Our History

DEMONSTRATING THE HERITAGE OF THE CHURCH OF SIBTON, ST PETER, AND ITS LINKS WITH THE SIBTON ABBEY RUIN

The ability to read the history of the Sibton Church building through its fabric and contents, together with the presence of the physical links with the Sibton Abbey ruin, provide a rare chance for such valuable joint heritage to be demonstrated and explained by means of a permanent exhibition based in the church. The exhibition could provide information on both the history and the structure of the former abbey and its current recently consolidated remains as well as information about the heritage of the church’s fabric and contents. An important heritage information source on a main Suffolk tourist route, the exhibition will be a mainstay for the sustainability of the building, informing  and raising awareness of heritage, and providing a good argument for continued provision of funding.

THE MAIN BUILDING PERIODS OF THE CHURCH BUILDING:

Through its architecture the structure of the church reveals several periods of building activity and as a result much can be deduced about former use as well as those who influenced its development. The earliest 12th century work including the south nave door was followed by the widening of the nave and the inclusion of the Tudor single hammerbeam nave roof; then the addition of the tower in the 15th century. In the early 17th century the north aisle was added, built of stonework including the north doorway taken from the abbey, and may have required the supporting of the north side of the nave roof with some arcade work brought up from the abbey. Finally, in 1872 the chancel was rebuilt (for the third time) and the south wall of the nave re-faced in the Victorian Gothic style, together with the adding of a steeply pitched over-roof to the nave.

THE HERITAGE OF THE CHURCH, AND ITS LINKS WITH THE RUIN OF SIBTON ABBEY

The church was founded in 1100 AD, fifty years earlier than the foundation of Sibton Abbey. The south and east wall of the nave and  the Norman south doorway remain. The church, rich in heritage, has historic links with nearby Sibton Abbey ruin. Sibton Abbey held the right to advise the Bishop of Norwich over the appointment of the priest to the parish church from the 13th century. While in the advowson of Sibton Abbey, the nave was enlarged northwards in the 13th century and as a result two beautifully carved mediaeval double niches (original colouring remains) were included on either side of the chancel arch. Later the nave acquired a richly decorated, exceptionally low pitched Tudor hammerbeam roof. The tower was added in the 15th century. There are large gargoyles at the corners of the tower.

The north aisle, built in the 17th century is the physical link to Sibton Abbey. It is linked to the nave by an arcade with circular piers. The stonework of the arcade, together with the stonework for the walls, is probably re-used stone from the abbey ruin, though re-worked in the later gothic style. The 13th century north door is also a doorway incorporated from the abbey. The crenellated parapet of the tower was added about this time.

The money for the building of the north aisle was given by a Will of 1533/4 by Robert Duckett who wanted a chapel to the Virgin Mary to be built at its east end with niches for statues of St Mary and St Anne* (both were significant as intercessors for safe delivery in childbirth), and  stained glass in the windows depicting Saint Joachim and St Elizabeth, and also that “some token shall be made whereby the souls of me and my wife may be better remembered and prayed for, with all our children, 6 sons and 8 daughters, whereof one son to lie along for he was quick in his mother’s womb and at her time yet dead born, the remembrance to be made in some of the glass windows within the same chapel”.

MORE INFORMATION ON THE HERITAGE OF THE CHURCH ALONE

The building was largely renovated externally in the 19th century in Victorian Gothic, part of the restoration by E.C. Hakewill.

 The chancel, the third to be built, was rebuilt in 1872. It is possibly Hakewill’s last work. It is a sensitive blending with the mediaeval interior of the nave. The reredos behind the altar is white and painted limestone. A central white marble cross is flanked by panels with mosaics. There are finely carved pew ends with angels for the choirstalls. The east window depicting biblical wedding scenes was given by the Brooke family to commemorate the 25th anniversary of their wedding. One of the first services to be held in the newly built chancel was the wedding of their eldest daughter, by which time the organ, paid for by Dorothea Pyke-Scrivener had been installed.  The choirstalls were donated by the Pyke-Scivener family. Stained glass panels for the south chancel windows - events from the life of St Peter - completed E, C. Hakewill’s concept for the Victorian splendour of the chancel. These stained glass panels hasd been removed by a later date, but were re-discovered hidden by a cupboard in the vestry in 2015. Their removal from their positions in the window spaces of south chancel remains a mystery, but they had travelled; a label on the packing case shows its destination as being Darsham Station. The marble wall monument to Sir Edmond Barker (1676) and Lady Barker: 2 interlocked oval niches with frontal busts is considered to be one of the finest in Suffolk. There is good Victorian stained glass in the east window (south nave windows date from the same period).  The dwarf chancel screen incorporates fine C15 traceried panels retaining their original colouring; part of the former rood screen. An excellent series of memorials to two families includes an alabaster memorial tablet to John Scrivener(1662) and effigy brasses commemorating the Chapman Barker family. Shields on the ends of the hammerbeams replaced medieval carved angels. They record the heraldry of local families. There is a set of redundant nave pews with pew ends designed by E.C. Hakewill as part of the Victorian restoration.

 The nave and north aisle were each filled with pews designed as part of the 1872 Victorian restoration by E. C. Hakewill.  Removed from their platforms so that moveable furniture could be used for seating for community events, they had been stored at the end of the north aisle. The space where they were stored had been identified as a useful area to exhibit the church’s history and its heritage links with the Sibton Abbey Ruin. It was felt that the pew ends, which were individually carved to designs by E.C. Hakewill  were worth preserving but how? Shortening the pews to one and two-seater format has allowed all the pew ends to be on display and provides semi -permanent seating along the north and south walls of the nave and north aisle.

FAMILY HISTORIES

 A different story concerning the church is the influence of various families throughout its history, particularly William Duckett who left money for the building of the north aisle, and also the Brookes, industrialists from the north who built Sibton Park, and then supported the restoration of first Peasenhall Church, and afterwards Sibton – the latter in the Victorian Gothic style, adding a new chancel probably ready for their eldest daughter’s wedding in 1874 (the east window with Biblical scenes of weddings had been installed two years earlier on completion of the chancel to commemorate the parents’ silver wedding). Then there is the continuing use of the church as a mausoleum for the Scrivener family, Lords of the Manor of Sibton and owners of the abbey ruin since 1610, and the Chapman Barker family Lords of the Manor of Peasenhall but buried at Sibton because in their heyday, Peasenhall was a mere Chapel to Sibton. 

FUNDRAISING FOR REPAIR

Problems with the nave roof:

The Tudor single hammerbeam ceiling is exceptionally low roof pitched. It means that its weight has caused the south nave wall and the north arcade to lean outwards.  Joints in trusses have spread indicated by slipped wedges, and there are cracks in the chancel arch and east wall of the nave. There is weakness at the SE corner of the nave where former rood stairway (indicated by a blocked doorway) indicates that the hollowed out wall would be weaker at this point. The parapet stones at the west end have slipped as the roof has spread. An investigative survey has revealed the details of the problem. In 1872 there was a major restoration that included protecting the Tudor roof with a steep pitched over- roof. The survey found that the Victorian over-roof rests on an outer Victorian facing to the 12th century south wall of the nave. This facing wall is not tied in to the inner medieval wall.

 The Tudor hammerbeam ceiling is supported by 12th century inner wall by the thrust of its weight through braces to the wall posts, but the wall posts are not supported at their lower end by corbels. The forces that support the heavy Tudor roof therefore act outwards as much as from beneath. Historically this has caused the  arcade of the north nave wall to tilt outwards, and the south medieval wall to lean outwards as well. To straighten the outer face of this wall the Victorians simply cut the face of it at the top to make the whole wall vertical, weakening the top of the wall through loss of thickness. However, it appears that the buttresses on the south side of the nave are medieval work and pass through the outer Victorian facing and may at least partially support the inner medieval wall.

FUTURE WORK

Stabilization of the nave roof and Tudor hammerbeam ceiling

·         Work is required to prevent further movement of the southwall;

·         work to tie the Tudor ceiling to prevent further spreading, including repairs to trusses and possibly further control of beetle infestation.

The replacement of the chancel roof and the roof over the vestry:

·         The tiles on the south slope is delaminating and the lime mortar has degraded.

·         The tiles on the vestry roof is slipping

Eradication of damp from the walls:

·            Installation of rainwater goods to south side of church

·            Clearance of dry drains to all walls

·            Redirection of rainwater from tower roof down north roof of nave to prevent shaling of tiles

Net Zero:

·            When the nave roof work is being completed Solar pv installation will be included.

·            The Tower-arch will be screened to prevent heat loss through the tower

Further work to support community events:

·         Storage facility for flexible furnishings

·         Storage capacity to be developed in the ground floor tower area of the tower

Heritage awareness:

·         The designing and installation of a permanent heritage exhibition in the north aisle:

The concept is a demonstration and explanation of the heritage of both the Church of Sibton St. Peter, and the Sibton Abbey ruin. The exhibition would provide information on both the history and the structure of the former abbey and its current recently consolidated remains as well as information about the heritage of the church’s fabric and contents.

An important heritage information source on a main Suffolk tourist route, the exhibition will be a mainstay for the sustainability of the building, informing  and raising awareness of the importance of this heritage in the development of the local area, and providing a good argument for continued provision of funding for the maintenance of that heritage.

·         It is intended that the exhibition will be mounted at the east end of the north ailse (which itself was built from re-used stonework from the former Sibton Abbey.

·         The process of applying for funding from the National Lottery Fund to address these issues will begin in the year 2024. A considerable amount of partnership funding will also be required together with an increase in public awareness and engagement.