History

Although to all present appearances a modern place Mansfield Woodhouse has a history going back to the Roman period. At nearby Whinny Hill are the remains of a Roman double-ditched camp and here excavations have revealed pavements, tiles, urns and coins of the Roman period. The camp formed a part of the territory of Ceritanis and this was, in turn, within the province of Flavia Caesarienis.
In 1786 one Hayrnan Rooke discovered important Roman villas with valuable pavements. In the 19th century another and more important villa was excavated of the "corridor" type, it had five rooms with two extra in each wing. The central room had a fine mosaic pavement and evidence of hypercaust heating also was to be seen.
After the Romans, came the Saxons and Normans, but of their respective stays little evidence survives. It is, however, certain that a wooden church existed here in the 11th century. Of crude design it was naturally built of abundant local timber (Mansfield Woodhouse was then but a clearing in Sherwood Forest) and probably consisted of only a nave.
Following the wooden church came a building of stone. This was almost certainly the one mentioned by William Rufus in his charter giving the churches of Woodhouse, Oarston. Chesterfield, Ashbourne and Mansfield to the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lincoln.
In 1304 a disastrous fire swept the entire village and destroyed much of the church. It was rebuilt and of this particular building the tower still survives—the oldest part of the church. Until the fire the church had three aisles hut only two were reconstructed. A contemporary account of the time tells us "Mansfield Woodhouse was burned the Saturdaye next afore the Fest of Exaltation of the Holy Crosse, the yere of our Lord MCCCLIIII. And the Kirk stepull. with the belles of the same, for the slepull was afore of tyrnber werke and part of the Kyrk was burned". The tower was, of course, rebuilt of stone as was the spire. Mansfield Woodhouse recovered from the fire’s ravages and by the 16th century had become quite an important town.
In 1797 we hear that Mansfield Woodhouse was a very large respectable village and in it are several good houses, it is the residence of many respectable families". We are also told that the "Chapel of St. Edmund" was in charge of the Rev. John Wright who was licensed to the curacies of both Woodhouse and Skegby. The patron was the Dean of Lincoln and the living of St. Edmunds was valued at £40 13s. 4d. worth of bacon! According to the church registers of that period baptisms and deaths varied but little. The live years beginning in 1753 saw 122 baptisms and 93 burials and the five years ending saw 152 baptisms and 93 burials.
At that period too, a medicinal spring was discovered locally and a building erected over it. but, although the baths were said to be of great beauty the water was not good and the spa soon declined.
In the mid 19th century. according to a gazetteer of 1866, Mansfield Woodhouse parish comprised 2.800 acres and had 2,263 inhabitants and 192 houses. The property was divided among a few", the manor and much of the land belonging to the Duke of Portland. The living of the church was then valued at £300. the Patron was the Bishop of Lincoln in whose diocese it was a papal curacy. The church, we are told, was in the early English style and in "good condition"
The church nave and aisles were virtually rebuilt in 1804-10 and further restorations took place in 1850 and 1878, these latter being by that eminent Victorian architect Sir Gilbert Giles Scott. At these restorations the aisles were extended to the length of the chancel, thus forming chapels on either side.

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The Exterior

As we see it today the church stands on the site of two predecessors the wooden 11th century church and the building that followed the fire of 1304. Drastic rebuilding of the 19th century again almost rendered the church, which now consists of a nave, north and south aisles. chancel, chapels and tower.
The original third aisle was lost in the fire of the 14th century and was never rebuilt. Apart from the tower, which is "pre-fire" the church is now mostly of 19th century work though masonry from preceding centuries still survives in many places.
The most notable feature, of course, is the tower and octagonal spire, which reaches to a total height of 104 feet. It is by far the oldest part of the church and dates largely from the 14th century. The tower itself is well proportioned and of three storeys with corner buttresses. Only small lights pierce the tower storeys but in the uppermost one are found two light windows of decorated style and in this storey, too, is the clock, a much later addition. The bell openings too, are of the Decorated period. Immediately above the west doorway we see a rather lovely window that is adorned with two fine crowned heads. The doorway itself is quite modern.
Above the tower rises the well proportioned broach spire. a stone structure replacing the early wooden steeple that had been destroyed by fire. In the spire’s lower portion are four two light windows with projecting gables (such dormers are a rare feature in a spire). At the top of the spire is a most unusual second tier of windows, small and tiny with dormers so small are they that from a distance they resemble an odd spiky finish. .The windows of the aisles and the porch are adorned with fine carved stone corbel heads. Though only of 19th century work these heads are beautifully wrought and as well as men and women we can see great gargoyles of animals lions, dragons and purely grotesque fragments of the craftsmen’s imagination. These carvings are one of the church’s rarest and most attractive features. The churchyard is kept beautifully smooth like a lawn. Several stones are of interest the most ancient being a weathered tablet that shows the curly haired head of a man and a woman attired in a wimple. Each figure is recessed into part of a quatrefoil only fragments of which survive, The whole memorial seems to be the upper portion of a great double coffin stone and is set on a large stone block. The whole monument is worthy of a place in the church rather than there Out in the weather. The monument is believed to be of circa 1300 and it thus pre-dates the 1304 fire and is contemporary with the very first church here. Though now grossly weathered the work is expressively carved and must originally have been of fine quality.
Of interest next to the churchyard are the Urban Council Offices which are located in the former manor house, a 16th century and Georgian building on historic grounds
The Interior

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Standing with our back to the 14th century masonry of the tower we look out into a church nave aisles and chancel which is very largely mid l9th century in composition for at the rebuilding that took place then little of the original work survived. The whole effect is one of spaciousness and a pleasing unity of design. As outside the church, the interior is considerably enhanced by beautiful stone and wood carving one of the greatest glories of St. Edmunds. The whole church was, of course, largely effected by Sir Gilbert Scott’s design of the later 19th century. The design was an imitation of Nottinghamshire county traditions and is neither greatly original nor sensitive.

The NAVE, typical of Scott’s work, is separated from the aisles by graceful arcading though here the carving so evident elsewhere in the church is lacking. The roof and that of the aisle is also of the 19th century. of open timbers and board. The nave has a steep pitched cable hut no clerestory the aisle roofs are shallower and low.

At the east end of the nave is the big stone pulpit plain but of great interest. The body of the structure is built on a splendid corbel that shows Eve holding an apple with the serpent entwined around her arms the 19th century carving at its most ornate.

Of interest is the SOUTH CHAPEL, alongside the chapel and formed by a continuation of the South Aisle is a rather rare and lovely Norman piscina that was only discovered in 1930. it is now restored carefully to its original use. Entering the CHANCEL we see the arcade capitals (separating the chancel from the two side chapels) are here beautified by flowers and angels carved in stone. Beautiful carving, too, is seen on the sedilias on the south wall. Here small scenes of the Sermon on the Mount. the Ascension and the Resurrection are exquisitely carved.

The bench ends, too, are beautifully carved, the work here being, of course, of woodwork. All manner of people and creatures are depicted in the poppyheads of the bench ends as if the artists who executed this fine work were allowed to portray just who and what they wished. The figures, whether animal or human are full of humour. Among them we see two-headed grotesques, an alligator, an eagle pouncing to kill an adder, a fox jumping up at acorns whilst a further grotesque face has ears on the top of its head. One poppyhead is adorned with a fox on one side and its tail on the other, the impression being of a fox creeping through the wood. Another shows a quaint man with a monkey at the side and a grotesque creature creeping from a hole on the other side. few, if any, churches can have such a rare display of carved figures with so much humour latent within them.

The WINDOWS are not outstanding but in one we see a fine shield and coat of arms. This glass is believed to date from 1617.

Of the MONUMENTS, the greatest is a huge affair with the quite extraordinary standing figures of John Dighy and his wife. John we see in armour with a sword with his long flowing hair and thick sash hanging from a shoulder. His wife wears a gown with puffed sleeves and flowing headdress. She has a handkerchief under her chin and on her pursed lips hovers a contented half-smile. The Dighy monument dates from 1684 and the figures stand in a stone frame with a carved pediment top but no columns. The carving is over ornate, and, some would say, rather atrocious

.

Elsewhere the tablets and plaques are largely Victorian and of local interest.

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The Bells of St. Edmund :-The church has a peal of six bells, a mixture of old and modern.

No.1 bell is inscribed with fine Gothic capitals and bears the initials of Henry Dand on the waist. Henry Dand was a partner with Henry Oldfield, and cast a good many bells in the midlands. in 1587 he was fined at Nottingham Sessions for not attending church. On this bell too is the Nottingham Coat of Arms and a curious border of grotesque figures.

No.2 bell was cast at Nottingham by George Oldfield and was hung in the year 1698. It has the inscription "God save His Church" P. Wilson, 1. Hooke, Church Wardens, 1698.

No.3 bell bears the mark of George Heathcote of Chesterfield who cast bells between 1525 and 1558. The inscription "J.H.C. St. Mary Pray for us" is in black letter smalls with a sacred monogram at the beginning instead of a Cross and a fleur-de-lys. It also bears the letters O.P.N., an abbreviation of Ora Pro Nobis.

No.4 bell was added in 1749. The inscription is "In Tactum Sileo, Percute Dulce Cano". "Untouched I am silent, strike me and I sing sweetly". On the waist is scratched the following: -Thomas Hedderley, founder, Woodhouse Willey, Church Warden. Elaborate ornamentations round the waist and the lip of the bell are similar to that on the Tenor bell at Mansfield.

No.5 and No.6 bells were added in the year 1890.

No.5 bell bears the inscription "Ring in the Love of Truth and Light". Charles Webb, vicar-W. Warner-Joseph Harrison, Church Wardens.

No.6 bell was placed in the tower by (Mr. W. W. Hall in memory of Capt. Francis Hall and his wife. The inscription reads: "In memory of Francis Hall, died 1888, and Mary Ann Hall his wife, died 1871." The bell weighs 18- cwts., and the church has the heaviest peal of six bells in the county. A bell used to be rung all through the Spring and Summer from February 14th (St. Valentine's Day) to September 29th (St. Michael and All Angels) to tell workers in the fields and gardens the time. It was called the "Gardening Bell" and was rung at 6 in the morning and 12 noon. At noon, it was tolled the number of strokes f9r the day of the month.

Also in the Belfry there is a Saunce Bell, often wrongly called the Sanctus Bell. The Saunce Bell was tolled at the words "Holy, Holy, Holy" in the Mass, while the Sanctus Bell was rung at the consecration of each of the elements.

Clergy of Mansfield Woodhouse

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MANSFIELD WOODHOUSE was originally a Chapelry of Mansfield. King William II gave Mansfield and. its Chapelries to Robert, Bishop of Lincoln between 1093-1100. The Dean of Lincoln became Rector of Mansfield in 1240. He and his successors appointed Vicars to Mansfield and Curates to the Chapelries until 1860 when the Bishop of Lincoln became the patron. The Patronage passed to the Bishop of Southwell when the Diocese was founded in 1884. Records of Licensing do not appear in the York Register until 1684. Archbishop Sharp (1681-1714) stated: -"The parishioners (of Mansfield Woodhouse) will by no means allow that they have any dependence on Mansfield, but that they are in all respects a distinct Parish.

CURATES

1250 Walter. Clerk of La Wudehus.

1299 Roger. Chaplain.

1348 Richard de Curtelyngton. Chaplain of

Mammefeld Wodehouse.
 
 

CHAPLAINS OF STUFFYN CHANTRY

The Chantry was founded by Robert Stuffyn in 1344. He made various benefactions to the Austin Priory of Felley in consideration of which the Prior undertook to find a Chaplain and pay him "six silver marks each year" to pray for the souls of Robert Stuffyn and his wife Alice and of all their ancestors and for the souls of all the faithful at the Altar of the Blessed Virgin in Mansfield Woodhouse. Chantry priests were appointed until the time of the Reformation.

1344 John Stuffyn.

1349 Richard de Bylling.

1360 Richard de Newbold.

1379 Thomas de Fabyon of Wardon.

1417 Richard Susanson.

1432 John Wryght.

1434 Warion Knight.

1458 Richard Wartir.

James Iveson.

1511 Peter Pilkington.

1521 Thomas Hareson.

1533 Thomas Southworth.

1580 George Dunvil.

1588 Anthony Bennett.

1601 James Collie.

1608 Richard Barlow.

1609 - Newton.

1614 -Spencer.

1617 John Newton.

1640 William Carte, M.A. (Cantab.)

1650 Edward Manistey.

1662 Francis Chapman, B.A. (Cantab.)

1673 Charles Carver, M.A. (Cantab.)

1684 Thomas Callice.

1686 Latimer Cross, M.A. (Oxon.)

1695 James Holcott, M.A. (Cantab.)

1698 Thomas Ashcroft. M.A. (Cantab.)

1741 William Clarke, B.A. (Cantab.)
 
 

PERPETUAL CURATES

1787 John Wright, M.A. (Cantab.)

1800 Thomas Hurt, M.A. (Can tab.)

1820 William Goodacre.

VICARS

1860 Alfred Brook, M.A. (Oxon.)

1871 William John Williams, M.A, (Oxon.)

1874 Charles Webb, M.A. (Dublin.)

1908 Edward Thomas Harcombe, B.A. (Lond.)

1919 Basil Brooker, M.A. (Oxon.)

1925 John Lowndes.

1933 John Richard North Hooker, A.K.C., B.D., (Lond.)

1946 Arthur Geoffrey Barker, M.A. (Durham.)

1953 Lindsay Shorland-Ball, M.A. (Cantab.)

1961 John Anthony Johnson. M.A., (Cantab.) Dip.Th. (Durham).

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