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A Virtual Tour of the Church


The oldest part of the church (the tower and the nave) is believed to date from the 12th Century.  It was probably built by monks from Leeds Priory (about 8 miles away) and may have been built on the site of an earlier wooden Saxon church.  The South aisle is believed to have been added during the 13th century, and the North aisle a further hundred years after that.


Index of sites of interest

 

1.  The Water Stoup

2.  The Font

3.  The Nave

4.  The Pulpit

5.  The Choir and Chancel

6.  The Sanctuary

7.  The Organ

8.  The Lady Chapel

9.  The Plot Memorials

 



For present day use the stoup has been replaced by a simple glass bowl.  Those entering the church are invited to  use the prayer, “By this Holy Water and by Your Precious Blood, wash away my sins, O Lord”

The Stoup

 

As you enter the Church you may notice that in the Porch there is a small Water Stoup, probably smashed by reformers in the 16th or 17th century, which is set into the wall on the right hand side.  This would have been filled with Holy Water so that those entering the church could dip their finger in it and then make the sign of the cross to remind them of their baptism.


The Font
 
The Font basin is in the Perpendicular style (indicating it originates from between 1350 and 1530AD) and was discovered in the grounds of Borden Hall, which is situated North-west of the church. In 1930, members of a Borden family remounted the font to give thanks for the safe return of their relatives from the First World War. The cover of the font is a copy of an original cover, shown in an 18th century print of the church



St Christopher is the patron saint of travellers, and the mural may well be in the church as an aide to prayer for those about to embark upon a journey, or to those who had recently returned successfully from one.
 
As you move right towards the High Altar, you will pass down the central aisle of the nave. This small part of the building at one time made up the entire church. By looking at the outside of the church’s Eastern wall, it is possible to see the corner stones of the building before the aisles were added.
 
 
 
The Nave
 
As you move towards the Nave, take the time to view the Mural of St Christopher, which is placed to the left of the dormer window. This medieval art piece, displays the saint carrying the Christ Child. It is thought to be rather late in period and after many years under whitewash it was restored and cleaned in the 1920s


The presence of the corbel by the tower arch, which is at the back of the Southern aisle, indicates that the Southern aisle was probably built in the 13th century, while the Northern aisle was probably added on a century later.



The Pulpit
 
The present pulpit, constructed in part from the remains of the original Elizabethan pulpit, was erected in 1938 by Mrs Levy of Borden Hall in memory of her son, who had been Churchwarden and Parish Clerk for several years. It replaced the marble pulpit previously there, which dated from the Victorian Era.  The figures of Ss Peter and Paul which originally decorated the Victorian pulpit now stand at either end of the reredos behind the high altar.


The Choir and Chancel
 
According to a note in the parish registered, dated 1863, in the later part of the 19th century the part of the church housing the Choir and the Chancel were in “a most dilapidated state”. Consequently, the Choir Stalls and the Chancel were reconstructed at around that time. It is easy to see that the two arches, and also the pillar on the northern side date from that period. The present choir stalls and also the pews in the church are Victorian replacements for the Georgian box pews.


The Sanctuary

 

The Blessed Sacrament is retained in the Aumbry, which resides to the left of the High Altar. The Eastern Window contains utility glass and dates from the Second World War. This replaced the stained glass of the crucifixion.

 

Nearly all of the glass that remains in the church is from the Victorian Era, although some is in fact medieval.  Included among our collection are some rather interesting individual pieces.  Please see the separate web page for further details.


The Organ
 
In 1908 Ss Paul and Peter installed our two-manual organ, an instrument designed by Hunter, which occupies the eastern end of the Northern aisle.
Before this new organ, the space that it occupies had previously been the site of the Parish Vestry. This was a place shut off from the Church where meetings could take place – in the days when the Vestry was also responsible for many Local Government matters, such as the maintenance of roads, education of children and the donation of alms to the poor. The present Priest’s Vestry was added to the church in 1913 and is entered by a door at the west end of the Northern aisle. Adjacent to this door, is the very old church clock.


The Lady Chapel
 
Returning to the Southern aisle via the Choir stalls you come to the Lady Chapel. This is where the daily Eucharist is offered.
Set into the Chapel floor are two fine medieval brasses – one of a civilian dated c. 1450 and one of a Priest and Canon wearing mass vestments and a fur almuce or cape dated c. 1520


Also take note of the Mothers’ Union Banner to the right of the Altar – dedicated in 1993 in memory of all past members of the Borden Branch of the Mothers’ Union


For more information on the Lady Chapel and a closer look at the altar frontal, visit the Lady Chapel page.


The Plot Memorials
 
No visit to Ss Peter & Paul would be complete without an examination of the Plot memorials.
 
On the South wall of the Lady Chapel is found the memorial to Robert Plot the elder, a Captain in the Milton Militia.  The monument was erected by his son sometime after 1671 and has been described by John Newman in a book in "The Buildings of England" series as a "very interesting hanging monument showing St Michael spearing the devil and crushing him under his shield, which also serves to carry the inscription.  Trophes of arms fan out at the back and the top cornice is made of a pair of cannons.  It is attributed to Jasper Latham.


In the North aisle is a memorial to Robert Plot the younger.  He was born at nearby Sutton Baron in 1640 and became famous as a natural historian and antiquarian and as the first curator of the Ashmolean Museum (the first public museum in the UK).
 
After a grammar school education at Wye, he went to Oxford where he matriculated from Magdalen Hall in 1658.  Fired by his boyhood interest in all things natural and old, he set out to carry out "Enquiries to be propounded in my travels through England and Wales, under seven headings: Heaven & Air, Waters, Earths, Stones, Metals, Plants and Husbandary".  He originally intended to survey the whole country, but only completed his studies in Oxfordshire and Staffordshire.  On his death notes were found on Kent, Somerset and some other counties. 
 
He was appointed Professor of Chemistry and Curator of the Ashmolean Museum in 1683 and received the princely annual salary of £50


This translation of the Latin inscription on the memorial was prepared by our Parish Clerk;
 
MEMORIAL TO Dr ROBERT PLOT LATIN INSCRIPTION
 
H.S.I./Vir Clarissimus/ROBERTUS PLOT L.L.D./Olim/In Academia Oxoniensi/college Universititatis Convictor/Primus Chymiae Professor/Custosque musaei Ashmolaeni/Socieraris Regiae Londini sodalis/Eidemque a secretis/Regi Jacobo secondo historiographus/summoque Angliae marischello In Curia Militari registriarus/historia natural Oxoniae et Staffordiae/illustris/canto naturalis soli Antiquitatibus (si fata sirissent)/Illustrior extiturus/faelicissimus verustatatis serurator Naturae indagator singularis/pietatis in deum in regam in ecclesiam et Academiam/Cultor Integerrimus sibi solum Imperiosus/aliis omnibus quam facilimus/Qui vesicae doloribus diutine fortus/Morallitatem non fomain/Exuit/Pridi Cal Maii/anno Salutis MDCLXXXXVI/Aetatis suae LV REBECCA PLOT eiusdem Relicta/maerans posuit.
 
APPROXIMATE TRANSLATION OF THE ABOVE
 
In the clear memory of the gentleman ROBERT PLOT LLD once of the University of Oxford; first Professor of Chemistry and guardian [“keeper”] of the Ashmolean Museum; Secretary of the Royal Society of London and member of the same; Royal historiographer to James II[ unable to translate “summoque…….militari registrarius] Author of natural histories of Oxfordshire and Staffordshire which enlightened from antiquity [ si fata sirissent] [illustrior extiturus] easy for the tracker of antiquity; loyal to God and academia; a labourer who thoroughly organised everything with ease. Although in severe bladder pain for a long time [morallitatem non somain] he died on 1 May 1696* aged 55. His mourning widow REBECCA PLOT placed this memorial.
 
* Unsure of the date; some sources state 30 April but the memorial seems to give the 1 May date.

Robert Nunn
June 2005