Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary, Pinchbeck

A parish church of major importance, comprising work from the 12th to 15th centuries, with significant Victorian restoration. The building is constructed of ashlar with lead and Westmorland slate roofs.

The church consists of a western tower, clerestoried nave with aisles, chancel, south porch, and north chapel. The tall three-stage 14th-century tower features stepped corner buttresses, a quatrefoil plinth, and an embattled parapet with crocketed corner pinnacles. The belfry stage contains tall three-light transomed louvred Perpendicular lights. On the south side, a tall three-light 15th-century window occupies the first stage, with a smaller two-light window above. On the west side, the buttresses contain niches with crocketed nodding ogee canopies. The west doorway is 14th-century with angle shafts and three orders of filleted roll moulding, terminating in an elaborately cusped trefoil head. The canopy displays ogee patterning with crockets, leaves, and human head label stops. Above this is a four-light Perpendicular window, with a two-light window matching the south side. The north side mirrors the south.

The north aisle is embattled and contains five large three-light Perpendicular windows (four on the south side and one to the west), with ogee heads to the lights and stepped buttresses separating them. A 15th-century four-centred arched doorway features trefoil-headed panels to the reveals; the contemporary door exhibits cusped Y tracery with crocketed finials and an ogee-headed wicket. The clerestory is embattled with shields in quatrefoil panels and contains five pairs of three-light Perpendicular windows.

The north chapel contains a blocked large four-light window in a four-centred arched surround, now fitted with 19th-century tracery. Beyond this is a three-light 14th-century window, with a 19th-century pointed doorway and blocked window above. The east end displays a broad five-light late 14th-century window in the north chapel with pointed head, while the chancel has a 19th-century five-light window with Geometric tracery. On the south side, a two-light 14th-century window with flowing tracery is accompanied by an early 14th-century doorway with double-chamfered surround and a two-light 19th-century window.

Within the east end of the nave is a 13th-century mandorla with chamfered surround, which reveals an earlier nave with a steeper roof pitch. The south aisle is battlemented and contains three-light panel-tracery windows with moulded surrounds, mullions, and cusped ogee heads to the lights—one at each end and four to the south side.

The gabled 14th-century south porch has a triangular-headed moulded outer arch and 19th-century wrought-iron double gates, with side benches. The porch was originally vaulted with a fan vault; the springers remain. The 14th-century inner doorway features a cusped ogee head with three orders of moulding and fleurons; the canopy displays crockets, fleurons, and floriated knops.

Interior

The interior contains tall five-bay 13th-century nave arcades with alternating round and octagonal piers, some incorporating reused 12th-century work. The capitals and hobnail decoration are consistent throughout, though the easternmost piers are more elaborate, featuring angle shafts. The arches are rolled and filleted with quirks and dogtoothed hoods.

The 15th-century nave roof features arched tie beams with fleurons and brattishing, pierced cusped spandrels, and queen posts supporting the moulded principals. Contemporary arms bearing angel supporters appear on the half bays. The 15th-century north aisle roof is similar in character.

The tower arch is tall with continuously wave moulding and octagonal capitals. The tower retains the springing for a vanished vault, with a 13th-century double-chamfered arch with octagonal responds and imposts. At the east end of the nave is an ogee-headed doorway providing access to the rood loft. The east end of the north aisle features a broad continuously moulded arch leading to the north chapel.

Within the chancel, a three-bay arcade to the north chapel has quatrefoil piers and double-chamfered pointed arches. The south wall of the chancel contains a 19th-century sedilia with tall pointed arches.

Stained glass survives in the upper panels of the east window of the north chapel and in the north aisle, some dating to the 15th century with grisaille and colour. The east window contains stained glass dated 1855 by O'Connor; the west window dates from 1861 by the same artist.

Fittings and Monuments

The north aisle contains a much-restored and repainted 15th-century screen. A 14th-century octagonal font features quatrefoil panels containing shields and crosses to the sides of the bowl, with a buttressed stem decorated with quatrefoils and fleurons. An early 19th-century hood also survives.

In the south aisle stands a tomb in the form of an altar, with a Purbeck marble ledger slab and panelled sides with crocketed ogee pinnacles and armorial shields.

The north chapel contains a wall plaque to Williame Wilde dated 1656, executed in alabaster with scrolled brackets, a swagged base with escutcheon, pilasters, and a slate inscription panel topped by an armorial escutcheon. Also in the north chapel is a handsome chest tomb of 1708 to William Smithson, MD, featuring a raised and fielded inscription panel, gadrooned angle pilasters, and a facetted peaked top.

The chancel was rebuilt by William Butterfield in 1861.