Church of St Mary the Virgin (EHER 5971)

12th century flint rubble church, consisting of nave, chancel and west round tower, incorporating Roman brick. 13th century rebuilding of the chancel. 19th century restoration and additions. The round tower is probably 12th century rather than Saxon, as has been suggested, and has more varied rubble in the fabric than the rest of the church.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. The church has some brick, probably Roman, in the buttresses. The church has flint rubble walls with some conglomerate in the chancel. The dressings are clunch and limestone and the roofs are tiled. The nave and west tower date from the late 12th century, the chancel was rebuilt in approximately 1330. No structural chancel arch. The tower has five external pilaster buttresses that stop at the floor level of its 2nd stage. Features and fittings include: windows and window details of the 12th , 13th early 14th centuries) around 1330, 15th century, doorways of 12th and 14th centuries (set in the 12th century south doorway) around 1330, 15th century the south porch roof has possibly 15th century timbers, a brass of a rector of 1414 with the head replaced by a priest's head from a brass of around 1370, the indent of a brass of a priest of 14th century date, a possibly 16th century chest, a 15th century font, glass of 14th century, late 14th-early and 15th century, 15th century dates, an early 14th century arched recess (richly decorated) for a tomb, a 14th century niche, piscina and 3 sedilia in one range of around 1330, late 15th century seating, 2 partly glazed tiles (near the font). The church was restored in the 19th century. The north vestry, south porch and spire are 'modern' Features and fittings include: five bells dated to 1634, the ground stage of the tower has a 17th century head stock from a bell, the 2nd stage contains an iron-bound, possibly 16th century chest, the south doorway in the chancel has a 16th century door and the tower, in the east doorway, has a late 17th century door. There are 17th century floor slabs the plate includes a cup and cover-paten of 1560. <1> Norman round tower and nave. Early 14th century chancel with renewed windows. The tomb-recess and the sedilia have been much restored. The spire is dated to 1882. <2> Site visit, 1950 Roman tile and brick in church wall and tower. <3> Site visit 1975 A fair concentration of Roman tile is visible in the lower part of the round tower which has a Norman west door. A few odd fragments can be seen scattered throughout the rest of the church fabric, except in the south wall of the nave which is rendered over. <4> The spire, with its gablets, was added in 1862. <5> Watching brief, 1977 A watching brief was carried out in 1977 after rendering was removed from the exterior of the nave south wall. Some information additional to that given by the RCHM (source 1) was recovered. The nave was found to be mainly of coursed flint with Roman brick and indurated gravel. A weathered limestone fragment and a squared fragment of sandstone or sandy limestone were seen in the south wall. A round-headed window east of the south porch seemed to be contemporary with the south wall two windows in this wall are inserts (as in RCHM). The chancel walls are of coursed, dressed flint with Roman and later brick and indurated gravel. The nave roof, but not that of the chancel, was lowered in the 19th century. The round tower is of coursed rubble, largely flint, with indurated gravel and Roman brick. Dressed limestone was seen in the first stage. 'The whole appearance is of a more varied rubble than that used in the nave'. The date of the tower is uncertain. The west door is Norman but it may be an insert as the western pilaster buttress sits on top of the door arch. The upper part of the tower may be later in date than its first stage (the pilaster buttresses seem to be more regular above the level of the door). A gault brick gutter was removed from the north side of the church and a small trench dug against damp. It was shallow and an area of large pebble was observed. This may have been an earlier gutter. <6> <7> <8> Excavation, 1979 In 1979 the original brick floor below the gallery at the west end was removed, revealing an earlier brick floor below. The brick rebuild in 1141 of the wall between the tower and the nave was observed, continuing down to a foundation of flints. Two thin floor levels were cut by and underlay the lower brick floor. They lay on hard-packed brickearth-the foundations had been cut through this. The brickearth seemed to be a deliberately rammed base rather than the natural subsoil. Wood, at the base of 1741 blocking and at right angles to it. may be a support for a step from the nave to the tower (co.9n higher than the nave floor). The jambs of an earlier doorway were seen on the inside of the tower (presumably it once led into the nave) Its jambs and a few voussoirs were of grey limestone unlike the tower's Norman west door which was made of yellowish limestone. The towers pilaster buttresses were seen to have indurated integral to courses within the tower itself. It seems that the pilaster buttresses are early though source <11> does not consider them to be Anglo-Saxon and does not consider the tower to be certainly Anglo-Saxon. Source <12> gives a date of 970 for the tower's lower storey but gives no supporting evidence. The tower and buttresses must be pre-1100 on stratigraphic grounds and may manifest Saxo-Norman overlap. Two stone blocks were found to have been cut through the lower brick floor. They lay below the columns of the gallery of 1720 (date from <12> and <14>) and are almost certainly the stylobates of that gallery, concealed when the upper brick floor was laid late in the reign of George III (date from <12> and <14>). Wood, at the base of the 1741 blocking and at right angles to it may be a support for a step from. nave to tower (around O.9m higher than nave floor). The jambs of an earlier doorway were seen on the inside of the tower (presumably it once led into the nave). The lambs, and a few voussoirs were of grey limestone unlike the yellow limestone of the tower's west door <9> <10> <11> <12> <13> <14> <15> <16> According to this source the chancel screen has a 14th century base with a 'modern' top, the font is 14th century, the piscina and sedilia are Victorian copies, the 'founder's arch' (the tomb recess) was over-restored by the Victorians, only 4 fingers of the original stained glass remain (the source apparently describes how 4-5 quarters were removed c1880) and the nave benches are probably 15th century in date. This source points to the wall over the tower arch as suggesting that the tower was added to an earlier church. As the all thicknesses of church and tower are almost the same, this is seen as suggesting that the church was rebuilt. The pilasters and thin walls of the tower are seen as indicating a Saxon date. 4 scratch dials were noted on the outside of the church as was a blocked (with brick) lancet window in the south wall of the chancel. This source has a list of various measurements of the church <17> According to <17> the chancel screen has a 'modern' top with 1895 written in pencil on it, the piscina and cedilla are Victorian copies and the tomb recess also. The nave flooring is of 19th century clay tiles, thought to have been locally made, the choir stalls are Victorian. This source has a list of various measurements of the church. <17> A former doorway from the tower to the church fell inwards in the 18th century and was rebuilt. Medieval glazed tiles are set flush with the font pedestal (presumably reset). A long oblong stone at the chancel step 'Is thought to be the pre Reformation alter 'During Alterations in the late 19th century, when the chancel was being re-floored, a marble slab under the tomb recess was raised and a lead of stone coffin seen below it. The head of the brass of 1414 was probably taken from the 14th century indent on the north side of the chancel <14> The floor of the church was raised towards the end of George Ill's reign and paved with locally-made tiles. The gallery at the west end of the church was added in 1720. The pulpit was given to the church in the 19th century and the lectern in the 20th century. The doorway from the tower to the church fell inwards and was rebuilt in brick in 1741. The chancel roof was renewed in 1866, retaining the original construction. It is said that a vestry was built on the north side of the church some time after 1823, with a doorway through the 14th century tomb recess. The vestry was removed in the late 19th century and the opening walled up. The communion chalice and paten are of 1566. The churchyard wall was built in 1715 (from the Vestry Minutes) <14> <18> Watching briefs took place during 1991 on a small exploratory hole and a service trench. In the former was a large greensand Ashlar block surrounded by a gravelly deposit. In the service trench which ran along the west face of the tower out to the boundary wall, and then northwards along the back of the boundary wall, it was seen that the tower has offset foundations. <19> Source <21> is a list of extracts from a potted history of the church, in the church porch (probably) a rector of Great Leighs form 1894-1922. The lower storey of the tower is dated to 970 again but no supporting evidence is given. The nave is dated to 1070 and the west doorway in the round tower is dated to 1100 when the upper storey of the tower was built or rebuilt. This source dates the chancel to 1320, the nave windows to to1420, the south doorway being rebuilt then the north doorway built. <20> <21> The round tower of the church may be Saxon in date. The Norman west doorway in the tower may be an insert as one of the tower's pilaster buttresses rests on the arch. Differences in construction in the pilaster buttresses themselves indicate that the lower stage is earlier in date than the rest. Source does not consider the tower nor its pilaster buttresses to be certainly of Anglo-Saxon date. Sources <22> <23> <24> <17> <14> give a date of 970 for the tower's lower storey but give no evidence to support this. <9> suggests that the church may belong to the 'Saxo-Norman' overlap. <17> has a list of various measurements of the church, including wall thicknesses <25> <26> <27> <28> Roman tiles in lower part of tower <29> Additional reference <30> <31> Photographs <32> - <35> St. Mary's Church (NAT) <36>