This really is an undiscovered little gem of a church, and there is very little information about it on the internet.
Burringham is a straggling linear village along the bank of the River Trent. The church is at the end of the village and surrounded by trees.
The church was built between 1856-67 by Samuel Sanders Teulon, a prolific Gothic revivalist architect who who was a friend of GG Scott. He loved the use of polychromatic brickwork and Burringham church is one of the best examples of his work.
The church is built of red brick with a small squat pyramidal tower at the west end and rounded apse at the east. The attention to detail is amazing with the use of white limestone in the window surrounds, corbelling beneath the tower and small colonnade on the outside of the porch.
Unfortunately the effect of the black bricks has now worn off on the outside. On the side of the tower is a decorative Elizabethan style chimney turret. Although there was a stove in the church, it does not seem to have been connected to the ‘chimney’. It is now thought to have been purely decorative.
The real effect of the polychromatic brickwork is seen inside the church. The red and cream coloured bricks were produced locally. The ‘black’ bricks were made by painting black paint over the red bricks. This has weathered off the exterior brickwork and the paint is beginning to peel off in places on the window surrounds.
The chancel walls are covered with diamond outlines of redbrick with red crosses at the centre.
The nave is quite short and the walls are cream brick with a line of red crosses just above the wooden pews.
The massive tower takes at the west end takes up much of the space from the nave. This has lines of red brick with roundels with the Star of David around the top of the walls.
The font is at the back of the church on a brick stand and lovely encaustic tiled panels.
The lovely stained glass windows in the stained glass windows were donated by the Thornton family
The wooden reredos of the altar is carefully built to fit round the base of the east window.
The rest of the windows, including the west window, are made up of small diamonds of pastel coloured glass.
On the nave wall is the memorial to village men who served in the First World War. This was made by a local craftsmen and is unusual as the names are arranged in length order.
The organ came from St Andrew’s Church in Epworth. The pulpit came from elsewhere, but there is no record of where.
The chancel ceiling was painted in 1957 with gold stars, however there doesn’t seem to be any pattern or recognised constellations. The paint is now beginning to fade.
When the church was built, Burringham was a thriving agricultural village and the church could seat 200 worshippers. Times change, the congregation dropped and the church was closed in 1983. It is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, who care for over 360 churches across the country. It is normally kept locked but can be opened up on request.
It may only be a small church but definitely packs a punch.
Website
Burringham is a straggling linear village along the bank of the River Trent. The church is at the end of the village and surrounded by trees.
The church was built between 1856-67 by Samuel Sanders Teulon, a prolific Gothic revivalist architect who who was a friend of GG Scott. He loved the use of polychromatic brickwork and Burringham church is one of the best examples of his work.
The church is built of red brick with a small squat pyramidal tower at the west end and rounded apse at the east. The attention to detail is amazing with the use of white limestone in the window surrounds, corbelling beneath the tower and small colonnade on the outside of the porch.
Unfortunately the effect of the black bricks has now worn off on the outside. On the side of the tower is a decorative Elizabethan style chimney turret. Although there was a stove in the church, it does not seem to have been connected to the ‘chimney’. It is now thought to have been purely decorative.
The real effect of the polychromatic brickwork is seen inside the church. The red and cream coloured bricks were produced locally. The ‘black’ bricks were made by painting black paint over the red bricks. This has weathered off the exterior brickwork and the paint is beginning to peel off in places on the window surrounds.
The chancel walls are covered with diamond outlines of redbrick with red crosses at the centre.
The nave is quite short and the walls are cream brick with a line of red crosses just above the wooden pews.
The massive tower takes at the west end takes up much of the space from the nave. This has lines of red brick with roundels with the Star of David around the top of the walls.
The font is at the back of the church on a brick stand and lovely encaustic tiled panels.
The lovely stained glass windows in the stained glass windows were donated by the Thornton family
The wooden reredos of the altar is carefully built to fit round the base of the east window.
The rest of the windows, including the west window, are made up of small diamonds of pastel coloured glass.
On the nave wall is the memorial to village men who served in the First World War. This was made by a local craftsmen and is unusual as the names are arranged in length order.
The organ came from St Andrew’s Church in Epworth. The pulpit came from elsewhere, but there is no record of where.
The chancel ceiling was painted in 1957 with gold stars, however there doesn’t seem to be any pattern or recognised constellations. The paint is now beginning to fade.
When the church was built, Burringham was a thriving agricultural village and the church could seat 200 worshippers. Times change, the congregation dropped and the church was closed in 1983. It is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, who care for over 360 churches across the country. It is normally kept locked but can be opened up on request.
It may only be a small church but definitely packs a punch.
Website
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