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Thaxted Parish Church

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Thaxted Parish Church
Church of Saint John the Baptist with Our Lady and Saint Laurence
"The Cathedral of Essex"
Thaxted Church, with its spire and south porch, viewed from the top of Stony Lane
Map
51°57′16″N 0°20′32″E / 51.954319°N 0.342295°E / 51.954319; 0.342295
OS grid referenceTL 61044 31014
LocationThaxted, Essex
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
Websitewww.ttsrh.org/thaxted
History
DedicationSaint John the Baptist; Our Lady; Saint Laurence
Associated peopleRobert Wydow, Conrad Noel, Gustav Holst
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade 1 Listed
Architectural typeChurch
StyleEnglish Perpendicular
Years builtc. 1340 to c. 1510
Specifications
Length183 feet (56 m)
Width87 feet (27 m)
Spire height181 feet (55 m)
Administration
ProvinceCanterbury
DioceseChelmsford
ArchdeaconryStansted
DeanerySaffron Walden
BeneficeThaxted, The Sampfords, Radwinter and Hempstead
ParishThaxted
Clergy
RectorReverend Philip Tarris
Thaxted Church, commanding the town with its Guildhall

The Church of Saint John the Baptist with Our Lady and Saint Laurence is the parish church of the town of Thaxted in Essex, England. The present church was built over an extended period between c. 1380 and 1510 in the English Perpendicular style. Sitting on top of a hill with a slender spire reaching 181 feet (55 m) high, the church is one of the largest in the county, overlooking the town and the surrounding countryside. Its size is an indication of the former prosperity of the town, because of the medieval cutlery and wool trades that once flourished here. The church has earned the epithet "the Cathedral of Essex". The church is a Grade 1 Listed Building on the National Heritage List.[1]

"The town of Thaxted is the queen of Essex and her crown is the church. The steeple stands out over the surrounding fields. The town streets all seem to bend in its direction over ancient cobbles and past timber framed houses."
— Simon Jenkins, Country Churches, Penguin English Journeys, 2009, p.36.

Since 13 June 2017, the Benefice of Thaxted has been joined with that of the Sampfords, Radwinter and Hempstead.[2] Since 1914, the church parish has formed part of the Diocese of Chelmsford, but previously it has been in the dioceses of London (foundation to 1846), Rochester (1846–77) and Saint Albans (1877–1914).[3]

History

Origins

There has been a Christian church in Thaxted since Saxon times. The first documented reference to a church in the settlement is in the Liber Eliensis, regarding a gift of land in "Thacstede" to the abbey at Ely by a woman named Æthelgifu sometime between 981 and 1016. It states that the will, written in English, was kept in the church there as evidence.[4][5] An early church was said to have been dedicated to Saint Catherine and its foundations were reportedly found in the eighteenth century at Rails Farm, not far from the present church site.[6][7] There is also evidence that the current building stands on the site of an earlier church, and that traces of this church were found under the chancel.[6][7]

Why a modest settlement such as Thaxted in the fourteenth century should have embarked upon building such a grandiose structure has long been a matter of debate and conjecture.[8][page needed] A number of factors may have played a part: a dispute between the vicar and the monks of Tilty Abbey over tithes allowed the considerable sums previously donated to the abbey by the town to be diverted to the parish church, at a time when the town was beginning to prosper as a centre of the cutlery industry.[6] The inhabitants were therefore able to organise and contribute towards the financing of a major church building project, even if the support of rich benefactors was still necessary.[7] During the period when construction began, many small donations of land were made to the borough, which were immediately sold, presumably for the purpose of funding the new structure.[9][10] The appointment of four churchwardens is taken as an indication that the town was managing funds for construction.[10]

The construction was sponsored by a number of noble patrons descended from the Clare family who had held the manor of Thaxted since the Norman Conquest: Elizabeth, Lady Clare (1295–1360); Lionel, Duke of Clarence (1338–68); Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March (1352–81); his grandson, Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March (1391–1425); and King Edward IV (1442–83).[6][7][11]

Construction

The current church was built over an extended period from the mid-fourteenth century to the first quarter of the sixteenth century, probably on the site of an earlier church.[12][13] The earliest parts of the present building date from c. 1340 and substantial building works were completed by c.1510.[12] Foundations of the earlier structure were apparently discovered under the entrance to the Chancel.[7] Some have theorized that these remains, and the late construction of the Chancel, show that the older building remained in place until most of the new structure had been completed.[9][13]

The precise order in which the church was completed is hard to confirm, but the following is based on the survey by the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments:[12]

  1. nave with north and south aisles (c.1340 or earlier)
  2. south transept and widening of south aisle (c.1360–1380)
  3. south porch (c.1380)
  4. north transept (c.1380–1420)
  5. north porch and widening of the north aisle (c.1445)
  6. west tower and spire (c.1475–1500)
  7. chancel, north and south chapels, crossing arches and nave clerestory (c.1510)

It has been conjectured that the original plan for the building included a central tower over the crossing, and that this tower may have fallen.[12]

Restoration over the centuries

The building has been restored periodically, but, according to Pevsner, "care has always been taken and [...] not much has been changed".[14] As early as 1561, the Lord Treasurer was requested to provide funds to repair and maintain "such fair edifice, builded of good zeal and devotion of our Predecessors".[15][9]

Parts of the building were damaged by storms in 1757, 1763, 1764 and, most catastrophically, in 1814.[15] During the summer of that year, the spire had been partially dismantled by 45 feet (13.7 m) after being struck by lightning and scaffolding erected to support reconstruction. On 16 December 1814, a "hurricane" brought the scaffolding and 30 feet (9.1 m) more of the spire down onto the church roof, causing extensive damage.[16][17] The decision to rebuild the spire according to its original design was taken by the churchwardens in 1820 and tender notices appeared in the press.[18] Reconstruction was complete by 1822, with funds from Sir William Smyth.[19]

The arts and crafts architect, Randall Wells, undertook renovation work in 1909–10, removing cement rendering placed on the exterior during earlier restorations, and strengthening the foundations of the west tower.[20] Further restoration has continued with fundraising undertaken by the Friends of Thaxted Church.[21]

Clerical disputes and controversies

The church, and its vicars, has been at the centre of some controversies over the centuries. The vicarage had been endowed by the Bishop of London, Roger Niger, in the thirteenth century, maintained by the monks of Stoke-by-Clare.[22] The origins of the construction of the present church can be traced to a dispute in 1314 between the then vicar, William, and the monks of Tilty Abbey, who refused to support the benefice financially. The vicar sued but, threatened with excommunication, withdrew his suit and the increasingly prosperous parishioners resolved to support the church by other means, resulting in an influx of funds, including from Lady Clare, that allowed the rebuilding programme to begin.[23][7][11]

In the first decade of the fifteenth century, Thaxted became a hotbed of Lollardy and its vicar or curate, William, was persecuted for heretical preaching.[24][25][26] Several Thaxted residents participated in Oldcastle's Revolt in January 1411.[24] In 1430, a "prest of Thaksted" was burnt at Smithfield.[27]

In 1647, during the English Civil War, the appointment of a Laudian vicar, Samuel Hall, nominated by Lady Maynard who held the advowson for the benefice, was opposed by Presbyterian Roundhead supporters in the town and blocked by the Parliamentary Committee for Plundered Ministers. Opposition to the move and support for Rev. Hall resulted in an incident, described as a "great fight", in the church when some parishioners attempted to obstruct the sequestrators from ejecting their preferred vicar.[28][29] Hearings were held before the House of Lords and a Puritan candidate, James Parkin, prevailed, only to be himself ejected after the Restoration. He remained in the town, helping to establish the strong Dissenting presence in the town during the eighteenth century.[30]

In February 1848, Rev. Thomas Jee, Thaxted's vicar for over 40 years, was charged with assaulting Marian Harvey, the wife of his curate, Rev. Thomas Harvey. The Harveys were living in the vicarage with Rev. Jee but it seems the cohabitation had not gone well. When Rev. Jee refused to be bound over to keep the peace, he spent fourteen days in Springfield Gaol.[31] His return to Thaxted upon his release was greeted by a carriage procession.[32] A month earlier, Rev. Jee had received a nominal fine of one shilling for assaulting his physician, Dr. Barnes, at a dinner party at the vicarage in the company of the Harveys. Dr. Barnes, who described the clergyman of have an "excessively excitable temperament", had accused Jee of indecent misconduct with a ten-year-old girl, whereupon the vicar had seized a poker and threatened the doctor. The court found that Dr. Barnes had "gone out of his way to be vexatious and irritating" and had provoked the incident by his "gross accusation" against the vicar.[33] In a postscript, in April 1848, Dr Barnes eloped with the sixteen-year-old daughter of Rev and Mrs. Harvey, after the family had left the vicarage in Thaxted and moved to Bayswater. Barnes and Miss Harvey were tracked back to Thaxted and Barnes was charged with abduction.[34] Barnes was acquitted at the Old Bailey when it was ruled that the marriage was legal.[35]

In 1922, the Church gained national notoriety as the venue for the so-called "Battle of the Flags", after the vicar, Conrad Noel, hung the Red Flag, and the Tricolour of Sinn Féin alongside the Union Flag in the church. After a group of Cambridge University students took the flags down, a tussle developed over several years between supporters and opponents of the "Red Vicar". Noel was a Christian Socialist and defended his right to fly the flags, but eventually the church authorities ordered their removal.[36] The existence of a radical vicar supported by an essentially conservative town gave rise to the notion of "the Thaxted tradition" with a series of such appointments until the 1980s.[37] Conrad's successor as vicar was his son-in-law, Jack Putterill, whose sermons were highly political and who engaged with left-wing causes.[37]

In 1976, the vicar, Peter Elers, declared his homosexuality, which left the "community divided on whether sexual politics represented an extension of, or diversion from, Thaxted's long-standing progressivism."[38] A private ceremony to bless a female same-sex couple in the church was reported as a gay "wedding", resulting in an investigation by the Church of England and calls for him to resign.[39]

Candidature for cathedral status

Thaxted Church has sometimes been described as the "Cathedral of Essex". At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was briefly considered as the seat of a new bishopric that was being planned to alleviate the burden on the Diocese of Saint Albans. In 1906, Bishop Edgar Jacob invited aspiring churches to submit applications.[40] Seven churches entered the race. Thaxted's suitability was hampered by poor transport communications and the reluctance of Lady Warwick to give up her patronage of the church living (advowson). The fact that it was the only candidate church that would not have required structural alterations to expand capacity speaks to the grandeur of the building in relation to other parish churches in the country.[40] Eventually Chelmsford was chose as the site of the new cathedral.

Architecture

For a more detailed description of the architectural features of the church, see the 1916 Essex Inventory of the Royal Commission of Historical Monuments.[41]

Thaxted Church, nave looking east

The church is an example of the English perpendicular style of medieval Gothic ecclesiastical architecture. Pevsner described it as "proud, spacious, clear and a little frigid inside, and outside dominated by its splendid tall steeple".[14] The exterior is built of limestone with flint rubble infill, embattled and buttressed, each buttress pinnacled and possessing a gargoyle. The exterior is decorated with carved ornamentation, friezes and grotesques.

The west tower, which houses the bells and supports the spire, dates from the fifteenth century, with extensive repairs in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The tower is 17 square feet (1.6 m2) square and has four buttressed stages and a panelled and embattled parapet. The 181 feet (55.2 m) high spire is supported by flying buttresses and is punctuated by three sets of windows or lights, the bottom pair mullioned into three, the middle pair mullioned into two and the top single. The tower is surmounted by a golden weather vane.

There are two entrance porches, each with two storeys. The south, or Duke's Porch, was given by Lionel, Duke of Clarence and is marked with his coronet. It is the earlier of the two porches, built between 1362 and 1368.[14] It has a star-shaped tierceron vault and two smaller side entrances. The north, or King's Porch, was given to the church by King Edward IV and bears his arms. It is the taller and more elaborate of the two, with a ribbed vault with liernes and bosses, a castellated turret and, above the entrance, two escutcheons, carved niches and a figure-frieze. At the top, underneath the pinnacles on each side is a carved wodewose or savage man holding a club. The room above the north porch was dedicated by Conrad Noel as a chapel to John Ball, a leader of the Peasants' Revolt. The church is usually entered through the North Porch, off Watling Street.

The north and south arcades date to c. 1340, making them the oldest part of the present structure, each of six bays. The piers are quatrefoil. The nave is 85.5 feet (26 m) long by 18.5 feet (6 m) wide and also dates from c. 1340, if not earlier.[42] The flat-pitched wooden roof throughout the church is original, with bosses carved with heads, angels and foliage. The great arch and vault of the west tower date from the fifteenth century: the groined vault has the arms of March and Ulster. The clerestory was added in the early sixteenth century in the final phase of building.

Both the north aisle and the south aisle are wider than the nave, having been widened when the porches were constructed. The roof of both aisles include carved bosses, some showing the crests of possible donors.

There is a reredos set into the east wall of the north transept with ogee-headed niches and a frieze above depicting Christ between censing angels. The south transept was probably once a chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine, as indicated by the carved Catherine wheels above the columns.

The chancel, with its north and south aisles, and clerestory are the newest part of the building completed before 1510. The clerestory windows may be replacements after the 1757 storm damaged the originals.[43] The east window contains five lights. The chancel aisles are dedicated as chapels, the Chapel of St Thomas of Canterbury, or the Becket Chapel, to the north and the Chapel of Our Lady and St Anne, or the Lady Chapel, to the south.[44]

Fittings

Carved fifteenth century wooden font case and cover, Thaxted Parish Church, Essex

The font, with an elaborate late fifteenth-century wooden case and cover, stands in the north-western corner of the North Aisle. The hexagonal oak pulpit, with its carved foliage and canopy, is from the 1680s.[42]

Some of the stained glass in the church is from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The oldest depicts a knight (possibly Edmund, Earl of March) in the south transept and is dated about 1341.[citation needed] In the South Aisle, there is fifteenth century glass showing the figures of Adam and Eve, whilst in the North Aisle, fragments of surviving glass have been set in the window, including images of Saint Christopher, a watermill and a ship.[45] The east windows in the Chancel and the Becket Chapel date from 1900 and are by C. E. Kempe, a noted Victorian glazier.[46]

The church contains two organs. The Lincoln Organ, a rare unaltered Georgian instrument, occupies the chapel in the north transept. It was built in 1821 by Henry Cephas Lincoln for St John's Chapel, Bedford Row, London, and later was moved to Thaxted. It been fully restored to working order and is used for recitals and events.[47] The smaller Conrad Noel Memorial Organ was installed, under the arch to the West Tower from the nave, in 1952 with funds raised on the death of the former vicar, Conrad Noel. It was built by the local Thaxted-based organ maker, Cedric Arnold.[2]

The large Stella, or star-shaped candelabra, hanging in the central crossing, is by Randall Wells and was originally designed for St Mary's Primrose Hill but never installed. It was installed at Thaxted in 1911 by Conrad Noel and represents the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1:1–17.[2]

The early German or French statue of the Madonna in the South Transept was a gift from the artist Fred Uhlman.[48]

Monuments and noteworthy associations

Brass of fifteenth century priest, reputed to be of Robert Wydow, who was vicar of Thaxted from 1481 to 1489.

A surviving mid-fifteenth century brass of a priest on the floor of the cancel is said to represent Robert Wydow (c.1446–1505), a fifteenth-century poet, musician and clergyman, who was born in Thaxted and held the benefice of the church from 1481 to 1489.[49] There are a number of other memorial slabs in the floors of the Chancel and the Crossing.

The Royal Arms of Queen Anne, predating the Act of Union, hang above the south door. Painted on a wooden panel, it was restored in 1980.[50]

A five-foot high carved statue of St. Francis of Assisi set in the east wall of the north transept commemorates Eric Makeham, who was killed in 1917 at Messines Ridge. His name also appears on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres. In the churchyard is the war grave of Private Edward Stamfield Brown of the Manchester Regiment, who died in January 1919.[51]

There is a bronze bust of Conrad Noel mounted on a shelf in the Crossing by the sculptor Gertrude Hermes.[52]

Affixed to the north outside wall of the church tower is a large stone plaque inscribed with the words:

IN GRATEFUL MEMORY of THOSE MEN AND WOMEN OF THAXTED WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF OTHERS & IN THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM May they rest in peace

This plaque serves as Thaxted's war memorial, although there have been long-standing discussions about erecting a more substantial war memorial in the town.[53]

The composer, Gustav Holst, served as church organist during his residence in Thaxted from 1917 to 1925.[54] He organised an annual Whitsun Festival in the church for several years and composed many settings of hymns and carols for use in the church, including the well-know tune for the hymn "I Vow To Thee My Country" which carries the name Thaxted.

Bells

There is a ring of eight bells.[55] The oldest bells (Nos. 6 and 7) were cast in 1734 by Thomas Gardiner of Sudbury. The treble (No.1), the tenor (No. 8) and No. 2 were cast in 1778 by Mears & Company at the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London. The remaining four were cast in the 1940s by Gillett and Johnston.[43]

These four new bells were given particular emblems: No.3 is the Justice Bell, No. 5 is the Peace Bell, No. 7 is the Craft Bell, and No. 4 is the Dance Bell. The latter carries the inscription: 'I ring for the general dance' - a paraphrasing of a line from the carol, Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, that Gustav Holst set to music for the Thaxted Church Choir.[55] The new bells were dedicated by the Bishop of Colchester at a service of thanksgiving on 26 March 1949.[56]

Bells of Thaxted Church
No. Note Significance Inscription Weight No. Note Significance Inscription Weight
1 E♭ Treble Recast by voluntary subscription 1778

Mears & Co London fecit

3 cwt

3 qrs

18 lbs

5 A♭ The Peace Bell Gloria in Excelsis Deo et in Terra Pax

Hominibus Bonae Voluntatis

I ring for universal peace

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying

Behold the Tabernacle of God is with Men

And He will dwell with them

And they shall be His people

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes

And there shall be no more death

Neither sorrow nor crying

Neither shall there be any more pain

For the former things are passed away

And God himself shall be with them, and be their God


Tho. Gardiner Sudbury fecit

Gillett & Johnston Croyden reflect 1948

Jack Putterill – Vicar

Stanley Wilson / William Barker – Churchwardens

Donors: Thaxted Church and the Patron

8 cwt

2 qrs

25 lbs

2 D Raised by voluntary subscription 1778

Mears & Co London fecit

4 cwt

1 qr

22 lbs

6 G Ios Saward / Iohn Westwood

Church Wardens 1734

9 cwt

3 qrs

4 lbs

3 C The Justice

Bell

He hath made of one blood all Nations

I ring for justice in all the Earth

And I John saw the Holy City of Jerusalem

Coming down from God out of Heaven

Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband


Recast by voluntary subscription 1778

Mears & Co London fecit

Gillett & Johnston Croyden refecit 1949

Jack Putterill – Vicar

Stanley Wilson / William Barker – Churchwardens

Donors: The People of Thaxted and friends

5 cwt

1 qr

1 lb

7 F The Craft Bell Ioseph Saward / Iohn Westwood

Church Wardens 1734

12 cwt

1 qr

14 lbs

4 B♭ The Dance

Bell or the Fellowship

Bell

I ring for the General Dance

Praise him in the cymbals and dances

Praise him upon the strings and pipe


Tho. Gardiner Sudbury fecit

Gillett & Johnston Croyden refecit 1949

Jack Putterill – Vicar

Stanley Wilson / William Barker – Churchwardens

Donors: The Morris Ring and the Friends of Thaxted

6 cwt

3 qrs

2 lbs

8 E♭ Tenor Richard White Vicar Thomas Brand

& Mathew Randall

Church Wardens 1778

Mears & Co fecit


Infactum Sileo Percute Dulce Cano

15 cwt

2 lbs

The three recast bells bear the following symbols: a gridiron, representing Saint Laurence (No. 3); a hand during water surrounded by a halo, representing Saint John the Baptist (No. 4); and a winged heart pierced, representing Our Lady (No. 5)
  • Thaxted Church, dominating the skyline of the town
    Thaxted Church, dominating the skyline of the town
  • Thaxted Church, from the southeast
    Thaxted Church, from the southeast
  • Thaxted Church, east end
    Thaxted Church, east end
  • Thaxted Church, South Transept
    Thaxted Church, South Transept
  • Thaxted Church, gargoyle
    Thaxted Church, gargoyle
  • Thaxted Church, grotesque
    Thaxted Church, grotesque
  • Thaxted Church, Pinnacle
    Thaxted Church, Pinnacle
  • Thaxted Church, Tower and West Door
    Thaxted Church, Tower and West Door
  • Thaxted Church, Spire from south-east
    Thaxted Church, Spire from south-east
  • Thaxted Church, Spire and South Porch
    Thaxted Church, Spire and South Porch
  • North Porch, Thaxted Church
    North Porch, Thaxted Church
  • Thaxted Church, South Aisle, looking west
    Thaxted Church, South Aisle, looking west
  • Thaxted Church, Nave, looking east
    Thaxted Church, Nave, looking east
  • Thaxted Church, nave and pulpit
    Thaxted Church, nave and pulpit
  • Thaxted Church, Nave, looking west
    Thaxted Church, Nave, looking west
  • Medieval stained glass in Thaxted Church.
    Medieval stained glass in Thaxted Church.
  • Interior of Thaxted Church, showing the pulpit.
    Interior of Thaxted Church, showing the pulpit.
  • Thaxted Church, North Aisle with the covered font in the distance.
    Thaxted Church, North Aisle with the covered font in the distance.
  • Thaxted Church, Tower vault
    Thaxted Church, Tower vault
  • Thaxted Church, Lady Chapel
    Thaxted Church, Lady Chapel
  • Spire, Thaxted Church
    Spire, Thaxted Church
  • Thaxted Church, viewed from Stony Lane.
    Thaxted Church, viewed from Stony Lane.
  • The tune, Thaxted, composed by Gustav Holst as a setting for the hymn, I Vow to Thee My Country, is associated with the church.
  • Conrad Noel, Vicar of Thaxted from 1910 to 1942
    Conrad Noel, Vicar of Thaxted from 1910 to 1942

List of vicars of Thaxted

The church was originally under the charge of the monks of Stoke by Clare. In 1227, the vicarage was created by Eustace, Bishop of London, after the town parishioners complained about the lack of a resident priest;[7] his successor, Roger Niger, issued a more detailed ordination.[22] Upon the Dissolution, the advowson to nominate the vicar passed to the Crown. In 1558, Philip and Mary granted the advowson to the Bishop of London,[57] but this seems to have been later revoked since, in 1572, Elizabeth I granted it to William Howard, Lord Effingham, who alienated it by licence with the Lord of the Manor to William Petre and later to Sir William Maynard.[58][59] The advowson remained in the Maynard family until it was sold by the Countess of Warwick in the 1920s.[60] Appointments now rest with the Diocese of Chelmsford.

The following list was compiled from multiple sources:[61]

List of vicars and rectors of Thaxted Parish Church from the founding of the vicarage
From To Name End of tenure Notes
Pre-Reformation (Roman Catholic)
Late 13th century ? Thomas Credited as the first vicar, he is commemorated in the Victorian stained glass window of the Lady Chapel (south chancel aisle).
1314 ? William Still in place in 1324.[62] This William sued the Monks of Tilty Abbey for non-payment of tithes to support the church, after they claimed exemption as Cistercians, and who was threatened with excommunication unless he gave up the case.[7]
? 1332 William Pamphilus or Pamphilon
1349 Walter de Salesbury[63]
1349 1351 John de Harewold Exchange of benefice Went to become vicar at Moreton, Essex.[64][65]
1351 ? John Bele or Bell Came from being vicar at Moreton, Essex.[65]
1377 ? Thomas Ufford Still alive in 1396.
c.1401 1431? William Lollard preacher, possibly a curate rather than vicar (fl.1401-9.)[24] An indictment in the Public Record Office states: "Willelmus nuper capellanus parochialis de Thaxted est communis lollardus et tenet opiniones lollardas."[25] A London chronicler says that "on Seynt Georgis day in lent [in the year 1431] ther whas a prest of Thaksted, that was vicory some tyme, brent in Smythfelde".[27]
? 1407 Robert Wytton Exchange of benefice Went to become vicar at Earsham, Norfolk.[66]
1407 1410 Thomas de Orton Resigned Came from being vicar at Earsham, Norfolk.[66]
1410 1427 John Deye (of Brampton?)[67]
1427 ? John Everden
? 1467 William Shaw
1459 ? Thomas Groswyll?
1467 1470 Nicholas Rewys or Rewes, Raynes Resigned
1470 ? Richard Edenham Consecrated bishop Subsequently appointed Bishop of Bangor
1470 1471 Hugo Edenham alias Wyrall or Wyvale Resigned Brother of previous incumbent.
1471 1476 David Steward Resigned
1476 1481 Thomas Halyday Resigned
1481 1489 Robert Wydow[68] Resigned Born in Thaxted. He served both as schoolmaster and vicar in his home town. One of the first recipients of a Bachelor of Music degree from Oxford University and a renowned poet and musician in his day.[69] A brass in Thaxted Church is a reputed likeness of him.
1489 after 1495 Richard Roston[70]
? 1519 Miles Hodgeson[71] Died
1520 1523 Thomas Reynes Resigned
1523 1528 Edward Staples[72] Newcourt's Repertorium says he was appointed 1523 on death of Reynes. Venn says he was vicar in 1532. Later appointed Bishop of Meath.
1528 1534 Nicholas Wilson[73][74] Removed Opposed Henry VIII on his divorce and was arrested for challenging royal supremacy.
Post-Reformation (Church of England)
1534 1539 John Skypp[75] Consecrated bishop Later appointed Bishop of Hereford.
1539 1546 William Motte Resigned
1546 1561 John Puysaunt Died
1566 1566 William Bowen[76] Died Presumably died before taking office.
1566 1583 Thomas Halliday[77][78] Died Appointed "after death of last vicar".
1583 1612 Thomas Crosby[79] Died Buried in the church.
Civil War period (disputed Laudian or Presbyterian)
1612 1645 Newman Leader[80][29] Removed Removed by the Committee for Plundered Ministers.
1645 1646 Edmund Croxton[81][29] Removed (Disputed Anglican) Removed by the Committee for Plundered Ministers; removal confirmed by the House of Lords. Venn shows him as in office until 1662.
1646 1647 Samuel Hall[29] Removed (Disputed Anglican). Removed by the Committee for Plundered Ministers.
1648 1662 James Parkin[82][29] Removed (Disputed Puritan) Confirmed by Committee for Plundered Ministers. Removed from office after the Restoration but remained in Thaxted as a non-conformist preacher.[30]
Post-Restoration (Church of England)
1662 1670 John Curtis[83] Died Buried in Thaxted.
1670 1724 Robert Bernard[84] Died Buried in the church. Longest tenure as vicar of Thaxted.
1724 1735 Henry Oborne Sr.[85] Died Buried in Thaxted.
1735 1752 James Allen Died Buried in Thaxted.
1752 1759 Henry Oborne Jr.[86] Died Buried in Thaxted,
1759 1780 Richard White[87] Died Buried in the church.
1780 1782 Claudius Martyn Died
1782 1806 Henry Maynard[88] Died Father of 5th Baronet Maynard. The Maynard family held the advowson of the benefice.
1806 1853 Thomas Jee Died Buried in the church.
1853 1854 Edward Hanson Died
1854 1859 Court D'Ewes Granville Resigned
1859 1893 George Edward Symonds[89] Died Buried at Stoke-by-Nayland where his some was vicar.
1893 1910 Leonard Sedgwick Westall Resigned
1910 1942 Conrad Le Dispenser Roden Noel Died "The Red Vicar of Thaxted". Buried in the churchyard.
1942 1973 John Cyril "Jack" Putterill Resigned Son-in-law of Conrad Noel.
1973 1984 Peter Charles Edward Elers Resigned
1984 1989 Timothy John Fawcett
1989 2000 Richard Nigel Rowe Resigned
2000 2013 Raymond Montgomery Taylor Retired
2014 2015 Paul David Christopher Brown
2016 Present Philip Geoffrey Tarris Incumbent Rector. Since 2017, a Team Ministry in a unified benefice of Thaxted with Hempstead, Radwinter and the Sampfords.

References

  1. ^ https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1112151
  2. ^ a b c "The Churches of Thaxted, The Sampfords, Radwinter and Hempstead". www.ttsrh.org. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  3. ^ "Order in Council, 21 January 1914". The London Gazette (28795): 588. 23 January 1914.
  4. ^ Thomas of Ely, fl 1174; Richard of Ely, d 1194? supposed author; Stewart, David James (editor) (1848). Liber Eliensis, ad fidem codicum variorum. London: Impensis Societatis Londini. p. 176. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Thomas of Ely (2005). Liber Eliensis: A History of the Isle of Ely from the Seventh Century to the Twelfth Century. Translated by Fairweather, Janet. Boydell Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-84383-015-3.
  6. ^ a b c d Simcoe, Ethel (1934). A Short History of the Parish and Ancient Borough of Thaxted. Saffron Walden: W Hart & Son (Saffron Walden) Ltd. pp. 16–19.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Symmonds, George. "Thaxted Church". Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society. III (New Series). Essex Archaeological Society: 262–63.
  8. ^ "Report for 1933: Quarterly Meetings and Excursions: Thaxted and Saffron Walden" (PDF). Transactions of the Essex Archeological Society. 21 (Part 2): 368. 1934.
  9. ^ a b c Neale, John Preston; Le Keux, John (1824). "Thaxted Church, Essex" in Views of the most interesting collegiate and parochial churches in Great Britain; Volume 1. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green.
  10. ^ a b Wright, Thomas; Bartlett, W. (1831). The history and topography of the county of Essex, comprising its ancient and modern history. A general view of its physical character, productions, agricultural condition, statistics &c. &c. London: Geo. Virtue. p. 238.
  11. ^ a b Dixon, R. W. "Thaxted" (PDF). The Antiquary. 17: 10–11. Retrieved 17 Oct 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d 'Thaxted', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Volume 1, North West (London, 1916), pp. 302–318. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/essex/vol1/pp302-318 [accessed 3 October 2020].
  13. ^ a b Arman, Mark (1982). A Short History of Thaxted Church. Thaxted Parochial Church Council. p. 10.
  14. ^ a b c Pevsner, Nikolaus (1965). Essex. Volume 11, The Buildings of England. Cherry, Bridget. Harmondsworth: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-071012-4. OCLC 3090945.
  15. ^ a b Arman, Mark (1982). A Short History of Thaxted Church. Thaxted Parochial Church Council. p. 9.
  16. ^ "Sunday's Post". Bury and Norwich Post. 28 December 1814. p. 4, column 5.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Provincial Intelligence". The Examiner. 1 January 1815. p. 5.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Thaxted Church Spire [call for expressions of interest]". Cambridge Chronicle and Journal. 7 April 1820. p. 3, column 6.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ Cromwell, Thomas (1819). Excursions in the County of Essex: Comprising a Brief Historical and Topographical Delineation of Every Town and Village : Together with Descriptions of the Residences of the Nobility and Gentry, Remains of Antiquity and Every Other Interesting Object of Curiosity : Forming a Complete Guide for the Traveller and Tourist : Illustrated with One Hundred Engravings, Including a Map of the County. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. p. 108.
  20. ^ Bettley, James. (2007). Essex. Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1902–1983. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11614-4. OCLC 78988869.
  21. ^ "Renovation - Thaxted Church". www.ttsrh.org. The Churches of Thaxted, The Sampfords, Radwinter and Hempstead. Retrieved 2020-10-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ a b Stoke by Clare Cartulary : BL Cotton Appx. xxi. Harper-Bill, Christopher., Mortimer, Richard, 1949– (editors). Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer for the Suffolk Records Society. 1982–1984. p. 18. ISBN 0-85115-165-5. OCLC 9489418.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. ^ Essex Archaeological Society (1889). Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society. Harvard University.
  24. ^ a b c Kightly, Charles (1975). The Early Lollards: A survey of Popular Lollard Activity in England 1382–1428 (PDF). University of York. p. 368.
  25. ^ a b Reid, Eleanor J. B. (1914). "Lollards at Colchester in 1414". The English Historical Review. 29 (113): 101–104. ISSN 0013-8266.
  26. ^ McFarlane, Kenneth Bruce (1953). John Wycliffe and the beginnings of English nonconformity. New York: Macmillan. p. 173.
  27. ^ a b Kingsford, Charles Lethbridge (ed) (1905). Chronicles of London (2015 reprint). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-108-08216-7. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  28. ^ "A great fight in the church at Thaxted in Essex,: between the sequestrators, and the minister. And the mayor being present, the men and women in this fight fell all together by the eares, on the Lords Day. Concerning which, divers of the chiefe actors were brought before the House of Lords in Parliament assembled, this present Friday, Septemb. 24. 1647. With the manner of their tryall, and the severall charges brought in against them at the Lords barre". quod.lib.umich.edu. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  29. ^ a b c d e Till, Richard. "'A Great Fight in the Church at Thaxted': social and religious tensions in the wake of the first Civil War". The Local Historian: Journal of the British Association for Local History. 47 (1): 49.
  30. ^ a b Davids, T. W. (1863). Annals of evangelical nonconformity in the county of Essex, from the time of Wycliffe to the restoration; with memorials of the Essex ministers who were ejected or silenced in 1660–1662 and brief notices of the Essex churches which originated with their labours (PDF). London: Jackson, Walford & Hodder. pp. 490–96.
  31. ^ "An Ex-Magistrate and Vicar of a Parish Committed for an Assault". Saint James's Chronicle: Page 1, Column 4. 12 February 1848.
  32. ^ "Thaxted". Cambridge Independent Press. 4 March 1848.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. ^ "The Rev. Mr. Jee". Supplement to the Hereford Journal. Wednesday, March 8, 1848.
  34. ^ "Abduction of the Daughter of a Clergyman". Essex Herald. 11 April 1848. p. 3.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. ^ "Abduction of the Rev. Mr. Harvey's Daughter". Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper. p. 3.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ "Thaxted – Conrad Noel". www.thaxted.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  37. ^ a b Burns, Arthur (2013). "Beyond the 'Red Vicar': Community and Christian Socialism in Thaxted, Essex, 1910–84". History Workshop Journal (75): 101–124. ISSN 1363-3554.
  38. ^ Burns, Arthur (2013). "Beyond the 'Red Vicar': Community and Christian Socialism in Thaxted, Essex, 1910–84". History Workshop Journal (75): 101–124 at 118. ISSN 1363-3554.
  39. ^ Wyndham, Jane (20 January 1984). "Why I stood up to be counted [Interview with Peter Elers]". Liverpool Echo.
  40. ^ a b Tuckwell, Tony. Coming of age : the life and times of Chelmsford Cathedral 1914–2014. [Place of publication not identified]. pp. 64–66. ISBN 978-1-4797-7747-1. OCLC 854907827.
  41. ^ "Thaxted | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  42. ^ a b Arman, Mark (1982). A Short History of Thaxted Church. Thaxted Parochial Church Council. p. 12.
  43. ^ a b Arman, Mark (1982). A Short History of Thaxted Church. Thaxted Parochial Church Council. p. 20.
  44. ^ "History – Thaxted Church". www.ttsrh.org. The Churches of Thaxted, The Sampfords, Radwinter and Hempstead. Retrieved 2020-10-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  45. ^ Brindley, H. H. "The Ship in the St Christopher Window in Thaxted Church, with remarks on early methods of reefing sails" (PDF). Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society. No. LVIII (Volume XV, No. 1)(New Series, Volume IX): 26–41. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  46. ^ Arman, Mark (1982). A Short History of Thaxted Church. Thaxted Parochial Council. p. 21.
  47. ^ "Home | Thaxted Lincoln Organ | A masterpiece restored". Thaxted Lincoln Organ. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  48. ^ Arman, Mark (1982). A Short History of Thaxted Church. Thaxted Parochial Church Council. p. 14.
  49. ^ Steer, Francis (1971). Thaxted in Essex: A short guide to the buildings if historical and architectural interest [reprint 1971]. Thaxted Festival of Britain Committee. p. 10.
  50. ^ Arman, Mark (1982). A Short History of Thaxted Church. Thaxted Parochial Church Council. p. 13.
  51. ^ "Casualty Details | CWGC". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
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  53. ^ "Essex town could be getting new war memorial". Dunmow Broadcast. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  54. ^ "Holst & Thaxted". Thaxted Lincoln Organ. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  55. ^ a b "Bells – Thaxted Church". www.ttsrh.org. The Churches of Thaxted, The Sampfords, Radwinter and Hempstead. Retrieved 2020-10-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  56. ^ The Church Bells of Thaxted by Jack Putterill – A description of the design process and founding, attended by Thaxted bellringers, along with photographs of the bells, displayed in the west tower vault of the Church.
  57. ^ Public Record Office. Calendar of the patent rolls, preserved in the Public Record Office; Volume 4 (1557–1558). HMSO. p. 400. Retrieved 24 Oct 2020.
  58. ^ Newcourt, Richard (1710). Repertorium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale Londinense: Comprising all the county of Essex. B. Motte. p. 581.
  59. ^ Cox, Thomas (1738). Magna Britannia Antiqua & Nova or a New, Exact and Comprehensive Survey of the Ancient and Present State of Great Britain; Volume 1: Essex: Thaxted or Thacksted. p. 676. Retrieved 19 Oct 2020.
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  61. ^ Note: This list is taken principally from Richard Newcourt's Repertorium.The Revd. George Symmonds (himself on the list) published a slightly different version of the Newport list in The Transactions of the Essex Archeological Societyin 1889. As far as possible, information has been cross-referenced and verified with other sources, including the Dictionary of National Biographyand the alumnus lists of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Vicars appointed from 1540 to 1835 are listed in the Database of Clergy of the Church of England. See also Elcoat, Geoffrey. (1999). A brief history of the vicars of Thaxted. Thaxted Church. Parochial Church Council. [Thaxted]: Geoffrey Elcoat. ISBN 0-9537644-0-0.
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