Church of St Simon and St Jude

Church of St Simon and St Jude

Parish church. The building was rebuilt in 1855-6 by the architects Slater and Carpenter, with the exception of the 15th century west tower which was retained. The church is constructed of random rubble with freestone dressings and has a plain tile roof with stone coped verges.

The plan comprises a west tower, a six-bay nave with aisles, north and south porches, a two-bay chancel, and a north vestry. The three-stage west tower has a moulded plinth, offsets, and a hollow chamfered string beneath a crenellated parapet with continuous moulded coping. Clasping buttresses support the first two stages, with diagonal buttresses above (comparable to the Church of St Mary, Barwell). The west window has Y-tracery with cinquefoil cusping and a four-centred arch. The belfry lights are similar in style, and each face of the second stage has a quatrefoil-shaped loop. A recessed stone spire of octagonal section rises above, with one tier of lucarnes. The lucarnes feature trefoil-headed lights with quatrefoils in the spandrels beneath tall triangular arches with crocketed hood moulds.

The nave and aisles are lit by two-centred two-light windows with decorated tracery and scroll-moulded hoods with block stops. Buttresses are positioned at the bay divisions. The chancel has a five-light east window with a network of intersecting tracery incorporating geometrical motifs.

Interior

The interior features five-bay nave arcades that extend beyond the chancel arch for a further two bays. Pointed arches of two wave-moulded orders spring from clusters of four cylindrical shafts with moulded bases and capitals. The arcade spandrels facing the nave are painted with stars, crosses, and lozenges, with trailing leaves around the arches and a frieze of quatrefoils at roof level.

The 15th century tower arch has an outer wave-moulded surround and an inner chamfered arch springing from semi-octagonal engaged columns with moulded capitals. The two-centred chancel arch comprises two wave-moulded orders on engaged half columns similar to those in the nave, with a hood mould ending in moulded corbels.

At the east end of each aisle is a pointed archway; the right-hand one provides access to a chapel, while beyond the left-hand one is the organ chamber.

The nave is covered by an arch-braced collar roof with braces springing from short posts on stone corbels. The aisles have simpler straight-braced collar roofs. The chancel roof is panelled and painted with flowers, stars, and foliage, a scheme executed by the Vicar F.E. Tower, father of Tower, the partner of Kempe in the stained glass firm.

Fixtures and fittings

The lower part of the tower arch is infilled with a wooden screen, with a bell ringers' gallery above. A tablet in the south aisle records donations to the church by Sir Varney Noel in 1676 and by Henry Noel Esq. in 1694.

The font is a simple stone piece comprising a cylindrical basin on a squat octagonal pedestal, with a 19th century conical cover. A medieval parish chest bound by strap hinges survives. The pews are 19th century pine.

The pulpit dates from 1901 and consists of an octagonal stone base with a wooden superstructure featuring brass angle shafts. The priests stalls are of high quality and date from 1939, with linen fold panels and poppy heads; the choir stalls match this style and are dedicated to those who died in the Second World War. Early to mid-20th century linen fold panelling surrounds the sanctuary walls, with an altar in the same style and date.

The church contains stained glass by Kempe and Co., including windows in the south chapel east of 1919, the south aisle (second and third from the east) of 1928, and the north aisle (second from the east) of 1934.