A HISTORY OF HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, BOTTISHAM
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Let Bottisham hereafter be no more famed for its single Becon, but for these three
lights it afforded’. Hill refers to the Prior of Anglesey and Bishop of Rochester,
to the Archbishop of York and Master of St. Peter’s College, Cambridge, and
thirdly to the ‘Doctor of ye Sorbon’ and the Prior of the Carmelites. Other
distinguished parishioners, of national fame, will be described later.
THE BUILDERS
The medieval builder was a craftsman of real ability. Following from
the time when the Anglo-Saxon churches were of wooden construction, the
medieval stone mason was supported in his craft by carpenters whose skills had
been handed down over many generations. Thus, sawyers and quarrymen were
also a necessary part of the total labour force. Changing to lead, from thatch or
tiles, as a roof covering, necessitated an increased amount of timber to take the
strain of the extra weight and to withstand the expansion and contraction of the
lead with changing temperature. The carpenters were also responsible for the
construction of the wooden trays, lined with sand, into which the lead was poured
to make the sheets for the roof.
The medieval mason’s unit of construction was the rod or pole (later
called the perch). The length of the village pole was arrived at by stopping 16
grown men, as they entered the church porch on a Sunday, and making them place
their feet one behind the other. A pole length folded twice gave the ‘yard’ which
was later shortened to three feet. Did the Bottisham mason take his measurement
from the existing building or, perhaps, line up 16 local men? What merriment!
The construction site around the church was one of thatched mud-huts lived in by
the workers and their families as, year after year, during the building season, they
dragged the materials to the masons and carpenters. Other workers would be
responsible for the supply of limestone to be burnt in the kilns making quicklime
for the mortar. Local blacksmiths were probably employed for making all the
metal work including making nails.
A building contract would be drawn up between the church authorities
and the benefactors - the Bottisham tower and chancel contracts, in the thirteenth
century, were probably worded in Latin, but the rebuilding of the nave was done
at a time when French was used. Arabic numerals had not reached Bottisham at
the time of building the church: the mason may have used a chequer board and
counters. The mason worked on a heavy block of stone (banker) under a lean-to
roof known as his ‘lodge’. At Bottisham the ‘Camping Close’ (an area for
recreational pursuits), was adjacent to the church building site, thus adequate
working space was available. Full-size detail of the window tracery was set out on
boards before the stone was carved and then carried to the walling mason (setter).
It is not unreasonable to assume that some prefabricated-stone was transported