Parish Church Of St Denys

Parish Church of St Denys

This parish church dates from the 12th to 16th centuries, with the chancel rebuilt in 1878 and restored in 1907–8. It is constructed of coursed limestone rubble and ashlar with leaded and slate roofs. The building comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a west tower and spire, and a south porch.

The west tower is a tall two-stage structure with a chamfered plinth, stepped and gabled buttresses, a carved flowing openwork parapet, angle pinnacles, and a fleuron frieze. The set-back spire features two tiers of gabled lucarnes alternating in direction. The belfry stage contains two light cusped traceried bell openings with moulded and shafted pointed surrounds and hollow moulded hoods. The west window consists of two lights with cusped flowing tracery to the head.

The south aisle's west end displays a two light 14th-century window with reticulated tracery and a chamfered pointed surround. In the west wall of the north aisle is an early 14th-century Y-traceried two light window, also with a chamfered surround. The north aisle wall contains two late 14th-century three light windows with cusped flowing tracery and deeply chamfered pointed surrounds. Between these is a wide 16th-century window of five stepped lights with four centred arched heads and a triangular hollow chamfered surround. Beneath this window are visible the cushion capitals of a blocked early 12th-century doorway.

The 1878 chancel has a chamfered plinth and stepped buttresses. Its side walls contain pairs of tall Perpendicular style three light windows with moulded surrounds, and the north side has a smaller matching additional window. The east window comprises five lights with panel tracery to the head.

The early 14th-century south aisle includes a two light reticulated traceried window to the east and two matching three light windows on the south, all with pointed chamfered surrounds. The gabled 14th-century south porch features a filleted engaged triple shafted outer arch, side benches, and an octagonal base for a pillar piscina. The early 14th-century inner doorway has a moulded and pointed head with two orders of ballflowers and human head stops. The door itself bears raised muntins and is dated 1690.

Internally, the tall three-bay 14th-century nave arcades have filleted quatrefoil piers, annular capitals, and double chamfered arches. The 14th-century tower arch is similarly detailed with triple responds and a triple chamfered arched head. The chancel arch features shafted and filleted reveals, annular imposts, and a double chamfered arched head. To the north is an ogee-headed doorway to the rood loft, whose upper doorway has a segmental head. South of the chancel arch is a cusped ogee-headed statue niche. Red paint traces are visible on the eastern parts of the nave walls.

The south aisle contains a cusped ogee-headed piscina and a double aumbry with beaten copper Art Nouveau plaques of vines to the oak doors. The north aisle displays extensive traces of wall paintings in red, black, blue, and yellow depicting mounted knights wearing surcoats and closed helms.

In the chancel is a reset 14th-century triple sedilia with cusped ogee arches, moulded shafts, a quatrefoil base panel, and fleuroned false vaults to the compartments. Above is a brattished cornice. The lower panels bear blank cusped tracery and some red and blue paint. An early 17th-century octagonal pulpit has blank round-headed panels to the sides with guilloche decoration and swags to the base. A fine set of 14th-century poppyhead benchends feature blank cusped traceried panels containing trefoils and quatrefoils. An early 12th-century round tub font has two-strand cabled interlacing blank arcading and cushion capitals, with a 20th-century carved wooden lid. The south aisle contains a limestone wall plaque to Joseph Clifton, died 1806, with an oval inscription panel and rectangular surround having a gadrooned base, fluted frieze, and segmental pediment with flanking paterae.