Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary

The Church of St Mary at Little Birch is a parish church entirely rebuilt in 1869 by architect W Chick. It is constructed of squared rock-faced sandstone and sandstone ashlar with limestone dressings, with tiled roofs featuring cresting and a large bell housed in a western bell cot. The church exemplifies High Victorian Gothic in Geometrical style.

The building comprises a four-bay nave with a north aisle, north porch and south organ chamber, a one-bay chancel with a polygonal apse. The west elevation features a large four-light traceried window with a two-centred head; each light has a trefoiled head, with tracery containing an octofoil and a pair of quatrefoils. A moulded label with foliated stops frames the window. Kneelers to the gable verge run into the base of the gabled bell cot, which has weathered sides and a two-centred arch with continuous roll mouldings and a moulded label with stops. The inner arch is trefoiled and the gable carries a cross. To the right of the west window stands a weathered angle buttress; to its left is a weathered pier buttress dividing the nave from the south aisle's two-light quatrefoil-traceried window, each light of which has a trefoiled head.

The west side of the porch is pierced by a pair of roll-moulded traceried lancets, each with a subsidiary trefoiled light and a trefoil in the tracery above. The north elevation of the porch has a two-centred arch of three orders; the inner two feature part-octagonal shafts with imposts that run into the outer order and into weathered diagonal buttresses. The tops of the inner orders have small trefoiled heads. Broach stops occur at the bases of the jambs, and a small trefoil-headed niche sits above the arch. The gable carries a cross. The roof exhibits swept braces to collars above which are curved V-struts, with brattished wall-plates. The north doorway has a deeply moulded two-centred arch of two continuous orders; the outer order is roll-moulded with a fillet. A label and foliated stops complete the composition. The door itself is ledged oak with elaborate strap hinges.

The north aisle has three pairs of trefoiled lancets, each light separated from its twin by an attached column. Two weathered buttresses separate each pair of lancets, with a diagonal buttress to the left-hand side. A moulded cornice and enriched rainwater head run along the aisle. The north side of the chancel features a trefoil-headed doorway with continuous roll moulding and fillet, a moulded label with foliated stops, and a ledged oak door with scrolled strap hinges leading to the vestry. Above the vestry is a partly obscured window consisting of a round outer arch containing a quatrefoil above two short trefoiled lights. The east side of the vestry has plate tracery with a trefoil above two trefoiled lancets and a label with foliated stops. The apse windows have two trefoiled lights and multi-foils in the tracery, with labels and stops. A diagonal weathered buttress stands at the apse angles, with four griffons serving as waterspouts. A wrought iron roof cross crowns the structure.

The organ chamber has a large south gable with a window of two trefoiled lights and quatrefoil tracery, a label and headstops featuring heads of a king and queen. Above are three roll-moulded lancets under a rock-faced round relieving arch; one lancet appears on each return, both with a recessed trefoiled head. The south elevation of the nave contains three traceried windows, each with two trefoiled lights. The middle window has a quatrefoil in the tracery with a label and head stops; the outer windows each have a trefoil, label and foliated stops. A moulded limestone eaves cornice with acanthus decoration ornaments the rainwater head, and three weathered buttresses support the wall.

The interior has a six-bay nave roof with trusses formed of collars with curved V-struts, supported by curved braces rising from wall posts on facetted corbels. The aisle roof features a similar arrangement of corbels but with a single slope. The chancel roof has radiating ribs on carved corbels, all foliated except for four which feature angels—one on either side of the east window and one each on the north and south walls. The vestry roof has trusses with curved V-struts to the east and west walls, whilst the organ chamber roof is panelled.

The arcade comprises two-centred moulded arches in two orders on circular piers with moulded capitals. The voussoirs alternate in light brown limestone, probably Bath and Ham stone, a theme continued around the windows, apse panels, chancel arch and its shafts. The chancel contains an aumbry in the north wall with a trefoiled head on a pair of marble columns and a foliated corbel beneath; a foliated stop to the left and a hoodmould continue as a string around the apse and south side. In the angled eastern walls beneath the string are a pair of stone inlays, each with two superimposed interlaced trefoils. On the east wall of the apse beneath the window is a cross set in a panel richly carved with foliage and ears of wheat.

A continuous roll-moulded trefoil-headed doorway into the vestry is fitted with a ledged oak door and scrolled strap hinges, label and foliated stops. To the left of the door is a triangular-headed shouldered opening into the vestry, the shoulders supported on foliated capitals that extend throughout the wall thickness. This opening is fitted with ornate wrought iron bars and rails. A candelabrum hangs from the centre of the chancel roof, wrought iron with two crested circular rings, the upper ring holding three candleholders and the lower six.

The stained glass features floral and geometrical patterns without figures; the only inscriptions, "XHC" and "IHS", appear above the vestry in a small tripartite window. The altar is flanked by two mid-19th-century candlesticks with ball-finials. Communion rails are oak with foliated ends to either side of the entry and scrolled wrought iron supports. Small oak choir stalls with two to three seats feature benches and desks with six trefoiled panels to each desk. A two-centred moulded chancel arch with label and head stops bearing the heads of a king and queen sits on clustered two-coloured shafts with fillets and foliated capitals. A richly decorated wrought iron trefoiled chancel screen with gates and overthrow comprises three bays, with enriched finials and seven candleholders rising to the centre; the decoration includes wrought iron leaves. The low gates have two leaves with a central cross-in-circle attached to one.

The vestry contains a shouldered triangular-headed arch to the north aisle, larger than the opening into the chancel, fitted with another wrought iron gate of rich decoration. A late 17th to 18th-century oak communion table with moulded stretchers and rails stands within. An arch into the organ chamber is large with a triangular shouldered head, five deeply carved orders and a label; each jamb has a grey shaft with a waist-band. Beneath the arch is an open pine-panelled screen with trefoiled lancets arranged in a 2:4:2 pattern, divided by turned shafts and featuring a quatrefoiled frieze. The organ has two manuals, exposed polychromatic pipes, brass sconces and a wood-grained case finish.

The pulpit is oak, part-octagonal with a ball-flower frieze and two brass and wrought iron three-branched candlesticks. Trefoiled panels enriched with symbols of the Evangelists are mounted on large clustered shafts beneath a frieze with dog-tooth decoration. Stairs to the pulpit are supported by dwarf shafts. The font has a round 12th-century bowl with rope moulding, restored base and stem. An oak lectern with an enriched shaft and opposed book wedges stands nearby. Eleven wrought iron and brass candlesticks, each approximately six feet high with waistbands, are distributed around the nave and south aisle in the same style as the rest of the ironwork. All have three candleholders, except the two at the front of the nave, which have five.

The Church of St Mary represents a finely detailed and complete example of High Victorian Art with an exceptional ensemble of wrought ironwork.