Exploring the hidden history of Newark Parish Church from the rooftop to underground crypt

From Victorian rooftop graffiti to an 12th Century underground crypt, a well-recognised town landmark holds centuries of history.

The parish church of Newark, St Mary Magdalene Church, dates back to the 11th Century and while not strictly secret, the church’s lesser-visited areas offer an interesting insight into its history.

Verger Ian Jebbet unlocked the stories of the historic building.

He said: “People come to the church a lot, they know where they are going and just walk around and don’t see everything.”

A steep spiral staircase leads to the rooftop.

The nave roof is home to a number of boot prints and graffiti, drawn by workmen during the mid-19th Century restoration of the church.

One reads G. T. Broyn, 1846, and another bears the name R. Horsley.

Around the roof, the tower and the pinnacles, is a vast collection of medieval stone carvings, so high up on the church building they are often out of sight.

“They may have been caricatures of people who helped make them,” Ian said.

“There are scary faces, gargoyles, animal faces and a mix of sacred and secular carvings. Some are very rude.

“The ones on the North side are in much better condition, as the prevailing wind is from the South.”

One carving depicts a medieval peasant.

Ian added: “This is my favourite.

“You can see he has a staff in his hand, but it is getting quite worn.”

The roof is unique aerial viewpoint for the historic town centre, and on a clear day views stretch for miles ­— with Southwell Minster and Belvoir Castle coming into view.

Back inside the church, halfway down the staircase, a door opens on to the top of the ornate wooden rood screen, a typical feature of medieval and renaissance churches.

The walkway allows a closer look at more carvings, a green man and what is said to be the rudest carving, dating from the 15th Century, depicting a sexual act hidden near the ceiling.

Other carvings in the church include the mermaid above St George’s Chapel.

Holding a comb and mirror the carving was thought to represent vanity, but more a recent rethinking has suggested it symbolic of a period of cleansing and reflection.

Other carvings depict ‘creatures of the night’ preying on innocent animals, representing the unwary Christian, Ian explained.

More recent churchgoers have also left their mark on the building, with more than 600 items of 16th Century graffiti in the church.

By the seats of the choir three attempts at scratching a windmill into the wood can be seen, with the final version complete.

Drawings of churches, names and varying images can be found in the stonework.

Below ground is the crypt, dating from 1180.

It now houses the Nottinghamshire deaneries’ silverware, but before their removal in 1883 was the burial place of 31 civil war officers, now re-buried in the churchyard, with the coffin plates displayed on the wall of the crypt.

The Bishop White Library, above the South porch, houses over 1,300 volumes, left in the will of Bishop Thomas White ­— vicar of Newark from 1660 to 1666 and later Bishop of Peterborough.

Ian added: “They are mostly theology and bible commentary but there are some on history and geography.

“The books were left to the town in Bishop White’s will.”

The books are in English, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish and Italian.

The church also contains a number of notable paintings and what is believed to the largest assembledge of medieval stained glass in the county.