Church Of St Mary

Church of Saint Mary

A church of 12th-century origin with significant 14th-century additions, located on the north side of North Street in Roxby cum Risby. The building comprises a west tower, three-bay aisled nave with south porch, and two-bay chancel with adjoining organ chamber and vestry on the north side.

The tower was repaired and its top stage rebuilt between 1704 and 1707. Substantial restorations took place in 1875 under the direction of James Fowler of Louth, which involved rebuilding the north arcade, north aisle and tower arch, constructing a new porch and organ chamber, and installing new floors, roofs and font.

The building is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with limestone ashlar dressings, beneath a slate roof.

The two-stage west tower has a chamfered plinth and quoins. The tall first stage contains a square-headed two-light trefoiled west window with stone above inscribed "ROBERT RAMSEY, CHURCH WARDEN 1704". The south side features a keyhole window beneath a plain string course. The top stage has square-headed twin round-arched belfry openings with ovolo mullions in chamfered reveals, beneath a low embattled ashlar parapet dated 1707 on the south-west corner.

The north aisle and organ chamber have a chamfered plinth and gabled buttresses with finials. The south aisle and chancel have moulded plinths and buttresses with trefoiled gables; those to the chancel feature pinnacled gablets at the set-offs.

Both aisles contain square-headed windows of two trefoiled lights (one in the south aisle with sub-cusping; two in the north aisle are 19th-century replacements) and pointed three-light east windows with Curvilinear tracery, hoodmoulds and headstops. The north aisle east window now opens into the organ chamber.

The chancel has two-light north and south windows similar to those in the aisles, and a pointed three-light east window with Curvilinear tracery. On the south side is a pointed chamfered priest's doorway with an ogee-headed hoodmould bearing a foliate finial and a plank door with ornate iron strap-hinges.

The south porch has a chamfered plinth, angle buttresses, a pointed moulded outer door and circular trefoiled side windows. The inner door is moulded and pointed, set beneath an ogee hoodmould with carved finial and headstops.

Internally, a tall pointed tower arch springs from shafted responds. The arcades feature double-chamfered pointed arches supported on octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases; those on the north side are 19th-century replacements. The capitals on the south arcade have plain corbels projecting southward.

The south aisle contains a trefoiled piscina and a 14th-century tall double-chamfered pointed-trefoiled tomb recess holding a mutilated priest's effigy. Above this is an empty niche with a moulded corbelled base and a cusped and pinnacled ogee-arched head beneath a pyramidal crocketed and pinnacled canopy flanked by buttress shafts.

A pointed moulded chancel arch of two orders springs from narrow octagonal responds with plain moulded capitals and bases.

The chancel contains a triangular-headed aumbry on the north side. The south side has a trefoiled piscina and an ornate 13th to 14th-century double sedilia with octagonal shafts bearing moulded capitals and bases, supporting sub-cusped, crocketed and finialed ogee arches flanked by octagonal shafts with finials. Nineteenth-century pointed arches lead to the organ chamber.

The chancel floor features polychrome encaustic tiles. Two late 18th to early 19th-century marble wall tablets are mounted in the tower.