On Low Side Windows in English Pre-Reformation Churches

Low Side Windows in English Pre-Reformation Churches: Some Examples.

The various categories of low side windows listed on page 8 are illustrated by examples here, and on the following pages. Wherever possible photographs of the interior are also included to show how the internal walls were likely modified to accommodate a seated confessor. In many cases internal seats are provided, formed at the base of the deep splays through the thickness of the walls. Externally some windows appear to be rather low to the ground, and therefore inconvenient for the penitent, but this may be due to the rise in the height of the ground level in the grace yard in the intervening years (e.g. St Mary's, Raydon, Suffolk), or conversely (though more rarely) where a low side window appears externally too high, but where there is evidence that the ground height outside has been lowered (e.g. St Peter's, Sandridge, Hertfordshire). In some instances the low side window was installed at the time the chancel was built as is evidenced by the style of its construction. At St Mary's, Albury, Hertfordshire, for instance, there is a low side window on the north side which is architecturally similar to (though smaller than) the other windows in the chancel, which was built c1230.¹

A: Independent openings: No pre-existing chancel windows deemed close enough to its western end to be modified.

In this category the existing chancel windows are deemed too far from its western end at the junction with the nave (the normal location for confession to be heard). The solution would be to install a new, shuttered, opening in that location, and at a height convenient for both penitent and confessor. This appears to be the most common type of low side window. There are also some examples (e.g. St Mary, Raydon, Suffolk, and St Andrew, Buckland, Herts) where the low side windows were likely installed when the chancel was built, and not as a latter addition.

Suffolk: Raydon

St Mary's, Raydon, Suffolk.

The chancel is c14.¹ Sometime in that century, and likely as part of the original build, two low side windows were installed close to the western end of the chancel, one on the south side and one on the north. These are particularly fine examples. Both are tall lancets, in two tiers separated by a transom, and finely moulded jambs extending to the lower windows' lintels. The lower window, slightly smaller than the upper has a cusped ogee head. Given the contiguous mouldings around the window, it is highly likely that both upper and lower windows were executed at the same time. Furthermore the jambs and hood mouldings are very similar to the other windows in the chancel, suggesting that the low side window was installed at the time the chancel was rebuilt. The lower openings were originally unglazed and equipped with a wooden shutter, as is attested by the illustration below drawn by the Rev J. F. Hodgson.² See subsequent slides in this sequence. The list of rectors of Raydon displayed in the church lists three or four who may have succumbed to the plague (see next slide).

Munro Cautley, H. Suffolk Churches and Their Treasures. 2nd Ed. 1938. p305.

Hodgson J.F. "On Low Side Windows". Archaeologia Aeliana or Tracts Relating to Antiquities. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, Volume xxiii. 1902.

St Mary's, Raydon, Suffolk.

Detail of the south window, now blocked. The chancel is likely to have been rebuilt, or at least remodelled in Early English style in the 14th century. A church guide written by Robin Hanford in 1990 mentions the loss of at least one rector, Fulio de Baroun in 1361, speculating that it was the return of the Black Death in that year that took him away.¹ His successor, Richard Baxter, survived until 1368, coincident with another outbreak of the pestilence. If, as is postulated here, that the majority of low side windows were installed as a reaction to the Black Death, this further reinforces the dating of the low side windows.

Although this lower opening seems very low by comparison to many other examples, so low in fact that the penitent would have had to have sat on the ground to be heard, it is not out of the question that the ground around the church has increased in elevation over the years. Handford mentions that a restoration in the 19th century raised the floor of the chancel.²

The list of rectors of Raydon displayed in the church lists three or four who may have succumbed to the plague: Henry de Sancta Ositha (1336-1350), Richard de Wkenbrok (1350-1361), Fulco de Baroun (1361), and Richard Baxster (1361-1386). It is highly significant that the years the incumbents changed were those when the Great Pestilence was ravaging the country.

Hanford, Robin. St Mary's Church Raydon. Guide and History, 1990, p8. Available here.
Ibid. p14.

St Mary's, Raydon, Suffolk.

Sketch which appeared in the Archaeological Journal for 1847,¹ and also published by the Rev. J. F. Hodgson in his essay, "On Low Side Windows".² This shows the original wooden shutter still in situ at that time. By the time of Henry Munro Cautley's survey of Suffolk churches published in 1937, the shutter had been removed and the lower window blocked.³

Archaeological Journal (Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol 4, 1847
Archaeologia Aeliana or Tracts Relating to Antiquities. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, Volume xxiii. 1902.
Munro Cautley, H. Suffolk Churches and their Treasures. 1937. Entry for Raydon, p305.

St Mary's, Raydon, Suffolk.

Detail of south low side window. Note how close to the present ground level the base is.

St Mary's, Raydon, Suffolk.

Internally the deep splay of the window provides a seat. Notwithstanding the 19th century modifications to raise the height of the floor in the chancel, this is at a comfortable height, It is likely that in the 14th century the outside ground level was similar to that of the chancel floor.

St Mary's, Raydon, Suffolk.

North side of the chancel with a near identical low side window close to the junction of chancel and nave.

St Mary's, Raydon, Suffolk.

North side of the chancel: Detail.

St Mary's, Raydon, Suffolk.

North side internal view, similar in arrangement to that on the south side.

Rutland: Essendine

St Mary Magdalene, Essendine, Rutland.

The church is transitional Norman but its chancel dates from the 13th century. Both the Early English chancel windows are too high to have been suitable to have been used as confessionals, and the western one is not that close to the nave/chancel junction. This would explain the independent low opening, probably installed in the 14th century. This is a fine example of masonry. Instead of a simple square or rectangular opening the mason has gone to great lengths to not only make the window functional as a confessional, but also made it beautiful. Similar quatrefoil openings are found at Stanningfield, Suffolk (see p10a), and Tatsfield, Kent.

St Mary Magdalene, Essendine, Rutland.

The low side window on the south side of the chancel is a pretty quatrefoil opening set in a scalloped circle and carved from a single block of stone.

St Mary Magdalene, Essendine, Rutland.

South low side window detail.

St Mary Magdalene, Essendine, Rutland.

Internally the now blocked window has been converted into a small storage cupboard.

St Mary's Church, Albury, Hertfordshire, Low Side Window

Hertfordshire: Albury

St Mary's, Albury, Hertfordshire.

The original chancel was built in the 13th century (c1230), but was rebuiit in 1360, just a year before the second major outbreak of teh Black Death in England in 1361.¹ On the north side there are three original lancets spaced evenly high in the wall, and a low side window which is remarkably similar in design, suggesting that it was installed as part of the chancel rebuild. On the south side two of the original lancets remain, larger than those on the north side, but similarly disposed. Originally there were three, as well as a later square-headed two light window (probably late c14 or early c15) whose apertures extended close to the ground and could have served as a second low side window. The lancet and 2-light windows were obliterated when an organ chamber and upper floor vestry were built in the early 19th century. An image on the Hertfordshire Archives website shows how the church looked prior to that addition.

British History Online website. Albury St Mary, Official List Entry.

St Mary's, Albury, Hertfordshire.
North side.

St Mary's, Albury, Hertfordshire.
General view of chancel north side. The low side window reflects the style of the main lancets, and was probably installed during the chancel rebuild in 1360.
The abuttment west of the LSW is modern.

St Mary's, Albury, Hertfordshire.
North low side window detail.

St Mary's, Albury, Hertfordshire.
North low side window internal view.

St Mary's Church, Broughing, Hertfordshire, Low Side Window

Hertfordshire: Braughing

St Mary's, Braughing, Hertfordshire.

Like nearby St Mary's, Albury, St Mary's, Braughing was built in the 13th century. On the south side are two 13th century lancets, a priest's door and a rectangular low side window. The westernmost of the lancets is blocked by a monument. The low side window was uncovered and reinstated during a restoration in 1888. It is filled with stained glass which depicts Jesus healing a leper. Speaking about a similar window at St Andrew's, Buckland, W. B. Gerish described this as “regrettable”, as it, “.. perpetuates the erroneous theory of the lepers using the window to witness Mass”.¹

Transactions of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society 1904, pp242-245.

St Mary's, Braughing, Hertfordshire.

General view of the south side of the chancel.

St Mary's, Braughing, Hertfordshire.

South low side window detail.

St Mary's, Braughing, Hertfordshire.

Stained glass depicts Jesus healing the leper.

Holy Trinity Great Hockham Low Side Window

Norfolk: Gt. Hockham

Holy Trinity, Great Hockham, Norfolk.

Holy Trinity is dated to the mid 14th century.¹ The low side window on the south side, and close to the western end of the chancel, is formed from a tall, cusped lancet, the shuttered section at the base (now partially blocked) created by the addition of a transom. Given the dating of the church, it is likely that this window was installed as part of the original build. It has some similarities with the low side windows in St Mary's, Raydon, Suffolk.

Historic England website, Official List Entry.

Holy Trinity, Great Hockham, Norfolk.

General view of the south side of the chancel. The square headed window above the priest's door is likely to be a later addition.

Holy Trinity, Great Hockham, Norfolk.

Detail of the low side window.

St James, Hockwold cum Wilton low side window

Norfolk:
Hockwold-cum-Wilton

St James' Hockwold-cum-Wilton, Norfolk.

The chancel is early 14th century. Both chancel windows on the south side are high in the wall, and so a new opening has been inserted low down (now clumsily blocked with brick). The low side window is a short lancet with a sharp cusped head and hood mould. The rough, misaligned masonry would suggest this window was installed in haste, and not by a skilled craftsman, possibly because none were available, or as a result of the immediate priority to serve the needs of the parish could not wait for one to become available. This may be an example of a church where the existing chancel windows were deemed both too high and not close enough to the western end of the chancel to be modified for use as a confessional.

St James' Hockwold-cum-Wilton, Norfolk.

General view of the chancel south side.

St James' Hockwold-cum-Wilton, Norfolk.

South low side window detail.

St Andrew's Church, Buckland, Hertfordshire. Low side window. Jesus healing a leper.

Hertfordshire: Buckland

St Andrew's, Buckland, Hertfordshire.

There is suggestion that an exact date can be ascribed to the building of St Andrews. Nathaniel Salmon (Hist Herts, 1728), describes a fine levied in 1335 between John de Roos of Hamelake [amongst other plaintiffs], and defendants of the Manor. Salmon continues; "The name of the owner here is not known for some time after this. But there seems to have been one Nicolas, who also assumed the Surname of Bokeland; For there is an Inscription in the North Window of the Church, - - - - Nicolai de Bokeland, qui iftum Ecclefiam cum Capella beate Mariae construxit. Anno Dom. 1348." - Nicholas of Bokeland, who built this Church with the Chapel of the Blessed Mary. In the year A.D. 1348.¹ If this is taken at face value, it would suggest that the church was built on the cusp of the arrival of the Black Death in England, and its rapid spread across the country. It is therefore very likely that the low side window in St Andrews was installed as part of the original church build in 1348, or very shortly afterwards.
The blocked up low side window at St Andrew's was discovered during a restoration in 1854, and was reinstated. The opening was glazed with stained glass depicting Jesus healing the leper, which W. B. Gerish described as “regrettable”, as it, “.. perpetuates the erroneous theory of the lepers using the window to witness Mass”. A similar subject can be seen in the low side window at St Mary's, Braughing. ²

Salmon, N. The history of Hertfordshire, 1728, p304.
Buckland Church, Hertfordshire. Discovery of a “Confessional Window”. The Builder 1854-08-26: Vol 12 Iss 603, p453.

St Andrew's, Buckland, Hertfordshire.

South side of the chancel.

St Andrew's, Buckland, Hertfordshire.

South low side window detail. The external bars (though probably not original) are still in situ. An article by the then rector, the Rev W. W. Harvey, in The Builder described the discovery of the window in some detail, suggesting that it was purposely installed for use as a confessional. Of further interest was the discovery of imagery on the internal splays:

"... this window was one of more than usual importance; for when the grout work was cleared away from the splayed niche formed in the thickness of the wall, the splays were found to be smoothly stuccoed, and embellished with outlines of considerable elegance, in deep carmine; the Virgin and Child being represented on the east side, and a female figure, coronetted and kneeling with the hands joined in prayer, on the west side. Each of the heads is encircled with an aureole, that around the Saviour’s head being broken into rays."¹

The Builder 1854-08-26: Vol 12 Iss 603, p453.

St Andrew's, Buckland, Hertfordshire.

Internally a fine hood moulding was incorporated during the renovation of 1854. The shutter hinges are still visible on the right hand side, though at the time of the discovery they were much more prominent (see next slide).

St Andrew's, Buckland, Hertfordshire.
This sketch appeared in the Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society and shows how the window looked around the time of the discovery."¹ It shows the restored window which was overseen by the then rector, the Rev W. W. Harvey, with the more prominent shutter hinges, and the glazing on the outside of the saddle bars. A piece of the arch moulding which remained was used as a guide for the mason to create the new head of the opening. However, given the differences between the drawing and what can now be seen, further changes may have been made over the intervening years.

The next slide shows a partial snip of the murals which were discovered on the window splay.

Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, Vol III, June 1866, Part VII, p571.

St Andrew's, Buckland, Hertfordshire.
This sketch was penned by the rector, the Rev W. W. Harvey in 1854, when the window was uncovered during a renovation.¹ Unfortunately they were obliterated by an "over-zealous" workman. However, a description by the Rev Harvey remains:

"On the splays were two curious paintings executed in carmine. One represented the Virgin, holding the infant Jesus, and the other a female saint kneeling, her head encircled with an aureole. From the style of her head-dress it appears to have been executed about the early part of the 15th century. These paintings were unfortunately washed off by an over-zealous workman, not, however, before Mr. Harvey had secured tracings of them."²

The law students' magazine by East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society, Trans 1904, p250.
Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, Vol III, June 1866, Part VII, p571. See also The Builder 1854-08-26: Vol 12 Iss 603, p453.

St Mary the Virgin, Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire. Low Side Window.

Hertfordshire:
Furneux Pelham

St Mary the Virgin, Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire.

The Inventory of Historic Monuments in Hertfordshire says that the chancel was built c1260-80. Both the north and south walls of the chancel are pierced by two lancets, deeply splayed internally. It further states that the north and south aisles were built c1400. It will be noted that both aisles extend beyond the western end of the chancel, more so on the south side than the north. The low side window in the north wall appears further east than the present junction of chancel and nave. A couple of possibilities come to mind to explain this apparent deviation from the norm. Firstly the eastern jamb of the door to the rood loft (there is no chancel arch or rood present today) is just a foot from the western jamb of the low side window. Assuming there was a rood screen at some stage, and that the loft was in line with the door, this would put the low side window in the traditional position. An alternative - as the rood loft is accessed by a staircase in the south east corner of the north aisle (built c1400) - it could be that the low side window predated the building of the aisle, or was moved as part of that modificaiton.

St Mary the Virgin, Furneux Pelham, Hertfs.

The low side window on the north side of the chancel is a simple small lancet, in the same style as the other windows on this side. It is set slightly to the east as the north aisle extends beyond the junction of chancel and nave.

St Mary the Virgin, Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire.

North low side window detail.

St Mary the Virgin, Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire.

Internal view.

St Mary the Virgin, Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire.

Internal view. The rebates and hooks for a shutter are still visible.

St Gregory's, Offchurch, Warwickshire. Low Side Window

Warwickshire:
Offchurch

St Gregory's, Offchurch, Warwickshire.

Dating from the early c12, and although extensively modified over the intervening centuries, St Gregory's still retains a great many features of that transitional era. The chancel is c12, but was restored in c14. ¹ In 1866/7 the chancel was entirely rebuilt. During the renovation, a round-headed window with a serpent carved in its head, a priest’s door, and, west of it, a low side window were uncovered, the latter a single rectangular light with a shouldered head, in a deeply chamfered recess. One jamb has a bolt hole, presumably for a shutter. All these had previously been plastered over, or (as in the case of the priest’s door) obscured externally by a buttress. Under the supervision of the incumbent, the Rev. Wilfrid Jarrett, the stones of the windows were numbered, removed, and. reinstated.²

It is difficult to date this low side window. It has the appearance of a very early window, but it is also highly possible that it was incorporated during the c14 chancel rebuild (which is suggested by the BHO entry).

British History Online.
Hackett, R. Church Guide. 1881.

St Gregory's, Offchurch, Warwickshire.

General view of the south side of the chancel.

St Gregory's, Offchurch, Warwickshire.

Photo of the newly uncoverd priest's door and low side window taken during the rebuild of the chancel in 1866/7.

St Gregory's, Offchurch, Warwickshire.

Detail of the present low side window.

St Gregory's, Offchurch, Warwickshire.

Internal detail of the low side window.

All Saints, Harbury, Warwickshire. Low Side Window

Warwickshire:
Harbury

All Saints, Harbury, Warwickshire.

The church is c13. Historic England official list entry suggests that the low side window on the south side is c13, though more likely c14. On the north side of the chancel there is single tall, high lancet. The north aisle was extended at some stage to create a north chapel. If there had been a corresponding low side window on the north side, it would have been obliterated by the north aisle's extension.

All Saints, Harbury, Warwickshire.

General view of the chancel south side.

All Saints, Harbury, Warwickshire.

South low side window detail.

All Saints, Harbury, Warwickshire.

South low side window internal detail.

St Michael;s Church, Ufton, Warwickshire, Low Side Window

Warwickshire:
Ufton

St Michael's, Ufton, Warwickshire.

There are two low side windows at St Michael's, one on each side of the chancel, both crudely blocked with stone, cement and brick (or possibly terracotta tiles). The church has early c13 origins with c14 and c16 alterations. The church was restored in 1860 and 1881.¹ Both windows' jambs and lintels are formed of large blocks of stone, only the ogee heads having any intricacy. Both are fairly close to the ground externally. Their similarity would suggest both were installed at the same time.

Historic England. Official List Entry.

St Michael's, Ufton, Warwickshire.
South side of the chancel.

St Michael's, Ufton, Warwickshire.
South low side window detail.

St Michael's, Ufton, Warwickshire.
North side of chancel.

St Michael's, Ufton, Warwickshire.

North side low side window detail.

St Peter & St Paul, Couteenham, Northamptonshire. Low Side Windows

Northants:
Courteenhall

St Peter & St Paul, Courteenhall, Northants.

St Peter's & St Paul's appears to have two low side windows. However, one low window is not in the normal place, being towards the east end of the north aisle, or rather the north chapel. which extends beyond the chancel/nave boundary. Whether this window was used for confession or for some other purpose is hard to know. It is possible that this was installed as a private confessional for the Lords of the Manor which lies to the north of the church, but the date the chapel was installed is uncertain. What is certain is that at one time it was shuttered as the hinge brackets are still in situ on the eastern jamb.

On the south side of the chancel at its western end is another low side window, a narrow lancet with a cusped ogee head and finely sculpted jambs, probably c14.¹ Internally the window has a deep splay running almost to ground.

Victoria County History of Northampton, Vol 4, p244.

St Peter & St Paul, Courteenhall, Northants.

General view of the south side low side window. Note how the string course is truncated east of the low side window. The string course is carried around the entire chancel, just below the c14 window sills, and is only terminated on the north side by the extension of the north aisle. This suggests that the LSW is a later addition. There is a suggestion that a transom once divided the lancet in two, but this has been removed.¹

Assoc. Arch. Soc. Rep. xxix, 339. The sill is 3 ft. 10 in. above the floor. The opening is 14 in. wide splaying internally to 3 ft. 10 in., and its height is about 5 ft. The transom has been cut away and the whole opening glazed: see also Sir Henry Dryden's MS. notes in Northampton Public Library.

St Peter & St Paul, Courteenhall, Northants.

North low side window detail.

St Peter & St Paul, Courteenhall, Northants.

Internal view.

St Peter & St Paul, Courteenhall, Northants.

General view of the north side.

St Peter & St Paul, Courteenhall, Northants.

North chapel. The low window is towards the eastern end of the chapel. Unusual for a low side window, it opens into the eastern end of the north chapel. This may have been a "private" confessional provided for the Lords of the manor which sits to the north of the church.

St Peter & St Paul, Courteenhall, Northants.

North chapel low side window detail.

St Peter & St Paul, Courteenhall, Northants.

North chapel low side window internal view. The hinge brackets for a shutter are still in situ on the eastern jamb.

To view additional examples of this class of low side window click here.

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References & Footnotes: Use your browser's Back button to return to text.

British History Online. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Hertfordshire. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1910.