Church Of St Firmin

Church of St. Firmin

Parish church built between the 11th and 15th centuries, with restoration in 1856. The church is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings, and has lead roofs.

The building comprises a western tower, clerestoried nave, aisles, transepts, north and south chapels and porches, and chancel. The three-stage tower features long and short quoins to the south-west angle, with some herringbone work to the middle stage. It has a plain parapet with fleuron frieze and a recessed 14th-century spire with two tiers of lucarnes. The belfry stage contains paired two-light 14th-century windows with cusped ogee heads. In the west wall is a trefoil-headed lancet with, to the left, a 19th-century two-light window and to the right a similar round-headed light, above which is a circular quatrefoil.

The north aisle is embattled and has a single plain light. Beyond the porch are two 15th-century three-light windows, one with panel tracery and a decorated buttress. The gabled porch has a double-chamfered outer arch with shafted reveals, side benches, and a chamfered inner order. In the north transept wall is a further 15th-century triple light. The north chapel contains two 14th-century two-light windows with cambered heads and cusped tracery, a pointed doorway with continuously moulded pointed surround, and to the east a similar three-light window.

The nave clerestory has four paired 14th-century cusped lights. In the north wall of the chancel is an early 13th-century lancet. The east wall has a large five-light window with panel tracery and wave-moulded surround. In the south wall are two further lancets. The south chapel contains 15th-century lights—a paired one to the east and a triple to the south—together with a single early 13th-century lancet, a plain light, and above a two-light transomed window. In the south transept is a 15th-century three-light window to the gable, with two further similar windows in the south aisle wall and a plain light beyond the porch. The gabled 13th-century south porch has a continuously moulded outer arch with flanking stepped buttresses and above a trefoil-headed niche. The inner door is late 12th-century, with stepped orders and nook shafts.

Interior

The interior features four-bay late 12th-century nave arcades with round piers, scalloped and octagonal capitals, and chamfered and stepped arches. The tower arch is originally 11th-century with chamfered imposts, but late in the 12th century a chamfered and stepped smaller arch was inserted with shafted reveals, that to the south with a collar. Above is an offset and blocked 11th-century triangular-headed doorway.

The roof is 16th-century tie beam with diagonal braces to the wall posts and through purlins. A double-chamfered 13th-century chancel arch has annular responds and capitals. To the north is a pointed doorway to the rood loft.

The transepts have continuous shafted arcades to blank niches in the west walls, pointed and chamfered to the south and trefoiled to the north. In the north transept east wall is a round-headed roll-moulded blank arched recess, and to the south a similar pointed archway with beyond a trefoil-headed piscina. The transepts also contain double-chamfered round arches into eastern chapels. In the chancel side walls are double-chamfered round arches into the flanking chapels.

In the south wall is a late 12th-century dogtoothed sedilia, with beyond a pointed arch and a piscina with moulded trefoil head and paired side shafts. In the north wall is an aumbry. To north and south are squints to the altar from the side chapels. In the north chapel is a chamfered pointed-arched piscina adapted as a squint and in the east wall a second piscina with moulded pointed surround. In the south chapel, evidence of a possible anchorite's cell is provided by a mullioned and transomed window at first-floor level.

The church contains 15th-century stained glass in the south transept south window and 19th-century glass including one example by Baillie.

Fittings and Monuments

Two sets of fine 17th-century altar rails are present: in the chancel with turned vasiform balusters and knopped newels, and in the north chapel also with turned bobbin stems. A 15th-century oak parclose screen to the south chapel has moulded principles and pierced cusped panel tracery to the lights. A 12th-century tub font with octagonal shaft and ribbed sides terminates in anthropomorphic capitals. A medieval ladder survives in the tower.

In the chancel south wall is a small slate wall plaque to James Trollope, died 1709. The inscription panel has a cornice supported on composite capitals with side scrolls, and above is a scrolled escutcheon.