As you enter the church look straight ahead. The wall you see in front of you was built about AD 1140 by the Normans when they extended the original Saxon church. Of the two windows in the wall the smaller one to the left is original Norman, the only remaining one of the several which pierced this wall.
The slightly larger window next to it was also Norman but was enlarged and restored in 1860. The whole wall is built of chalk blocks, probably quarried at Cookham Dean, although the Norman window frame is made of finely jointed stone of a style introduced into English building around 1100 from Normandy.
Go forward a few steps. The row of arches you now pass through was the line of the south wall of the original Norman extension. It looked very much like the north wall but was destroyed around 1270 when the south aisle was made.
Forward again. The painting on the wall is a copy of the "Last Supper" by Sir Stanley Spencer who lived in Cookham for most of his life.
Just below this there is a brass wall plate commemorating a certain Edward Woodyore who lived in the timbered house to the right as you came through the church gates. Take a quick look as you go out - it is his original house, although he died in 1613. Incidentally, the word 'PHEER' is old English for 'wife' and the dates at the bottom have been transposed; he died in 1613 and his living pheer in 1615.
Walk up the nave and turn left into the north aisle. The arch through which you have just passed and the one next to it are really holes punched through the chalk blocks of the earlier Norman wall - they have no supporting pillars.
You are now in St Catherine's Chapel - believed to be St Catherine of Alexandria - which was built around 1220. The small single windows here, known as lancet windows, are of the Early English style of architecture and therefore date the building.
Some old brasses may be seen in the floor, just behind the organ console. The first, dated 1503 commemorates William Andrew and John Monkeden and a certain lady named Margaret who was the wife of both of them - not at the same time - we hope. (You will note that in the illustration the lady is between her two husbands - see Darby's "History of Cookham".)
Brasses around this period were usually to Knights, Prelates or Nobles, but this one is to ordinary, albeit rich, citizens.
Other brasses here are to the Babham family who lived in Cookham from medieval times; one is in the floor (1358) and the other on the wall (1527), both badly mutilated.
The stained glass windows and the marble memorial between the first and second of these windows are to the Venables family, including one to William, who became Lord Mayor of London - a great distinction for a Cookham lad.
Now turn to your right so that the organ is behind you - then go forward. You are now entering the Lady Chapel, re-opened in 1970 after the organ chamber, vestry and store room had been removed. This is the earliest addition to the original Norman building, constructed when English-cum-Norman craftsmen were developing their individual style now called Transitional. It has two altar sites, one being in line with the present pulpit, as revealed by the recessed Piscina in the wall to your right. (A Piscina is a basin containing water for the ablutions after the administration of the Sacrament.)
There are two memorials to the Pocock family on the wall - one showing a distressed gentleman in a rather flimsy punt, to Sir Isaac Pocock (1752-1810), who died of a heart attack whilst on the river; the other memorial above the door is to his nephew, also Isaac, (1782-1835).
The second altar in the Lady Chapel is also indicated by the Piscina in the wall facing you - in the east wall. The carved figure of Christ is from Oberammergau, whilst the small brass just above the piscina was found in the churchyard. Its origin is unknown.
The north and east walls are leaning outward due to the weight of the roof, but as they have been this way for 800 years we assume they are quite safe. The window in the east wall is worth more than a passing glance, especially from the outside. The mullions between the lights are of moulded brick, instead of the more usual stone. This work, probably done around 1465, is said to be one of the earliest examples in the country of its kind. (Bricks and tiles have been made in the Cookham area since Roman times, whilst suitable stone has been somewhat lacking.)
On the floor of the Lady Chapel, note the brass to Rafe Moor, a local landowner and his wife (1577). Next to it is a tombstone to a certain Anthony Turberville, a guardsman of James II, who was killed in a 'scirmish' near Warminster in Wiltshire in 1688. This 'scirmish' was with the troops of William of Orange (later William III) marching upon London, and Maidenhead would have been on their route. The Turbervilles held the Manor of Great Bradley, having inherited it through marriage into the Farmer family.
Facing south, the squarish opening in the wall to your left was originally just a slit in the old Norman wall. Before the Lady Chapel was added there was a cell of an Anchoress - a woman recluse or hermit - just at this very spot. This cell was then outside the church on the cold sunless side, and the slit was so that the Anchoress could participate in the Mass. She lived here for the last ten years of her life, from 1171 to 1181, and she is probably buried underneath your feet. Her story is told elsewhere in this guide.
Go forward towards the middle of the church - you are now in the chancel within the new sanctuary with the altar on your left. The wall behind the altar may well be the oldest part of the church with traces dating back to the Saxon church of the 8th century. Once a particular spot had been consecrated there was a tendency for it to remain so, hence the supposition that the chancel and sanctuary have always been here from the very first wooden church - say AD 700.
On the left as you face the altar there is a memorial of Sussex marble to Robert Pecke and his wife (1520); the plaster canopy was made too small for the tomb and its supports cover some of the brasses.
Robert Pecke was for a time the Master clerk of the Spicery of Henry VI, an important post when you consider all the trouble people took to get these spices from the East. Two of the brasses show a knight in armour and his lady, and a third brass is a delineation of the Holy Trinity - God the Father, his right hand upheld in blessing, supports the crucified Christ with his left hand; the Dove represents the Holy Spirit.
There was another piscina to the right of the main altar, but this was removed by the Victorian 'restorers' as "too ruinous to be preserved".
On the floor to the left of the altar is a small stone bearing two brass crosses which formed part of the arms of Sir Edmund Stockton, Vicar of Cookham 1504. also there used to be a brass plate stating that Stockton was a PYLGRYM of Jerusalem, but this has long since disappeared.
The old worn tiles on the altar pavement are 13th to 15th century, probably made at Burnham. In 1849 they covered the floor of the Lady Chapel, but during the 1860 restoration were found on the sills of the windows; they were then laid in their present position.
Look up at the 14th century roof, built without tie beams (i.e. beams crossing from side to side on the tops of walls, tying them together.) It is for this reason that the wall on your left was pushed out by the weight of the roof, which in turn altered the line of the east and north walls of the Lady Chapel already mentioned.
Cross the chancel and enter St Clement's Chapel, built around 1300, a mixture in church architecture of the Early English and Decorated styles. (It continued the south aisle, built around 1270, and was the last addition to the body of the church.) This chapel is dedicated to St Clement and was first restored and furnished in memory of Sidney Vanderfelt and his daughter Rencie Salmon in 1945. In the wall is yet another piscina which was used in conjunction with the altar removed at the Reformation.
On the walls inside the chapel are numerous memorials to the Young family, residents of Cookham for more than 200 years. On the right when facing the altar is another Babham memorial (1516) with husband, wife and their six children shown at prayer.
Look now to the pillar on your left, it contains a carved head, the only such decoration inside the church. It is believed to be a woman's head with a wimple and chin band - the type of head dress fashionable when the aisle was built.
Now turn to walk down the aisle; high up on the next pillar is a large hole. There is a similar hole on the corresponding pillar on the other side of the church - the one behind the pulpit. There was once a rood screen across the church at this point, cutting off the chancel from the congregation. From this place the Gospel was sung at High Mass, the priest ascending to it by stairs - long since gone - through these holes.
As previously mentioned, the south aisle was built around 1270. Here the old Norman wall was completely destroyed and replaced with the arches and pillars to your right. Look up at the roof with moulded King Posts (the upright member pointing to the apex of the roof) and carved struts, although these features may have been repaired in the 17th and 18th centuries. All these timbers were covered with thick plaster - as were those of the north aisle - for some 300 years, until it was removed in 1960-64.
Passing the font, believed to have been installed in 1860, on the wall in front of you is the Walker memorial. The artist Frederick Walker - a friend of Thackeray and Millais - is just buried just outside the door. some of his works can be seen in the National and Tate Galleries.
You have now completed your tour of the church, but there is much of interest if you have some time to spare. If so, turn right out of the door and examine the Tower. This was the last structure to be added, being in the Perpendicular style. The lowest six feet are of napped flint and sandstone, giving a chequered effect. The remainder of the tower is of chalk and sandstone, faced with flints. In early prints and photographs the tower was covered with ivy, but this was removed in 1927 after 115 years.
Continue around the church to the north side passing the Norman window with its hood moulding. There is a bricked up door, rapidly falling to dust - this was once the entrance to St. Catherine's Chapel.
Continue round the chancel wall to the east end and note the moulded brick mullions. Further round to the south side again. Here are three double lancet windows (one is the other side of the porch) each showing a development of the surrounding tracery. The first one is very simple, being a mere step forward from the single lancet window as in the St Catherine Chapel. The second has a single pointed stone arch above the two windows whilst the third (just beyond the church entrance) has a small window above and between the lights.
Here are some further details of the Church -
The Bells
There are nine bells; one clock bell at the top of the tower and eight in the belfry. Of these the first two were installed in 1638, then another a year later, and a fourth in 1650. In 1717 came a tenor and in 1777 a treble. Finally in 1945, the last two were added to complete the octave.
The Clock
Placed in position in 1861, it had been made by John Moore and Sons of Clerkenwell. The sundial dates from 1808 at the latest.
The Organ
The original organ of two manuals and pedal was built by Robson in 1860, was enlarged in 1899 and rebuilt in 1937, retaining much of the original piping. It was removed from the Lady Chapel to its present position in 1964.
Mainly classical, it has a Great Organ flue chorus from Contra Geigen 16ft to Mixture (19:22:26); a unique Swell Organ reed chorus of dissimilar ranks (Contra Fagotto 16ft, Trumpet 8ft, and Crumhorn 4ft) and a tiny positive organ.
In a Church as ancient as ours, which has seen so much change over the centuries, we have inherited many things which were suited to the mode of worship of previous generations. While maintaining our beautiful fabric we must always look forward to the needs of our present generation, who wish today to take a far closer and more integral part in the worship of the Church, increasingly centred around the Eucharist.
To this end, in 1981 we re-ordered the Chancel and Sanctuary, bringing the table forward to a more central position, removing some front pews, a screen and the Victorian choir stalls so that the Communion rails surround the whole area and thus bring the congregation closer to the central act of worship.
Historical material for this guide has been largely drawn from the Church Guide by the late R Clare Martin, which ran into four editions of 20,000 copies between 1953 and 1965, with additional notes from Darby's "History of Cookham" (1909), Sir George Young's "Cookham Church - a Village Lecture" (1901) and the researches of the late Brian M Dodds.
Excellent informative article, thank you.
I shall be visiting Cookham in October. Am I likely to find the church open?
Jane Hartley.
Posted by: Jane Hartley | August 16, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Thank you, Jane. Glad you found the article informative.
The church will indeed be open when you visit in October. If you come to one of the services listed in Pew News, you'll be able to have a look around before or after the worship.
Alternatively, you could contact the Parish Office to arrange a time that might suit you.
Also, it isn't far to the other parish church in our benefice - St John the Baptist. It's also an interesting church that's well worht a visit.
Posted by: Tim | September 01, 2008 at 10:52 AM