St Mary Magdalene is a Grade I-listed parish church in the village of Great Burstead, about south of Billericay, Essex, England. The present building dates to the 12th century, but a wooden church may have been built on the site during the seventh century. The church is part of the Great Burstead Conservation Area, which was designated as such in 1983.
Location
It is in the village of Great Burstead, about northwest of Basildon and south of Chelmsford. The churchyard, about above sea level, overlooks the Crouch and Thames river valleys. The village is on the London Basin and is built on London Clay, partly overlain by the sandier Bagshot Beds; both beds were deposited during the Eocene.
History
Romans
Billericay, which was founded in 54 CE, was part of the Roman Empire for about 300 years. Nearby Blunts Wall, in Billericay, had an earth fort and moat defensive structure. The Romans had a settlement at present-day Billericay High Street, with cemeteries on the grounds of the Billericay school and in the village center on the site of present-day Billericay Reform Church.
Saxons
The site of Great Burstead Church was originally a Saxon settlement. The name Great Burstead is derived from the Saxon burgh (a fortified place) and stead (farmstead). Both terms suggest that it was a fortified settlement. Area topography indicates a raised position along its boundary, with a ditch and stream to the west. Archeological evidence was discovered in 1847 at the nearby vicarage, on the east boundary, which dates to the Paleolithic and Mesolithic.
The Saxons, under King Æscwine arrived in Essex in 527 CE. Cedd converted Ebba, the thane of Great Burstead, to Christianity in 653. The first Christian Saxon King, Sæberht (d 616), is said to be buried on the grounds; he was converted by the Christian mission of Mellitus, the first Bishop of London.
Ebba left due to family quarrels and was succeeded by Edwy, who was persuaded by Bishop Earconwald to build a church in 669 which was dedicated to Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury. Around 680, Bishop Cedd of Essex blessed a well on the church site and placed a cross. A wooden building was constructed around then, whose foundation may remain under the present church.
Normans and 12th-century construction
William the Conqueror gave 39 lordships in Essex to his half-brother, Odo of Bayeux, and Great Burstead became his capital manor. By 1147, the lordship belonged to the Cistercian monks of Stratford Langthorne Abbey. Thames flooding forced the monastery to move to Great Burstead Church in 1338, where it remained until 1551. The church is of Norman construction.
The walls of the nave, , were built from probably-locally-sourced stone rubble. The north wall of the nave, with one arrowslit window, dates to the 12th century. Arrowslit windows were not used by the Normans in castle construction early in the century; they came into use later in the 12th century, during the time of Richard the Lionheart. In the south chapel is a 12th-century oak crusaders' chest which was used to collect funds for the Crusades during the rule of King Henry I.
West tower and bells
The church's 14th-century, west tower, built of ragstone dressed with limestone, has three stages in height. It has angle buttresses and a castellated parapet on top, surmounted by a shingle spire built around a timber spire. The tower's original putlocks are in place.
Its five bells are supported by an oak cradle dating to 1650. Bell number one, built in 1458 by Balcombe in London, weighs 750 lbs. (381 kg). Bell number two, built in 1724 by Thomas Gardiner in Sudbury, Suffolk, weighs 450 lbs.(228 kg). Bell number three, built in 1731 by Thomas Gardiner, weighs 900 lbs. (460 kg). Bell number four, built in 1814 by Thomas Meares II at London's Whitechapel Bell Foundry, weighs 550 lbs (279 kg). Bell number five weighs 650 lbs. (330 kg). The bells were listed by John C. L. Stahlschmidt in his 1884 book, Surrey Bells and London Bell-Founders.
The south aisle and the chancel in the northeast corner were added during the 15th century. Recent renovations revealed 14th-, 15th- and 16th-century paintings along the south wall of the south aisle, which also has restored 15th-century benches. The church was extended during the early 16th century with the south chapel. The north and south porches were added that century with crown post roofs; the north porch has heavy oak beams, and the south porch has ornate wood carvings. The bells in the church are not currently operational, due to structural issues with the timbers.