Church of St Mary

Church of St Mary

Parish church with origins in the 12th and 13th centuries. The nave, north and south transepts, and chancel arch were rebuilt during the early 14th century, with a north porch added in the late 14th century. The building underwent major restorations in 1871 and 1903–1909. It is constructed of sandstone rubble with some ashlar facing and ashlar dressings, with tiled roofs.

The church comprises a nave with north and south aisles, north and south transepts, and a chancel. The south transept has a projecting stair turret on its east side. A 19th-century north vestry was added to the chancel.

Exterior

The nave features a 14th-century clerestory on both north and south sides, with four circular windows containing cinquefoils. The west end of the nave contains a tall early 14th-century window with a two-centred head and five trefoiled ogee-headed lights with reticulated tracery, label and head stops. The west doorway has a two-centred arch of two moulded orders with label and head stops.

The south aisle has one early 14th-century window with a two-centred head, two trefoiled ogee-headed lights and a quatrefoil with label to its left end. Two similar windows stand to the right of the south doorway, which has a two-centred arch of two moulded orders without a label. The west end window of the south aisle is similar to the tall west window of the nave, featuring three trefoiled ogee-headed lights with reticulated tracery. The north aisle has one similar window at its west end.

The north side of the nave has one window with a two-centred head, two trefoiled ogee-headed lights and a quatrefoil with label and head stops to its right, and two similar windows to the left of the north porch. The north porch dates from the late 14th century and features a moulded plinth and gable with a cinquefoiled ogee-headed niche flanked by pinnacles rising from angle buttresses. The outer doorway has a two-centred arch of two hollow-chamfered orders with a label and stops. Above this is a decorative stone tierceron star vault springing from corbels with cusped and foiled panels and a decorative central boss. The inner two-centred arched doorway has two moulded orders and retains a 14th-century nail-studded battened door with ornamental wrought-iron hinges and a 17th-century lock. The 17th-century panelled double gate has a curved top rail inscribed with "Benbough and Jo Badham, Wardens Ano Dmi 1678".

The north transept has one tall north window with a two-centred head and three trefoiled ogee-headed lights with reticulated tracery and label. The east and west windows have two trefoiled ogee-headed lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head with labels. The south transept windows are similar.

The chancel's north side has a late 14th-century window with a two-centred head, one cinquefoiled and two trefoil-headed lights, to the right of the late 19th-century vestry. The south side has a three-light window similar to that on the north side, to the left of a mid-13th-century window of two trefoil-headed lights and a pierced quatrefoil. The early 14th-century east window has four trefoiled lights with reticulated tracery.

Interior

The nave and transepts have trussed-rafter roofs with moulded wall plates. One tie beam toward the east features cusped braces below. Moulded wall plates support the pent roofs of the aisles. The north and south arcades have six bays with two-centred arches of two moulded orders. The piers are octagonal with moulded capitals and bases. A square-headed upper doorway in the south-east angle of the nave, formerly leading to the rood loft, is supported on corbelling below the sill with cinquefoiled decoration. In the east wall of the south transept is an ogee-headed doorway with chamfered jambs giving access to the rood stair.

The early chancel arch has a two-centred head with two moulded orders, the outer continuous and the inner springing from triple-shafted corbels. The chancel retains traces of the earlier building in its south wall, including a blocked 13th-century arch with a semi-circular shaft to respond and a stiff-leaf capital.

Fittings and Monuments

The church retains a 13th-century font with a square stem with attached semicircular responds and a bowl of similar shape. A 17th-century octagonal pulpit has robust carvings to its panelled sides in two layers, featuring blank arcading and dragons. A 17th-century communion rail has splat balusters and a moulded rail. The lectern is partially reconstructed but contains a 17th-century panel in a robust style similar to the pulpit.

The chancel contains a pair of 14th-century chest tombs, each with a pair of effigies depicting a civilian and a lady in one, and a knight and a lady in the other. The Anne Sherbourne memorial (1668) is a wall tablet with an inscription panel flanked by draped female figures supporting an entablature with a broken pediment, a cartouche of arms and cherubs. The Thomas Trafford memorial (1685) is a wall tablet with an inscription panel flanked by twisted Corinthian columns, an entablature and a broken pediment, with a cartouche of arms and putti. The south wall bears the Alice Sherbourne memorial (1660), a wall tablet with an inscription panel flanked by draped female figures, an entablature with a segmental pediment, putti and cartouches of arms. The William Sherbourne memorial (1671) is a wall tablet with an inscription panel flanked by twisted composite columns, an entablature and a broken pediment, with a cartouche of arms.

The south transept contains traces of wall paintings depicting circles on a red ground. Traces of the Lord's Prayer appear on the south wall of the south aisle, probably dating to the 18th century.