Church Of St Mary

Church of St. Mary

This church demonstrates a complex building history spanning from the 12th century to the Victorian era. The chancel possibly originates from the 12th century as an independent chapel. A central tower, possibly built in the 13th or 14th century as a west tower, had its upper part rebuilt in 1782. Around 1375, the Friary of St. Augustine took over the church and remodelled it around 1383, when a nave was added. Following the Dissolution, the chancel was converted to serve as the chapel of the grammar school. The nave and aisles were rebuilt in 1849 by architects T.H. Wyatt and D. Brandon. The chancel was restored to its original liturgical use in 1888.

The church comprises a chancel, crossing tower, aisled nave, and south porch. The chancel is constructed of coursed squared red sandstone, with regular coursing to the north. The tower is of sandstone ashlar. The nave and aisles are built of Hartshill granite rubble. Plain-tile roofs feature coped gable parapets, whilst the nave and aisles have gablet kneelers and some fish-scale tiles.

The chancel displays Early Perpendicular style, whilst the nave and aisles are in Gothic Revival style. The chancel comprises three bays and the nave seven bays. The chancel has a moulded plinth, diagonal buttress, and two side buttresses of two offsets each. A large 14th or 15th-century five-light window with segmental arch and hood mould appears possibly to have been imported from elsewhere. A 19th-century quatrefoil opening sits above. The sides have 3-light mullioned windows of stepped trefoiled lancets, much restored, with hood moulds and head stops to the north. An octagonal tower at each end of the nave has a cinqfoil light to north and south. The bell chamber has louvred openings of two cinqfoiled lights with a blind rose window and a trefoil above to each side. The south side displays a clock face; the north-east side has a disused stone clockface. An open parapet of three trefoiled lancets to each side has crocketed pinnacles with blind lancets. The shallow lead roof has a moulded finial and weathervane.

The south aisle has a porch to the second bay, with buttresses flush with the front. A double-leaf door sits in a moulded arch with nook shafts. The nave and aisles have hood moulds and head stops throughout. The six-bay aisle has a splay plinth and moulded sill course. Two-light windows throughout display varied tracery with hood moulds and head stops. A polygonal projection in the angle between aisle and nave contains a small door. The nave has a trefoiled lancet. Angle buttresses of three offsets support the structure. The west door has a moulded arch and nook shafts, with a 5-light window above displaying geometrical tracery. A 19th-century north vestry has a parapet and cross-window to the east. The north porch contains a re-set 12th-century doorway from the demolished church of Baddesley Ensor, featuring a zig-zag outer order and moulded inner order, hood mould, and nook shafts with scalloped capitals.

The interior is plastered with stone dressings. The chancel has a 19th-century boarded wagon roof with moulded braces and purlins. A high narrow double-chamfered arch separates the chancel from the crossing. A recess in the crossing wall south of the arch has a chamfered segmental-pointed arch. 19th-century north and south arches connect to the aisles. The aisles have 14th-century style arches of two chamfered orders throughout, with alternating round and octagonal shafts and responds and moulded capitals. A high narrow chamfered arch between crossing and nave has 19th-century moulded imposts and a stilted hood mould with head stops. Narrow, low, sharply pointed flanking arches have hood moulds with angel stops. The five-bay arcades have continuous hood moulds with alternating head and foliage stops. An arched brace roof with angel corbels and subsidiary trusses with foliage corbels tops the nave. The aisles have an arch dividing off the first bay as a transept. Roofs are similar to the nave.

Fittings include a Perpendicular octagonal font with clustered shafts and trefoil panels bearing the symbols of the Evangelists and the Instruments of the Passion. Late 19th-century pulpit and stalls are present. Stained glass includes chancel east and north-east windows of approximately 1899 by Kempe, with the south-east window by Kempe and Tower.