THE ESSEX CHURCHES SITE

home - index - latest - e-mail
links - small print - about this site
Norfolk churches - Suffolk churches
www.simonknott.co.uk

St Stephen, Great Wigborough

Follow these journeys as they happen at Last Of England Twitter.

The village of Great Wigborough lines the Tiptree to Mersea Island road not far from Abberton Water, but the church is a good mile or so from the village along a quiet lane on a hilltop with pleasing views across the copses and bread-basket fields of east Essex. The church you see today is principally of the 19th Century. It was badly damaged in the 1884 earthquake, the tower being rebuilt straight away and the chancel a couple of years later. The 1885 foundation stone for the rebuilding is set in the base of the tower. The nave mostly survived but was inevitably substantially restored. When I visited in 2013 I found the church open with a rather dark interior almost entirely of the last decade of the 19th Century, including work by the Essex artist-priest Ernest Geldart. The heavy 1890s glass is fairly imposing, particularly that by Hardman & Co in the chancel, but FC Eden and George Daniels' 1929 glass of Faith, Hope and Charity provided relief, and was perhaps a surprise in this otherwise rustic period piece. In any case, when I came back in the summer of 2021 I found that the interior of the nave has recently been converted into a kind of multi-purpose community hall which looked very fine and full of light in the photographs in the porch, but as the church was locked without a keyholder notice I was unable to see for myself. It seems that the chancel survives for worship including Geldart's furnishings, so it seems a good outcome for what was previously a fairly gloomy interior. In any case, a visit is worthwhile for the views from the churchyard alone. Simon Knott, December 2021 Follow these journeys as they happen at Last Of England Twitter.

The Churches of East Anglia websites are non-profit-making, in fact they are run at a loss. But if you enjoy using them and find them useful, a small contribution towards the costs of web space, train fares and the like would be most gratefully received. You can donate via Paypal.

 

home - index - latest - e-mail
links - small print - about this site
Norfolk churches - Suffolk churches
www.simonknott.co.uk