History

St Bartholomew's Church, Wickham Bishops

St Bartholomew's is Grade 11 listed and is a fine example of Victorian Gothic church architecture.  The church was built in 1850 by Sarah Leigh in memory of her father, the Revd Thomas Leigh who was Rector from 1803 to 1843.  The church was designed by Ewin Christian and is built of Kentish Rag and Caen stone.  The spire is 120 feet high and is a local landmark visible from A12, from the other side of Witham and from the River Blackwater.  The church clock was presented to the parish by the daughters of Thomas Butler Dixon in 1911 in memory of their father.  The clockwork mechanism is now operated by weights and an electric motor.  The church interior was decorated in 1950 when most of the stained glass was removed to allow more light into the church.  It was re-decorated again in 1981.  Above the altar is the east window, erected in memory of a former Rector, Canon Alfred Snell.  It is a particularly fine example of stained glass showing the nativity of our Lord.  Behind the altar are six gloriously painted and gilded wooden panels depicting saints and angels.  From the left these are an angel, then St Agatha with pincers which symbolises her torture, St Bartholomew with a knife to symbolise his death by flaying c44AD, St Boniface, an Anglo-Saxon missionary c680-755AD and Archbishop of Mainz, then St Alban the first martyr of England with a sword who was beheaded and finally another angel.  The present organ was installed in 1895 and was extensively overhauled and improved in 1965 by gift of churchwarden J.D. Edwards.  The oak casing was most skilfully carved by the Revd Ernest Geldart, Rector of Little Braxted from 1881 to 1900.

St Nicholas' Church, Little Braxted

Wickham Bishops forms a United Benefice with the parish of Little Braxted.  With only 120 people in the parish it may well be one of the smallest parishes in the country.  Little Braxted lies to the east side of the river Blackwater, one mile east of Witham.

St Nicholas Church, built about 1120, is a small Norman structure, with a wooden belfry and two bells. An old Norman semicircular apsis forms the chancel but the porch is of wood in the Tudor style.  This delightful little church attracts many visitors from all over the world.  Father Ernest Geldart who was priest there 1881-1900 extended, re-ordered and highly decorated the church.  The visitor’s book shows that people from as far as Australia & South Africa have visited the church.

The church has a small, faithful congregation of between 6 and 8 people who are committed to maintaining a Christian presence in the village, with a special focus of preserving this very special building for generations to come. Seating a capacity of about 50, at a squeeze, the church is full at the Christmas Eve Midnight Service, when the church is lit by over 100 candles. 

Little Braxted can be visited during daylight hours.  If the church is locked there is a note on the door to indicate from where the key may be obtained.   For more information on St Nicholas Church click on this link