984- D. J. Atkinson
PISCINAS
1.East end of the north aisle, a mutilated piscina now formed into a credence for use at the altar.
2.South of the screen at the east end of the nave, trefoil headed.
3.Pillar piscina by west door, not in situ, ?c.1120.
PLATE
Following a break-in on 23rd. April 1777 when the church plate was stolen the Church Wardens bought two chalices, a salver and flagon. The wrong people were arrested for the crime and the Church Wardens had to pay them compensation.
The plate in general use dates from 1887,the chalice is of a Pre-Reformation style. See Plate in the extra sections.
PORCH
The style is Decorated
The lower part of the porch is C14, the Priest’s room was added c.1450. There is an ogee arch entrance with stone benches to both sides. The vault is a rib-vault (diagonal ribs projecting along the groins) with ridge-ribs (ribs along the longitudinal and transverse ridges)9.The stone between the ribs is tufa. Tufa is a strong but low-density rock. It is formed when calcium carbonate builds up in layers around organic material such as roots as water passes by. The roots subsequently decay leaving the holes.
PRIEST’S ROOM
Built on top of the porch in c.14502. The door at the top of the stairs (not seen by visitors) has a musket loophole - probably from the civil war. There used to be a window between the priest’s room and the church, it is visible from the north aisle.
The external parapet has trefoil-headed panels, the pinnacles were added in the 1950s.
PRIEST’S STALLS
These are fine modern examples of oak worked with an adze by Robert Thompson of Kilburn, Yorkshire, and signed with his mouse.
1 In memory of Henry Crawford Armour, Vicar of Berkeley 1907 - 1934. (£8213)
2 In memory of Charles Edward Ronald Cecil d.1959 and Catherine Mary Cecil d.1998.
The kneelers were carved by Thompson's sons. The needlework designs tell the Jenner story and the legend of the Berkeley Witch. The pictures were worked by Mrs. Catherine Cecil.
PULPIT
Stone, 1918, by Sir Ninian Comper. A monument to Charles Paget, 3rd Baron Fitzhardinge. See separate section ‘The Pulpit - Sir Ninian Comper’
RECESS
To the north of the chancel arch above the door that opened onto the rood loft there is a large recess in the nave wall, its function is unknown. In the opposite wall there is a narrower recess, which runs from just below the roof to the floor; about 3 metres above the ground there are three small ridges.
REREDOS
1881
The figures are (left to right) 1 St Matthew
2 St Mark
3 Christ
4 St Luke
5 St John
When the reredos was erected a cavity formed of dressed stone was found in the wall about 4 feet above the altar, it contained the radius of an arm lying on a quantity of brown dust.2 It was re-sealed.4 This is probably the relic that had been placed in the altar at its consecration.
The reredos was given by Georgina Fitzhardinge, wife of the 2nd Baron Fitzhardinge, in memory of her parents. See plaque above the credence for more details.
ROMAN TILE
Found during the 1866 restoration nearly 4 feet under the chancel floor. The symbol DCLVI gives the number 656.2 It is set in the wall to the south of the screen.
ROOD SCREEN
C15 perpendicular stone screen. It has a bold depressed two-centred arch subdivided into two four-centred arches and a higher, narrow two-centred arch for the doorway. Quatrefoils and daggers in the spandrels.9 The arms of the Berkeley family alliances are of a latter date. They may have been over painted by someone such as a coach painter in C19. The bolts above the central arch may have been for the rood cross; however they may date from the time when the organ was on the screen.
The stairs that would have lead to the rood loft are to the north.
ROOFS
The present nave roof dates from about 1450. The original one doubtless having been a high pitched one, giving a higher gable to the west front.
The nave and aisle roofs are perpendicular supported on carved corbels.9 See chantries, north aisle, C20 restoration.
SANCTUARY LAMP
The lamp hanging in front of the war memorial dates from 1925 and was designed by H.C. King of Dean’s Yard, Westminster. The faculty application contains a small coloured drawing and refers to the ‘War shrine’13. See War Memorial
SMALL WINDOW
A small trifoil-headed window set in the respond at the east end of the south aisle, its function is unknown.
SOUTH AISLE
C14 the buttresses have no set-offs, which indicates that this aisle is probably slightly earlier than the north aisle.9 The exterior of the windows have human and animal heads on the springers; there is a stringcourse running along the wall at window sill level. The interiors of the window arches have stones of alternate colours. The slit recesses along the interior of the south wall were revealed during the 1866 restoration and it is thought that they were used to take the wall timbers of the original lean-to aisle roof.
The east end of the aisle has been re-dedicated as St Andrew’s Chapel - a special place of prayer. This is where the prayer cross is situated.
This area was set up as a Children’s Corner given by W.P. Bound of Redhill, Surrey13 in1931at a cost of £100. There was a further faculty for the ‘erection of a children’s chapel’ in 1951.
SOUTH DOOR
Late Norman doorway having jamb shafts with capitals including decorated trumpets and a moulded arch.9View this from the outside.
Like the nearby font the south door comes from Robert FitzHarding’s Norman Church; both these features have probably been repositioned.
SUNDIALS/ SCRATCH DIALS
Theses are on the south side of the church. Counting the buttresses from the west there is one about 2.5m up the third buttress and rather more at chest height there are two on the fourth buttress and one on the eighth. These are sometimes called mass dials.
TILES
The six tiles let into the wall of the north aisle were found at Green Farm, Breadstone, in1968. They are similar to tiles fired at Malvern c.1480-1520. They are thought to have been made for Thornbury Castle. There are small groups of tiles set into the floor:
i) by the tomb of Lord Thomas Berkeley
ii) by the high altar.
TOAD
Hood-mould corbel of two female gossips’ heads surmounted by a toad. The colouring is medieval. This is a sermon in stone to teach that gossip is like the poisonous tongue of the toad.
TOMBS
See also Berkeley Burial Chapel and Berkeley Family Monuments --separate section.
NAVE
Lord Thomas, 8th Baron by tenure, (d. 1361) and Lady Katharine his second wife. The effigies are life-size and of alabaster. The large tomb chest has an embattled Gothic edge; the sides have panels of shields of arms within quatrefoils. The deep-blue glass strips were mostly renewed in 1864.9 Loose pieces of the tomb have recently been refixed.
Thomas was Lord of Berkeley when King Edward II was murdered in the castle in 1327.
Lord Berkeley and his brother Maurice were at the battle of Crecy with Edward III in 1346, hence the two Berkeley shields in the Crecy window in Gloucester cathebg. Also at Crecy was his son Maurice, who became 9th Lord Berkeley, he was in attendance on the Prince of Wales. Lord Thomas and his son Maurice were also at the taking of Calais in 1347, and again at the battle of Poitiers, 1356, where Maurice was severely wounded, taken prisoner, and later ransomed for 6000 nobles.
Lady Katharine founded Katharine Lady Berkeley School, Wotton-under-Edge; in 1384 it is one of the oldest schools in the country.
John Trevisa
Vicar of Berkeley (d. 1402). A tomb of a cleric is under the central aisle carpet, it bears the date 1402.
John Trevisa was born in Cornwall, possibly on a Berkeley manor. He became chaplain to the Berkeley family. He was involved in the early translations of the Bible.
CHANCEL
Edward Jenner
To the left of the High Altar is the Jenner family vault. Edward Jenner is buried together with his father, who was Vicar of Berkeley, his mother, his wife and his elder son who died young2.
Figure 1
Dr Edward Jenner was born in Berkeley; he returned to become the local doctor. He was a keen scientists and following his observation of cowpox and smallpox he was the first person to successfully introduce vaccination.
Henry Head (Grandfather of Edward Jenner)
On flat stone
In Memory of
the Reverend Mr. Henry Head,
late Vicar of this Parish and Prebendary
of Bristol, who died May the 18, 1728,
aged 64.
Also of Edward, his Son, aged 4 Months.
Also of Mary, his Wife, who died Dec. 1,
1739, aged 75
Also of Henry Jenner, their Grandson
and Son of Siephen Jenner, now
Vicar of Berkeley, who died May
the 12th, 1736, aged a Year and a Half.
Sarah Hayward, widow, and
Daughter of the Rev. Stephen Jenner
died May 15, 1780.
It is possible that this ‘flat stone’ is under the choir stalls?
William Freme
Brass 1ft 10in to the south of the High Altar. (d. 1526) The brass shows a well-to-do yeoman of the reign of Henry VIII.
On the South side of the High Altar is a BRASS of William Freme, which gives a pleasing illustration of the costume of a well-to-do yeoman of the reign of Henry VIII. On his breast he holds a heart inscribed with MCY that was probably intended to indicate his sincere trust in the promises of God. Round the margin of the stone was a fillet of brass with an inscription in Latin. Unfortunately most of it has disappeared, but the words in brackets have been taken from Rudder's "Gloucestershire" (1779) Translated into English it reads ('Here lies the body of William Freme)..... on whose soul may God have mercy, and on the souls of all the faithful departed his relatives and (friends Amen. Strive) to enter in by (the narrow) gate". Below the inscription is cut on the stone "Ob. 1526". The Fremes were for many generations freehold tenants under the Lords of Berkeley for lands in Halmore,Alkington and Canonbury in the parish of Berkeley, by Knight's Service and the rent of twenty horseshoes and their nails, annually.
Jeremias Hopton
SOUTH AISLE
Recumbent figures on the windowsills.
There are several different explanations for these:
I) These represent the three sons of Thomas, 8th Lord of Berkeley, who died in infancy - Thomas, Maurice and Edmund.2
2) Berkeley effigies probably representing heart burials (the bodies would be laid in St Augustine’s Abbey, Bristol): two ladies, end of the C13, and one civilian, early C14.9
CHURCHYARD
Bailey family
Polychrome tombs
Dicky Pearce
Earl of Suffolk’s jester. Killed in Revels at the castle in1728. The epitaph was written by Dean Swift, one time chaplain to Charles, Lord Berkeley. The present table tomb dates from 1822 and is by Daw.
Thomas Peirce (Pearce)
d. 1665.
Clockmaker
President F.D. Roosevelt possessed a clock of wooden construction made by him.
Thorpe
George and Mary Thorpe
Their grandfathers, George Thorpe and John Smyth were co-sponsors (along with Richard Berkeley and Sir William Throckmorton) of the Berkeley Hundred, Virginia in 1619.
TUDOR ROSE
The rose relates to Edward VI. It was conserved in 1990. It covers several different layers of decoration and writing.
TOWER
One of the first things that a visitor to Berkeley Parish Church notices is the tower that stands fifty yards north of the church. The tower, containing a ring of ten bells, is described by David Verey9 as a "Gothic Survival rebuilding with diagonal buttresses, embattled pierced parapet with pinnacles, and simple Gothic openings in the traditional manner."The dimensions have been given as "76ft 3inches high, including the parapet which is in height 6ft 6inches; and 27ft 10inches wide at the base, including buttresses, without them 20ft. l0inches; but the parapet is 22ft inches wide." The tower was built in 1753 for a cost of £750.
In the picture gallery of Berkeley Castle there is a 17th century painting showing the tower that was pulled down before the present one was built in 1753. The painting shows scars of a nave on the east wall of the tower. The church that it had been attached to had already been demolished by the 17th century. The dedication of the church was Our Saviour and His Saints and the tower was dedicated to Our Lady. The present tower therefore replaces an earlier tower, which had been part of a church building.
The two oldest bells in the tower date from 1700 and 1722. They were cast by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester. We know from the Churchwardens' Accounts that bells existed before this, the accounts for 1631 and l637 record payments to ringers. See separate section ‘Bells and Bell Tower’.
VESTRY
C14 with the later organ loft above. Set in the north wall are a trefoil-headed window and a tiny quatrefoil opening, the latter is blocked with a small shutter (or door) on the inside. The outside door has a small carved porch with a gutter. Set into the wall inside the door there is an unexplained feature.
WALL PAINTINGS
The mural paintings date from C13 & C14. They were discovered in 1865 under layers of whitewash and plaster, and carefully restored under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott. They give a fine impression of the colourfulness of a medieval church.2 - See also C14 Building-Wall Paintings&C19 Repair and Restoration- 1865/6
WAR MEMORIALS
The parish war memorial is at the east end of the north aisle. The triptych is by Henry A Payne 1919. The 1939-45-memorial tablet was gilded by Geoffrey Payne and painted by Edward Payne, his two sons.2 The second name up from the bottom in the centre panel of the Great War memorial is that of Phoebe Elizabeth Meadows VAD. Also Capt. J. Fitzhardinge Paul Butler VC DSO is recorded on the memorial; he also features on the war memorial at ( ). See also sanctuary lamp - See also 4th window in north aisle.
WEST DOOR
Viewed from the outside musket loopholes can be seen, they date from the Civil War. There are four in row at about chest level with two more below.
WEST END PULPIT / FEATURE
To the north of the west window there is a very unusual feature. A door from the spiral staircase opens on to a small platform with carved faces of a lady, a knight and a priest on the steps below.4 The function of this feature is unknown; there is a possibility that this formed part of a west end pulpit.
WEST FRONT
The west end of the nave is mid-C13, and has 5 graduated round headed lancets with moulded hoods and slender shafts. Below are three pointed moulded arches with steep gables, jamb shafts, and a cusped and subcusped inner arch over the doorway, Bristol fashion.
WINDOWS
For more details see chancel, south aisle, north aisle. The aisle windows have three stepped lights with cinquefoiled heads.
The interiors of the window arches have stones of alternate colours. James Cooke states3: “It is probable, from the quantities of fragments, of stained glass which were found under the floor during the restoration (1865/6) of the church, that all the windows were once filled with stained glass. They were most probably destroyed during the siege of the castle in 1645.”
CHANCEL
All windows are plain except for the two following:
East Window, 1873, by Hardman.
The parish memorial to Dr. Edward Jenner b.1740 d.1823.
The scenes in the main panels represent some of our Lord’s miracles of healing while the smaller ones contain devices emblematic of medicine and healing. The window was increased from seven to nine lights in1843. The cost was £500. Completion of the work was held up for many years.
For more details see the brass plaque above the credence.
Canon J.E. Gethyn-Jones writes that “The windows in the south wall replaced in1851 three others, one of which was round”.
Window by the screen
Memorial to Maurice Frederick Fitzhardinge Berkeley, 1st Baron Fitzhardinge. For more details see the brass plaque below the window.
Maurice was the second son of the 5th Earl of Berkeley and Mary Cole.
NORTH AISLE
1st window from east
Memorial to Elton Vivian Clifford d. 2 July 1893.
2nd window from east
Memorial to James Croome d. 16 Dec. 1865. Elizabeth Croome, widow, d. 20 Jan. 1879.
3rd window from east
Memorial to Lt. Colonel James Henry Granville Brown d. Apr. 1901.
4th window from east
War Memorial - South African War 1899-1902 (Boar War). Five are named.
No window above north door
There is a blocked-up window to the Priest’s room.
6th window from east
Thomas Pearce Bailey d. 9 Nov 1915. The window was designed by J.A. Hunt.
The window was installed before the faculty was granted; the correspondence with the faculty documentation is interesting. There is a drawing of the design that seems to have not been considered up to standard.
The next two windows are plain.
SOUTH AISLE
East window
Memorial to Francis William, Second Baron Fitzhardinge, and Georgina his wife.
1st window from east
Memorial to Hester Sophia Woollright d. Dec. 1887.
The June 1888 Parish Magazine gives the centre panel as ‘The walk of Emmaus’.
2nd window from east
Memorial to Emily Palaired d. June 14 1884.
3rd window from east
The design is from the firm of Layers, Westlake, and Barraud, London. St. Cecilia, the Patron Saint of Music, is depicted in the canopy work at the top of the Window; in the centre of the Window is our Blessed Lord in the act of healing the Impotent Man at the Pool of Bethesda; on our Lord's left hand stands St. Paul with the sword, which represents his martyrdom, in his hand; on the other side is St. Luke, "the beloved Physician" with the ox at his feet, which is the symbol of that Evangelist. Lower down are three Angels-St. Gabriel with the Madonna Lilly, St. Michael in armour with a torch, and St. Raphael, shown as the Guardian Angel, protecting a boy. The whole is inscribed "to the glory of God, and in memory of John Cox Hickes, Mary his wife, and Susanna Anne, his daughter, also of Thomas Hickes and Mary Theresa his wife."
Between the east end of the aisle and the door there are seven Hickes monuments on the south wall.
4th window from east
Memorial to James Herbert Cook d. Oct 24 1885.
Window 1892.
He was the author of guidebook and notes3
Rose window above south door
1927 by William Aikman.
See plaque to the left of the south door: Memorial to John and Mary Hester Hickes
given by their sister Jane Cann d.6 Dec. 1920.
6th window from east
Parish memorial to Rev. Jonathan Lett Stackhouse d.13 April 1907. The window is the work of G.O. Hemming & Co. There is a drawing included with the faculty application13
The next two windows are plain.
To either side of the south aisle windows there are brackets that I understand were used for blackout blinds during World War II.
WEST WINDOW
A memorial to Francis William Fitzhardinge Berkeley, 2nd Baron Fitzhardinge b.16th November 1826 d.29th June 1896. Erected by Georgina his widow.
A faculty application document 3rd April 1897 (granted 27th April) gives the design as that of ‘The Resurrection’ by Messrs Lavers and Westlake. In September 1899 Lavers, Westlake and Barraud were advertising that they had ‘supplied the last four painted glass windows in Berkeley Church’.