Church Of St Swithin

Church of St Swithin

This is a parish church in Long Bennington, with origins in the early 13th century, substantially rebuilt and extended in the 14th and 15th centuries, and restored in 1902–3 by Scorer and Gamble. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar, coursed rubble, and blue lias with some rendering and slate roofs. It comprises a west tower, a nave with north and south aisles, a two-storey south porch, and a rectangular chancel. A moulded plinth runs around the whole church, much of it restored in the 20th century.

The west tower is in three stages. The lower stage dates from the early 13th century and has a lancet with hood mould on its west front and a narrow rectangular light on the second stage. The south corner is clasped by a broad buttress containing stairs and three small lights. The north buttress is narrower, with three stages and nook shafts, including one with a water leaf capital. Bell openings on all four sides feature paired pointed lights with transom and cusping under ogee hood moulds with large spandrel corbel heads supporting pilasters that run to the top. The tower is crowned with moulded eaves and battlements, projecting gargoyles, and eight ornate pinnacles. The upper stages date from the 15th century.

The early 14th-century north aisle is built of coursed rubble and rendering with ashlar bands and four two-stage ashlar buttresses. Its west windows are of two lights with ogee cusped heads, transoms, and lower round-headed cusped lights beneath pointed hood moulds. A small north door has a moulded pointed head, hood mould, and large head label stops. Two large pointed windows each contain three lights with cusped ogee heads, irregular mouchettes, and transoms with lower round-headed cusped lights. The moulded eaves are surmounted by large gargoyles. An east window set in coursed rubble and blue lias has three lights with reticulated tracery and hood mould. A clerestory of three 15th-century windows, each of three lights under low-pitched triangular heads, sits above.

The chancel's north side contains a single large 15th-century four-light window surmounted by eight smaller cusped lights under a low-pitched triangular head, with two large gargoyles at the eaves. The east end has three-stage corner buttresses. The east window, restored in 1902–3, has five lights under a low-pitched triangular head. The south side of the chancel contains two windows: to the east, three lights surmounted by six cusped lights; to the west, four lights surmounted by eight cusped lights. Both have hood moulds. A small 15th-century doorway with weathered capitals and head label stops is also present. A 20th-century brick chimney has been added.

The early 14th-century east window of the south aisle has three lights with transom dividing reticulated tracery. Two-stage buttresses with ornate gables flank two large pointed windows, each of three lights with reticulated tracery, hood moulds, and label stop heads.

The south porch is constructed of blue lias rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings. Its south front has a splayed doorway with three columnar jambs on each side, plain capitals, and a pointed arch with keeled mouldings. Above it is a small two-light window with trefoil heads, hood mould, and head label stops. The porch interior contains two stone benches and a blocked pointed doorway in the west wall that originally led to the upper floor. A completely restored early 13th-century doorway with polygonal shafts and scallop and dart capitals is present. The door itself is 17th-century wood. The base of the staircase above protrudes in the upper south-west corner. The west window of the south aisle has three lights with reticulated tracery divided by transom and hood mould. A clerestory of three windows, each of three lights under low-pitched triangular heads, sits above, flanked by two large gargoyles at the eaves.

Much of the tracery and mouldings of the exterior have been restored to varying degrees in the 19th century and 1902–3.

Interior

The interior tower arch has plain polygonal pilaster responds and a plain pointed arch. The tower contains an irregular five-part vault with a central oculus and a small doorway in the south-west corner.

The early 13th-century nave arcades consist of three bays with round piers and semi-circular responds with octagonal abaci. The capitals of the north-east respond and the pier to its west are decorated with flat leaves; the rest are plain. The round moulded arches contain keeled rolls and small heads in spandrels. Above the arcades on both sides are corbels revealing the 13th-century roof level.

The early 13th-century pointed chancel arch has semi-circular responds, polygonal abaci, hood mould, and 19th-century head label stops. The chancel's south wall contains a large cusped and finalized recess, with three aumbries to the east. On the north wall are four 15th-century wooden sedilia with carved angels as arm rests and St John and St Mark as bench ends. Single corbels are set north and south of the altar in the east wall.

The 17th-century pulpit, much restored in the 19th century, comprises six slender panels and a doorway with ornate moulded arches, pilasters, and moulded rail.

A 12th-century octagonal stone font stands on short polygonal pillars with polygonal capitals surmounted by 12th-century stiff leaf capitals.

A 17th-century screen, heavily restored in the 19th century, is present. Some murals remain in fragmentary condition, particularly above the chancel arch.

A hatchment of 1737 hangs in the church. A monument on the chancel's south wall commemorates the Brown family (1764–81) and is of inlaid coloured marbles with ornate lettering and decoration. To its west is a moulded stone tablet to the Brown family (1700–19). Late 19th-century pews have been installed.