NHER 2507 (Building record) - St Mark's Church, Ten Mile Bank, Hilgay

St Mark's Church, Ten Mile Bank.
Constructed in 1846 on the site of windpump marked on (S1).
E. Rose.

February 2002. Casual observation (seen in passing).
This appears to be a yellow brick Classical box, more like a Nonconformist chapel, with some good monuments in the graveyard.
E. Rose (NLA), 25 February 2002.

May 2002. Structural Survey.
A structural survey has reported that, despite previous structural repairs, further structural damage is evident including severe cracking of the brickwork. It has been recommended that the building be underpinned in order to make it safe.
See (S2) for further details.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 13 March 2008.

November 2006. Field observation.
The church is not Classical after all but Gothic Revival imitating Early English style. It has lancet windows, and in the east and west wall a triple lancet with shafting, although the west window is partly blocked up. There are two doors in the south wall, although the interior is a single space. The eastern door serves as a priest’s door and enters behind the screen. The altar is railed on three sides. The roof is arch braced.
The construction is yellow brick, but below ground level, red brick. This was revealed in four one-metre cube holes that did not reach the bottom of the walls. Two 19th/20th century sherds and one 17th/18th century slipware fragment (identified by A Rogerson) were found. There is a Great War memorial cross in the churchyard. The church stands on a mound which presumably derives from the windpump. There was formerly a ferry here that linked the church to a line of houses on the east bank of the river, all now gone.
E. Rose (NLA), 20 November 2006.

December 2006. Documentary Research.
The choice to build in the Early English style and the undifferentiated nave and chancel with identical doors for priest and people are described as unusual features. Other features of special interest include the suspended floor with rose-shaped cast iron vents and the sophisticated roof structure.
Repairs to the building have included the removal of the bellcote, the blocking of two of the three west windows, repositioning of the southwest doorway, installation of concrete pilasters attached to tie beams at each corner, and installation of additional roof supports. The building has also been underpinned with brick at an unknown date. The bell and its headstock are currently housed beneath a hood on the north side of the chapel, and it has been suggested that they could be reinstated in their original position. Although the roof trusses have been substantially altered during previous attempts to save the building, it has also been recommended that the church would greatly benefit from retrieval of the unusual arched trusses. It will also be possible to reinstate the west windows without difficulty, but restoration of the southwest doorway to its original position is not recommended. Modern piling will be used to stabilize the church and allow this restoration work.
See (S3) for further details.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 13 March 2008.

2007. Casual find.
During restoration work on the church, a group of square holes were revealed below the suspended church floor. These were located at the west end of the building, in the centre of the mound, and likely mark the location of foundation piles for the windpump which once stood at this location.
Information from (S5).
H. Hamilton (NLA), 13 March 2008.