Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary

This parish church dates from around 1300 onwards, with significant building phases in the early 14th century, late 14th century, and 15th century. The chancel was rebuilt in 1848 by Stephen Lavin. The building is constructed of squared limestone rubble and ashlar with lead roofs.

The church comprises a western tower with spire, a clerestoried nave with aisles, a chancel, and a south porch. The tall three-stage late 14th-century ashlar tower features stepped corner buttresses with crocketed gablettes and is topped by a battlemented parapet. A set-back tall spire rises above, with an octagonal battlemented base having paired ogee openings to each face and two tiers of lucarnes. An angled stair turret is positioned on the south-west corner.

The 18th-century west door is panelled within a continuously moulded four-order surround. Above it sits a two-light window with 14th-century cusped curvilinear tracery. The belfry stage contains a single large three-light transomed panel-traceried light with cusped moulding and continuously moulded surrounds. A painted clock face dated 1767 appears on the north face of the tower.

The north aisle has a 15th-century four-light west window with panel tracery in a chamfered surround. The north wall contains five similar four-light windows, beyond which lies a truncated window with a blocked cambered priest's door beneath. A 14th-century north door retains original reticulated traceried decoration and muntins with a continuously moulded pointed surround. Six 14th-century two-light clerestorey windows with reticulated tracery light the north side, above a corbel table with grotesque heads and a battlemented parapet.

The east aisle wall contains a matching window to the west. The 19th-century chancel and vestry hold three and four-light windows respectively in 15th-century style, both with embattled parapets. The vestry features a massive octagonal stack. Two small two-light windows at high level appear in the east nave wall. The east window comprises five lights with panel tracery. The south side of the chancel has a pointed doorway and three four-light windows with elaborate panel tracery and moulded heads.

The south aisle dates to the 14th century and features four-light reticulated windows, with one each to the east and west and six to the south, all in chamfered surrounds. The clerestorey matches that on the north. A gabled 14th-century porch features an octagonal reveal to a double-chamfered outer arch with ballflower capitals. The porch side walls contain five crocketed canopies separated by pinnacles containing geometric figures. The 14th-century south door has reticulated tracery and an ogee wicket set in a wave-moulded pointed arch.

Interior

The six-bay nave arcades date from around 1300 and feature filleted quatrefoil piers with annular capitals and square bases, with pointed triple-chamfered arches bearing human head stops. The 14th-century tower has eastern side arches with sunk wave mouldings to reveals and moulded triple stepped heads. An eight-ribbed vault to the tower contains a bell rope circle. A steeply pointed chancel arch features triple engaged shafts and annular capitals.

The 14th-century nave roof has braced tie beams, queen posts, and passing braces. The 15th-century north aisle roof features moulded principals and rafters. The 14th-century south aisle roof has principals and purlins. Single statue brackets appear in the aisles.

The 19th-century chancel has a door to the vestry in its north wall and a piscina. A hammerbeam roof is supported on carved stone corbels. The east window contains stained glass by Clayton and Bell dating to 1875.

Fittings include a 19th-century carved wooden reredos, altar rails, and choir stalls. A 15th-century oak chancel screen has six paired lights with a central cusped ogee opening and panel tracery with a brattished top beam. A plain 14th-century octagonal font has slightly concave panels. A 19th-century pulpit, Commandment boards, and other furnishings complete the interior.

Monuments

The chancel contains a black marble wall plaque to Sir John Lockton, who died in 1610 and was of Swineshead Abbey, positioned beneath a repositioned alabaster frieze of weepers.