Church Micro 6137...Etton Traditional Cache
Church Micro 6137...Etton
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St Stephen's Church - Etton Church of largely C13. Coursed stone with lead and slate roofs. Nave has late C14 quatrefoil clerestory windows and parapet. North and south aisles have C13 two-light windows with Y-tracery and foiled circles. Blocked north doorway with trefoiled head. Double-chamfered south doorway and south porch has round arch with chamfer and hollow chamfer. South windows of chancel similar to aisle windows. Also in south wall of chancel is small ogee arched window. East window is 5 stepped lancets. Blind north wall of chancel has blocked arch to former chapel. West tower has 3 stages with flat angle buttresses and polygonal stair turret, lancet windows and round arched bell openings with pointed arch lights with circular shaft between, frieze with heads, stiff-leaf and figures. Stone broach spire with 2 tiers of lucarnes. Interior: Three bay arcades have circular piers and circular capitals and abaci, and with pointed double-chamfered arches, with a decoration on the south side. Double-hollow-chamfered chancel arch. Double-chamfered pointed tower arch with original roofline above. Piscinas in chancel and south aisle. Sedilia in chancel. Plain C14 octagonal font with C17 cover. Mid C19 seating. The Etton Sheela Na Gig The Church of St Stephens in located in the village of Etton, just 5 miles north west of the centre of Peterborough. Christopher Seal reported this figure to John Harding as a Sheela na Gig. The figure is located on a corbel table high on the top of the southern face of the tower. The corbel table lies just below the spire. It's interesting to note that the sheela is unlike any of the other carving on the table which consists mostly of heads, foliate symbols including the fleur de lys and geometric forms. It is by far the largest piece and consists of the whole body on it's side (The Buncton figure also lies on it's side.). It also has the curious feature of a flat head. This would seem to indicate that figure was meant to be upright possibly supporting something but is very tightly integrated with the rest of the corbel table and appears to be in situ, which makes the flat head something of a mystery. The present church was originally built in the 13th century but there are records of the church in the 12th Century Peterborough Chronicle. The parish itself dates back even further and is thought to have been a religious centre for thousands of years1. The style of the church is Early English but as the church book says it is a fine example of Early Early English2. If this figure is contemporary with the building of the church, which it appears to be, this would originate it in the transitional period from Romanesque to Early English and would make this a later example of the sheela na gig motif. If you would like to add to the Church Micro series yourself then please look here http://churchmicro.co.uk/ There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page that can be found at http://www.15ddv.me.uk/geo/cm/index.html
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