Historic Churches 2018

8 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 25 TH ANNUAL EDITION male and female martyrs of the early Church, but also figures of East Anglian saints such as King Edmund and King Oswald, alongside the arms of the then Diocese of Ely, with a background of crosses, suggesting the ‘crosses crosslet’ of the Beaupre coat of arms. No evidence survives of the family’s funding of the glass, but a close involvement with the choice of imagery seems more than likely. The window, illustrated opposite, is one of the several glories of this fenland church that deserve to be better known. The Beaupre family’s association with the church and the area went back more than two centuries: their gentry status was well established by the time that Sir Nicholas became head of the family in the late 15th century. Another family responsible for the enrichment of St Clement’s was the Fynchams’. Although their association with Outwell began a little later, the Fynchams had already established themselves as patrons of the north chapel by the time Sir Nicholas was making his will. John Fyncham (John was a common Fyncham name, just as Nicholas was a common Beaupre name) of Fincham St Martin, some 15 miles to the east, was the son of John Fyncham of Fincham and Beatrice Thoresby, daughter of one of the leading merchant families of Lynn. This John had also married well, to Elizabeth the daughter of Thomas Derham, sometime MP for Lynn. Although the Fynchams were landowners and members of the gentry, they were also a family of lawyers in a county notorious for its litigation and for the importance of lawyers, with close links to London. John Fyncham, lawyer, who died in 1527, requested burial in St Bride’s Fleet Street, but he described himself as ‘John Fyncham of Owtewell in the countie of Cambrigge gentilman’. The Fyncham chapel on the north side of the church, like that of the Beaupre chapel is noted for its architectural details but also for what remains of a fine early 16th-century glazing scheme which had depicted the visit of the Magi to the newly-born Christ. Only one figure, that of Balthasar bearing a gold cup, now remains below a set of Fyncham heraldic glass, pieced together during a programme of restoration. In his will John Fyncham requested that five gold cups be made for members of his family so that he might be remembered by these. It is interesting to note that in the original glazing scheme five gold cups were present. The evidence in glass and stone of gentry families such as the Fynchams and Beaupres is one of the engaging aspects of St Clement’s, Outwell. Other elements of striking decorative work were surely provided by communal decisions and with communal fundraising: that which genuinely marks out St Clement’s, Outwell as unique is the composition of the imagery on the nave roof. The roofs of the nave and aisles are filled with figures of angels, large and small (one count suggested 107 angelic figures), on roof beams and posts, carrying objects associated with the celebration of the Mass, instruments of the Passion of Christ, and symbols of episcopal and papal office. Probably dating from different decades of the 15th century, these angelic figures, their dress and the items they carry, are not unlike others found in East Anglian churches, although they are particularly rich in their range and number. The repair and upkeep of the nave and aisles was the responsibility of parishioners, so the choice and positioning of these angelic figures was likely to have been taken by a building committee of laity established by the churchwardens, probably with significant input from the clergy. According to the work of the 12th- century commentator William Durandus on liturgy and imagery in churches and their pre-figuring of heavenly existence, the higher up in the building and the closer to the chancel an image appeared, the closer its subject was to God. Thus, angels and apostles belonged on the roof. In Outwell the angels are in places you would expect to find them and so are figures of the apostles, on the roof posts; apostles in the company of the angels, but a little below them. What is different at Outwell, however, is that the apostles share their roof-post position not with angels but with others. Each figure of an apostle is accompanied by a figure of a human being or that of a devil; and some of the human figures are distorted. Now blackened with age and the heavy- handed application of dark-stained varnish, these roof-post figures are almost completely invisible to the naked eye. Their examination being a challenge makes uncovering their details all the more exciting. On each of the 12 posts (six on the north side and six on the south side of the nave) a full-length figure of an apostle stands tall and straight. Several of these figures can be identified from items they hold, linking them with their life stories The restored figure of Balthasar in the north chapel (Photo: Mike Dixon) The tomb of Sir Nicholas Beaupre, his wife Margaret and their heirs (Photo: Mike Dixon)