Church of St Clement

Church of St Clement

Parish church of early 14th century date with mid-15th century additions and restoration in 1858–60. Built in sandstone ashlar with sandstone dressings. The building has shallow pitched lead roofs with embattled parapets featuring ridgeback copings, mostly from the 19th century. Moulded plinth, sill string courses and coved eaves band throughout. The plan comprises a western tower with broached stone spire, a clerestoried nave with north and south aisles, a lower chancel with single bays to north and south, and a south porch.

The three-stage west tower has stepped angle buttresses rising to the third stage with gableted tops, those to the south-west corner placed against an external staircase turret with castellated top. The south elevation of the tower features a small pointed chamfered doorcase under a hoodmould with carved head label stops. Above a chamfered string course in the second stage is a cusped ogee-headed lancet with hoodmould. Above this is a two-light louvred bell opening with reticulated tracery, hoodmould and chamfered sill string course. The west elevation has two 19th-century trefoil-headed lancets to the base and similar openings to those on the south face above. The north elevation is blank to ground floor and has openings similar to those on the west side above. The spire has a moulded cornice to its base with corner gargoyles and four gableted lucarnes to four sides on two levels, those below being two-light and those above single light.

The north aisle has low clasping corner buttresses and four 15th-century flat-headed windows with cusped ogee-headed lights and pierced spandrels, each set in a deeply chamfered surround with hoodmould over. Three of the western windows are two-light while that to the east is three-light. Between the windows are stepped buttresses, and in the second bay from the west is a blocked pointed chamfered doorcase. Above are plain, slightly projecting parapets. The clerestory features eight segment-headed two-light traceried windows arranged in pairs, with triangular pilasters between rising over the embattled parapets in crocketed pinnacles. The east end of the north aisle has a similar three-light window to that on the north side except the head is slightly cambered.

The chancel to the east has a similar two-light window to those of the north aisle. The east elevation of the chancel has a central three-light window similar to one on the north aisle, flanked by diagonal buttresses and with a string course below. Above, the parapets have corner pinnacles and the nave gable has a two-light flat-headed window with cusped ogee-headed lights. The south side of the chancel has a similar window to the north side to the east, and a small pointed doorcase with continuous hoodmould to the west.

The south aisle has a three-light window with cambered head, deeply chamfered surround with moulded edge, hoodmould with corbelled-like label stops, moulded mullions and cusped ogee-headed lights with pierced spandrels, also with a string course at sill level. The south side of the aisle has three similar two-light windows, one beyond the south porch. Between the windows and to either end are stepped buttresses rising into crocketed pinnacles. The east end of the aisle has two gargoyles.

The south porch dates from the 15th century and has a pointed doorcase with moulded jambs flanked by diagonal buttresses. Above is an ogee-headed canopy and corbel for a statuette and an original stone crucifix. The sides of the porch each have two-light flat-headed windows with lobed heads to the lights. The inner door is early 14th century and has elaborate moulding with attached shafts and hoodmould over.

Interior

The interior has three-bay north and south arcades, both with pointed double-chamfered arches and moulded capitals. The southern arcade features columns while the northern one has octagonal piers. A triple-chamfered tower arch with moulded capitals to soffit mould and a double-chamfered pointed chancel arch with soffit moulding on corbels both have 20th-century oak screens across them, that to the tower arch installed in 1950 and that to the chancel arch, in Decorated style, installed in 1920. At the west end of the chancel on either side are similar arches to the chancel arch, that to the north opening through to the organ bay and that to the south with a wooden screen through to the vestry. On the north side of the chancel to the east is a small pointed 19th-century doorcase with a similar 15th-century door opposite. Beyond that to the east is a triple 15th-century sedilla with cusped ogee-headed niches and shields to either side above.

The nave has a blocked pointed northern doorcase with carved 13th-century head over and also a Caernarvon-arched doorcase at clerestory level from the tower. North and south aisles both have piscinas in their easternmost bays. The south aisle also has a continuous moulded sill band and moulded doorcase. All roofs are 19th century in 16th-century style.

A carved oak reredos was installed in 1928 and choir stalls in similar style in 1935. Pulpit and nave pews date to around 1860. The font is 15th century with an octagonal bowl decorated with fleurons, the stem probably restored in the 19th century.

Several wall memorials exist, mostly in black slate and white marble. There is a slightly grander memorial to William Brooks and his wife with a weeping classical figure over, dating to around 1834 in the chancel. The vestry has one good memorial to the Hudson family of around 1870 and three other late 18th- and early 19th-century ones. The north aisle has three more black and white memorials as well as an elaborate Gothick memorial by S Robinson of Derby to the Hunter family of around 1870 and a fine classical alabaster and slate one of around 1767 to the Fletcher family. The west end of the aisle also has a lead plaque inscribed "John Woolly Church Warden July 4 1771".

Various stained glass windows are present: that to the chancel east window dates to 1863, that to the east of the north aisle to around 1860 and that to the east of the south aisle to around 1890. Two central windows of the north aisle have stained glass by R A Bell of 1933 and one of the south aisle windows contains fragments of 14th-century glass.