Church Of St Helena

Church of St Helena, Thoroton

A parish church with roots in the 11th century, substantially rebuilt and extended through the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. The building was extensively restored in 1869 by the architect J. H. Hakewill, who rebuilt the chancel, re-roofed the structure and re-seated the interior. It is constructed in coursed and random rubble with dressed stone and ashlar dressings, with lean-to and gabled plain tile roofs coped with coping and surmounted by crosses.

The plan comprises a west tower, nave, north and south aisles, a vestry, a chancel and a south porch. An external stone gable stack rises to the north.

The west tower dates to the 14th century and rises in three stages. It has a chamfered and moulded plinth, two string courses, and a restored corbel table enriched with masks and four gargoyles. A quatrefoil pierced balustrade crowns the third stage, above which stands a setback octagonal spire. The spire is articulated by three tiers of gabled lucarnes with crosses and cusped double lancets, and is topped by a weathercock. The tower is buttressed to the west by two pairs of corner buttresses with three setoffs, while small buttresses accent the north east and south east corners. A two-stage canted stair turret with a slab roof projects from the south east corner, lit by three stair lights. The first stage contains a lancet to the south and, to the west, a large cusped crocketed ogee-headed niche with a finial, flanked by a pair of mutilated angels in moulded panels. Above this niche is a gabled hood mould with finial, and within the niche stands an octagonal tripartite bracket. The second stage features a cusped ogee-headed lancet to the south. The third stage has four double lancets with ogee reticulation, hood moulds and mask stops.

The nave has a clerestory on each side containing three 19th-century quatrefoil windows.

The north aisle spans three bays and has a chamfered plinth, band and eaves. Its west end features a cusped ogee-headed single lancet. The north side displays three 19th-century cusped triple lancets with chamfered and rebated four-centred arched reveals. A single-bay vestry of mid-19th-century date has a chamfered string course and a cusped ogee lancet on its north side. Its east end contains a reset 11th-century splayed lancet with hood mould, above which is a fragment of an 11th-century arch with cable moulding.

The chancel extends two bays and has a chamfered string course with a sill band and flanking buttresses at its east end. An early 14th-century triple lancet with moulded surround occupies the east end. The south side has a stepped sill band, with a single lancet to the west and double 14th-century lancets to the east; all windows feature hood moulds with uncarved stops.

The south aisle dates to the 15th century and spans three bays. It has a moulded string course and parapet with corner buttresses at each end and a rendered plinth at the west end. The south side contains two 15th-century triple lancets with ogee reticulation and hood moulds.

The south porch is of 19th-century date and has a string course, chamfered eaves and flanking buttresses. A roll-moulded doorway with hood mould and uncarved stops provides entry, sheltered by a principal rafter roof with collars. An inner doorway with late 18th-century Gothic panelling lies beyond.

The interior north arcade, restored, comprises three bays with two round piers and responds. The piers have moulded round bases and capitals, while the arches are double chamfered and rebated with remains of scrolled imposts and a hood mould with uncarved stops. This arcade dates to the 13th century. The late 13th-century south arcade also has three bays but features two octagonal piers and responds with moulded octagonal bases and capitals; the east respond displays a nailhead band. Double chamfered and rebated arches with hood moulds carry the structure, beneath a king post roof with curved struts and arch braces.

The 14th-century tower arch is double chamfered and rebated with a hood mould and mask stops. The tower chamber itself is without architectural features. The north aisle has a plain lean-to roof, its west end window containing stained glass dated 1868. The south aisle has a similar roof with stained glass of circa 1909 in its easternmost window.

The 1868 chancel arch is chamfered and rebated with uncarved imposts. The chancel is lit by a window at its east end with a sill band and moulded reveal incorporating shafts. Stained glass inscribed "Lavers, Barraud and Westlake, London, 1869" fills this window. To the north, a pointed opening connects to a vestry and chapel beyond, screened by an oak screen in 15th-century style, erected in 1937. The south side contains a corner piscina in 13th-century style with a moulded pointed opening, round shafts and hood moulds, beside which is a window seat. Two further windows with stained glass dated 1869 and signed "Lavers, Barraud and Westlake" illuminate this wall. The chancel roof is plain arch-braced with principal rafters. The vestry, converted to a chapel, opens to its east wall through a moulded square opening and has a lean-to roof.

Fittings include a plain chamfered round font with a restored 14th-century base. The choir stalls, clergy desks, altar rail and square pulpit, all of oak, date to 1937. Matchboard benches of 1869 line the aisles, supplemented by six early 19th-century benches with ogee ends and fleur-de-lys finials. A 19th-century wooden lectern stands in the church. A small late 17th-century table with splayed turned legs and chip carving is also present.

Monuments include a slate tablet with Latin inscription commemorating Gulielmi Barrett, dated 1760, and a panelled marble war memorial tablet with an arched head containing a wreath, dated 1919.