Church of St Mary (EHER 5639)

Parish church 12th century in origin. 13th century chancel and aisles, 14th century tower, and aisles also widened in this period. Some work on the chancel in the 15th century. Chancel chapels, clerestory and parapets early 16th century. South porch early 17th century. Restored 1892-1903 by C and W H Pertwee, including the rebuilding of the chancel dormers and vestry.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. A building of considerable interest dating from the 13th to the 17th century. The aisles and tower are of flint and stone and the clerestory is a fine example of 16th century brickwork, with diaper patterning, a parapet with stepped embattlements and brick pinnacles, above a trefoil corbel table. The aisles also have 16th century red brick stepped embattlements. The west tower is of the 14th century, with a battlemented parapet and a spire. The south porch is 17th with a 14th century doorway. The north porch was restored in the 19th century when a large gabled dormer window was inserted in the chancel roof. The north and south arcades are 15th century. <1> - <3> The dressings are of limestone and brick, roofs of tile, slate and lead. Chancel, nave and north aisle were built around the middle of the 13th century "probably on the site of an earlier church". A south aisle was added later. The aisles were widened in the first half of the 14th century and the west tower begun. The upper half of the tower was finished later in this century (20th) (it has a lead spire). The south chapel and nave clerestory were added early in the 16th century, followed a little later by the north chapel. "The clearstory is a handsome example of early 16th century brickwork". Features and fittings: windows of 13th, 14th, 15th and early 16th centuries, doorways of the 13th or 14th centuries, early 16th century nave roof, 14th century north aisle roof, late 13th, 14th and early 16th century piscinae, 14th century glass, 16th century recess, 13th century sedilia, old timbers in the floor of the ringing chamber in the tower-14th or 15th century possibly, indents in the chancel <1> "A splendid exterior thanks chiefly to the Early Tudor brick clerestory". South doorway 14th century <2> In the 17th century the brick south porch was added. The church was restored 'in modern times'. Dormer windows were added to the chancel then and the north vestry added or rebuilt. In the tower the bell-chamber has 18th century windows, brick, the south chapel roof has 16th or 17th century rafters, the north aisle roof has a wall plate, 17th century, with an inscription above it and the date 1639-the other timbers are 16th or 17th century. The south aisle roof has 17th century or later rafters. In the chancel is a brass of 1614 and indents. There are 17th century monuments and floor slabs. The plate includes 17th century items, the pulpit has the date 1639 on a rail. Royal arms over the chancel arch are dated 1660 <1> At the west end there is a corbel carved as a female head with a scolds bridle (restored). The roof to tile north aisle is 14th century and to the nave 16th century. The pulpit is a particularly fine example of Jacobean work, with a carved tester and sounding board. The tester is carved with the initials HL1 and MS and the date 1639, there are some good hatchments, brasses, one of the early 17th century to Jane Paschall and 1 to Jane Lewkenor 1614 and a monument to the Gwyn sisters erected in 1753 and executed by Sir Henry Cheere. <1> <2> <3> An archaeological watching brief on renovation and groundworks at St Mary's Church found remnants of the former south wall of the nave beneath the south arcade. Outside the church two eighteenth or nineteenth century burials were discovered during underpinning work on the store. The foundation trenches for the toilet extension only reached a depth of 0.6m below the present ground surface. <4> Field visit, 1976 Roman brick seen in the chancel tower and south aisle <5> <6> Field visit, 1988 St Mary's (dedication confirmed) is as described externally. Roman brick is visible in the tower, chancel and both aisles. <7> Additional reference <8> <9> Photographs <10> St Mary's Church [NAT] <11> Additional references <12> <13>