Church Of The Holy Rood

Church of the Holy Rood

An estate church built in 1782–83 by the architect John Carr, probably for Robert Denison. The building is constructed in ashlar with a hipped and gabled slate roof, combining Classical styling with Gothic decorative details.

The church comprises a west tower, nave and chancel beneath a continuous roof, with a vestry and porch to the south. It is five bays long. A stepped plinth, lintel band and moulded eaves cornice run along the outer walls. Windows from the 18th century have rebated round-headed recesses.

The west tower rises in three stages with a square plan. The first stage features glazing bar sashes with Gothic tracery to the north, south and west faces, divided by a cornice band. The second stage has rebated corners, a cornice, and round openings to each side—those on the east and west are louvred. Above this sits the bell stage, marked by a lintel band and four round-headed louvred openings. A cornice is supported by three Tuscan columns at each corner. The stage above contains a drum with round-headed openings to the east and west, a clock facing south, and a louvred round opening to the north. The tower is crowned with a stone dome, ball finial and weather vane.

The nave and chancel feature a central porch to the south, decorated with Tuscan columns, antae and a dentillated pediment. The doorcase is moulded and round-headed, with a Gothic fanlight and double panelled door. Two windows flank the porch; the eastern one has been reduced and partly covered by the vestry. The east end has a lintel band. The north side displays a concrete buttress at the north-east corner. Further east, a 19th-century ogee-headed door has been inserted into an 18th-century window recess, with a round-headed window above. To the west, four 18th-century windows occupy the wall, two featuring Gothic tracery. The vestry at the south-east corner is a 19th-century addition in ashlar, a single bay with coped gables and a paired round-headed light to the west only.

The interior nave is aisleless, with a panelled oak dado featuring a carved top rail created by Lady Elinor Denison in 1907. A sill band, moulded window heads, moulded cornice and coved ceiling follow the perimeter. The west end is dominated by a round-headed tower arch containing a 19th-century barrel organ, flanked by single round-headed recesses. The south side holds three windows: the easternmost displays glass by Heaton, Butler and Bayne (1916), the middle window shows glass by G. Cooper-Abbs (1939), and the western window contains 19th-century stained glass. The north side's easternmost window features 19th-century stained glass. The tower chamber contains no architectural features of note.

The chancel is separated from the nave by three moulded round arches supported by Tuscan columns and antae, with a 20th-century timber rood. The single-bay chancel has a central moulded round-headed recess to the east, a reeded cornice and coved ceiling. The north window features stained glass dating to around 1871, whilst the south window contains stained glass from around 1899. The vestry is a single bay with a principal rafter roof and collars.

Interior fittings include 19th-century panelled and moulded benches and stalls, a 19th-century font with a round alabaster stem on an octagonal base supporting an octagonal bowl decorated with quatrefoil panels, and a late 18th-century timber pulpit with an octagonal body, base and stem. Carved panels and coping were added to the pulpit by Lady Elinor Denison in the early 20th century. An oak lectern with a clustered stem, octagonal base and flared top stands nearby. An 18th-century litany desk features carved work and traceried panels with Gothic cresting. A 17th-century Mannerist painting is also present, along with a 19th-century cope chest.

The church contains numerous monuments of considerable importance. A chest tomb bears octagonal corner piers with traceried and panelled sides decorated with cusps, quatrefoils and lozenges, topped with a moulded edge carrying re-cut brasses and a text border, commemorating Reynald Peckham and his wife (1551). A Renaissance revival wall monument to William Cartwright (died 1602) and his wife (died 1613) displays three stages: a table base with six male and six female child figures, a central pair of kneeling figures facing each other with a helmet between, and an upper section with three Ionic columns, a foliate frieze and panels bearing arms. Above this stands a structure with three Corinthian columns, a projecting entablature and a pediment with ball finials, with a tympanum containing two reclining figures flanking a skull and hour glass, and an oval cartouche with arms at the apex. An oval marble cartouche with drapery, cherubs, arms and a foliate finial commemorates William Cartwright (1704).

Further wall monuments include one to George Cartwright (1710), featuring a rectangular inscribed panel, shaped apron, pulvinated frieze and a pair of flaming urns below two swagged obelisks with ball finials framing a cherub supporting draped inscription. Another to George Cartwright (1752) comprises a large marble and slate monument with an obelisk-shaped back panel, inscribed slab with scroll brackets, and an upper arrangement of draped urn, arms and swag. John Wilkinson's monument (1780), signed by T. King of Bath, follows a similar Classical vocabulary. A monument to John Wilkinson bears an inscribed slab with scroll brackets and a draped urn above.

The west end displays two striking marble monuments by the sculptor Nollekens, each with moulded plinths, panelled bases and iron guard rails, featuring full-size standing male figures. The left monument commemorates William Denison (1782) and includes a relief panel depicting a quayside scene with a figure holding a text. The right monument is to Robert Denison (1785). An oval marble and slate tablet to Robert Wilkinson (1789), also signed by T. King of Bath, sits nearby. A recessed Egyptian-style monument with claw feet, swag, gable and acroteria commemorates John Denison (1820). A Classical marble and slate tablet with a relief portrait in a panel flanked by square columns, entablature and a wreathed apron dates to 1918 and is signed by A. Drury R.A. Later additions include three 20th-century brasses, two oval slate tablets (1972), a Gothic-style marble war memorial tablet (1919) and a war memorial brass (1946).

The church underwent minor alterations and additions during the 19th century.