Church Of St. Mary

Church of St. Mary

Parish church dating from around 1200, with significant additions and alterations in the 13th, 14th, 19th centuries, and restorations documented in 1798, 1854 and 1859. The building is constructed of coursed limestone rubble and ashlar with lead and slate roofs.

The church comprises a west tower, nave with clerestory, aisles, chancel, south porch, vault and boiler house.

The 13th-century west tower is in two stages with corner buttresses, a string course, embattled parapet with pinnacles and gargoyles. The belfry stage contains paired pointed lights in chamfered surrounds, while the lower stage has single lancets. A 19th-century two-light west window was inserted; the north aisle retains a 13th-century trefoil light.

The 14th-century north aisle has stepped buttresses and a plain parapet. It features a contemporary moulded door, a pair of two-light windows and a three-light window, all with cusped ogee heads and moulded surrounds. The clerestory contains four circular lights with cusped mouchettes.

The 14th-century chancel was restored in 1859. It has a blocked ogee-headed doorway and a pair of single chamfered two-light windows with cusped ogee heads and triskeles. A fine four-light east window displays cusped curvilinear tracery. A single southern two-light window matches those to the north.

The south aisle contains a small rectangular fixed light and a four-light 14th-century window with quatrefoils. The west wall has a further four-light window with reticulated tracery. A vault and boiler room date to 1789.

The 19th-century south porch is built of ashlar with a gabled roof. It features a pointed continuously chamfered outer arch, side benches and a 14th-century wave-moulded inner doorway.

Interior features include a circa 1200 north nave arcade of three bays with circular piers and responds, annular capitals and double chamfered rounded arches. The 14th-century south arcade has octagonal piers and responds with double chamfered arches. A 14th-century double chamfered tower arch dies into the reveals.

In the south aisle is a 14th-century piscina with chamfered square surround and a plain squint in the east wall. A further squint appears in the north aisle, and the north wall displays a 14th-century statue bracket.

The early 13th-century chancel arch features circular reveals, moulded annular capitals and a double chamfered arch. The south wall of the chancel contains a reset circa 1200 double chamfered arch with circular reveals and capitals decorated with hobnail work. A 14th-century triple sedilia with ogee heads and human head stops adjoins a matching double piscina.

On the eastern pier of the north nave arcade are rare armorial paintings of circa 1300 in red paint depicting coats of arms of church benefactors. All fittings are 19th century, including an early 14th-century style font.

The church contains several monuments of note. At the west end of the nave is a 13th-century recumbent effigy of a cross-legged knight wearing chain mail and surcoat. On the north wall of the chancel is a handsome white marble wall tablet in Grecian style commemorating Brownlow Bertie, 5th Duke of Ancaster, died 1809, by Westmacott. It depicts the deceased and his wife on a catafalque with a mourning female figure flanked by mother, children and an angel, above a scrolled cornice with ducal coronet and palm, and beneath a rectangular inscription panel flanked by scrolled brackets. An elaborate Gothic aedicule of limestone commemorates Priscilla Bertie, Baroness Willoughby d'Eresby, who died in 1828 but whose monument was erected in 1883 following the death of her daughter, created by Forsyth. It features a recessed inscription surmounted by an achievement of arms of the Berties.

The 1798 vault contains five fine coffins of members of the Ancaster and Willoughby de Eresby families. There is no access into the vault from within or outside the church. This information derives from a report by P. B. Grimes and Rev. N. O'Connor following their inspection of the vault, which they entered through the roof.