Come Ye Blessed...
LITTLE DALBY : CHURCH OF ST JAMES
Church Post Code LE14 2UG
Open to visitors
There is a single Vale Of Belvoir Angel stone to be found in this delightfully rural church grounds. Hidden in the shade of a tree, which made it a little difficult to photograph on this bright, sunny afternoon.
This stone one is inscribed 'Come Ye Blessed' across the top.
The script continues 'Here lieth ye body of Anthony Sarson he departed this life January the 24th day 1716 and in the 64th year of his age'
'Though death has parted you and I our body's to dust must turn I hope that we shall meet again you have no cause to mourn Dear friend do not lament for me but chere up now your hearts and strive that you may come to me where death no more shall part'.
SOME NOTES FROM MY VISIT
The first English lockdown had ended and churches were again allowed to be open; for private prayer and for regular worship. Very few churches had taken up the chance of communal worship as yet. I had a trip planned in to Leicestershire after a morning zoom service with the Salvation Army; which for the last few weeks had become my new normal. Later that afternoon we were to visit East Leake, where I saw stackable chairs set out for worship at two metre intervals for the first time. How strange it seemed!
First point of call was Little Dalby, a little way of the A606, three and a half miles south east of Melton Mowbray. The welcoming committee was first rate! A black Labrador trotted up to the van as we pulled up, waited for me to get out then walked with me to the church; staying with me whilst I photographed the exterior. A friendly man mowing the grass waved hello; the welcome on both four and two legs being spot on!
The church was open to visitors, which was a nice surprise given that the vast majority were still closed.
The original ancient structure was given an almost complete makeover from the mid 1840’s to early 1850’s with the west tower being rebuilt, transepts added and the rest restored. The church of St James is built of dressed ironstone and consists of west tower with octagonal broach spire with three tiers of lucarne windows.
The nave has north and south aisles; with four beautiful triple lancet windows forming the clerestory to north and south; south porch, substantial north and south transepts and chancel. The whole structure is quite heavily buttressed.
There are many gargoyles here of very high quality. Very few appear to have any great age and I suspect that most date from the time of the Victorian rebuilding. A black Labrador nose, followed quickly by a tongue and some heavy breathing, appeared from nowhere as I was crouched down taking an arty shot of the tower.
Moving inside, it was bright and welcoming inside, with sunlight streaming in through the south clerestory windows. Walls are whitewashed; there are three bay arcades to north and south, with each having octagonal piers and moulded capitals.
Moving in to the chancel the east and north sides have oak panelling and the south wall has a graduated ogee headed sedilia, the seating for the priests during the Mass in pre reformation times, with a piscina, in which the Holy Vessels used during the mass would be washed, immediately to the east of that. The altar cloth was green, the colour used for ‘Ordinary times’ in the Anglican church calendar; the period from after Pentecost to the start of advent.
There is plenty of stained glass here; and to be fair some of it sadly has deteriorated. The east window is of three lights with the resurrection central, flanked by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane accepting the cup from which he had to drink and Jesus carrying his own cross to crucifixion.
Several of the stained glass designs look to be from the same artist and have not fared well over the years, with facial features worn away and it is a little difficult at times to spot the Biblical scenes!
We also see a depiction, in higher quality, of the scene on Easter morning when the risen Christ; dressed in a symbolically blood red cloak, with wounds visible on feet side and the one hand that we can see, meets Mary Magdalene. In the bottom left hand corner of the design we see a spade, this being a reference to Mary initially mistaking Christ for the gardener. I suspected that this window was from Kempe but I couldn’t see his trademark wheatsheaf within the design.
Angels line the walls of the nave, looking out from north and south through sightless eyes. One carries a palm leaf; an often used symbol of victory whilst another, with long flowing hair, looks down a little as she plays a mandolin. Throughout the interior a number of stern looking faces peer down at those inside; an exquisite depiction of an angel, portrayed with long curly hair and with hands crossed in front of her, looks down with a serene expression!
Moving outside again and renewing acquaintances with the black lab, I started to work around what is a very interesting collection of slate gravestones. One near to the south transept is of stunning quality. Carved in slate it has at the centre three angels, symbolising the flight of the soul to heaven. To the left of the angels as we look at it; are three human skulls, to the right a coffin, hourglass, gravedigger’s tools and a candle which has been snuffed out. All of these are symbols of death and the mortality of Man.
Close by is a fabulous carving of an Ouroboros, a serpent with its tail in its mouth; an often used symbol of eternity. This is wrapped around the gravediggers tools. The message here is that, yes the deceased has passed away but there is eternal life in heaven as reward for the Christian life lived.
On another finely carved slate gravestone we see symbols of the mortality of Man to the left as we look at it, in the form of a scythe and a winged hourglass; tempus fugit, time flies. Some script reads ‘search the scriptures alass! (sic) how short is life’
Life was hard and often short in the 18th century, even for those of means who could afford an ornate slate gravestone. One impressive stone confirms this; the stone in memorial to four members, over three generations of the Waitt family who died within a very short period. Elizabeth died in 1712 aged 33 years. Her son, whose name was written with such a flourish that I can’t read it, died aged four in 1728. Her mother also called Elizabeth died in 1727 ages 59 years and a further daughter Jane died in infancy.
It was lovely to be able to take a look around this church and we left with some pleasant memories. Well worth taking a look at if you are in the area. I should probably add at the end though that I am not sure if the church here is normally open to visitors or if it was open as the grass was being cut.