Church Of St Philip And St James

Church of St Philip and St James

This is a parish church in Ratby, with a complex building history spanning the 13th to 15th centuries, substantially restored in 1881 by Nicholas Joyce of Stafford. The church is constructed in irregularly coursed Mount Sorrel granite with ashlar dressings and Swithland slate roofs. It comprises a western tower, nave, south aisle, chancel, north porch and vestry.

The four-stage western tower dates to the 13th century and features stepped set-backs and angle buttresses. Each stage has chamfered offsets, and the top is finished with an embattled parapet and angle pinnacles. The 15th-century belfry openings face all four directions and consist of two-light louvred designs with cusped heads to the lights and chamfered four-centred arched surrounds. Single lancets pierce the sides of the third stage.

The north nave wall contains three three-light reticulated tracery windows with pointed and wave-moulded surrounds and cusped tracery; one is a 19th-century restoration. The 19th-century gabled north porch has angle buttresses, a continuously moulded outer doorway and a pointed and moulded inner doorway. The 19th-century vestry to the north features two sets of three-light windows with cusped ogee heads to the lights and chamfered rectangular surrounds.

The chancel east window is a handsome reused late 13th-century Geometric tracery design with five pointed lights and cusped roundels to the head, moulded and pointed surround with hollow chamfered hood. In the chancel south wall is a 19th-century pointed priest's door, a two-light 14th-century window with cusped ogee heads and a quatrefoil, and a single 19th-century two-light window with elaborate cusped tracery. The south aisle's east window is 14th-century with five tall lights and flowing tracery featuring quatrefoils, daggers and mouchettes; it has a moulded and pointed surround with damaged human head stops to the hood. The south wall of the south aisle contains three 19th-century three-light windows with cusped reticulated tracery. A fine 14th-century doorway on this wall features a continuously moulded and pointed surround with large fleurons to the head. The west wall of the south aisle has a four-light intersecting tracery window with hollow chamfered surround and moulded head.

The interior features a five-bay 13th-century south nave arcade with large circular piers, moulded annular capitals and double chamfered arches. One capital bears added 14th-century floral decoration, and octagonal responds have similar 19th-century carving. A low, double chamfered and pointed tower arch separates the nave from the tower. The 19th-century chancel arch has shafted responds, moulded imposts and head. The south aisle contains a pointed-headed piscina. In the chancel's north wall is a 19th-century stilted arch to the organ chamber and a pointed and chamfered 14th-century door to the vestry. On the south side of the chancel is a 14th-century triple sedilia with cusped pointed heads to the compartments and a matching piscina.

The stained glass includes medieval fragments and windows in the south aisle south-east window by F.A. Oldaker, plus three chancel windows by Burlison and Grylls. The 19th-century fittings include a circular ashlar pulpit with moulded top and carved side panels. The 14th-century font is octagonal with crocketed nodding ogee panels to the sides and pinnacles, raised on an octagonal shafted base with replaced supports.

A notable monument is an alabaster sideboard tomb to Henry Sacheverall (died 1632) in the north wall of the chancel. The effigy shows the deceased in full-length robe and ruff, with strapwork panels to the base and composite columns supporting a plain frieze with obelisks and a cartouche of arms. Above is early 18th-century decorative plasterwork featuring cherubs, a basket of flowers and swags.