Church Of St Botolph

Church of St. Botolph, Farnborough

A church with 12th-century origins, substantially rebuilt and enlarged in the 14th century, with later additions and restorations. The building comprises a nave of four bays, a two-bay chancel, a north aisle, a west tower of three stages, and a south porch. It is constructed of squared coursed ironstone with stone slate roofs. The roof parapets are 19th-century moulded coped gables with decorated cross finials.

The architectural style is predominantly Decorated, featuring reticulated tracery and hood moulds with carved stops. Diagonal and offset buttresses to the chancel, tower, aisle and porch date from around 1875. The chancel contains a much-restored 14th-century three-light east window and 19th-century two-light north-east and south-east windows. The south side has a blocked chamfered ogee doorway. Straight-headed 14th-century two-light windows occupy the north-west and south-west sides, with a small blocked low side window beneath the south-west window. A 1638 wall monument on the south wall features a depressed round arch with simple Ionic pilasters, decorated tympanum and moulded panel, bearing inscriptions to the Brocke family.

The porch has an arch of two moulded orders and small straight-headed cusped two-light windows. Its door is straight-headed with 19th-century Romanesque-style ironwork. A 12th-century Romanesque doorway displays unusual moulding of alternating large and small edge-rolls, a 19th-century zigzag arch, and a 12th-century fish-scale tympanum. Wrought-iron Gothic gates date from around 1875.

The nave's south wall is partly rebuilt and incorporates re-sited 12th-century corbels. A restored 13th-century eastern lancet is present, alongside a 14th- or 15th-century straight-headed three-light window. The four-bay 14th-century aisle features buttresses with two offsets, a sill course, and a cornice with foliage bosses and masks. Its east window has cusped intersecting tracery; north and west windows are two-light and three-light respectively, with hood moulds bearing alternating foliage and head stops.

The tower of three stages has buttresses with two offsets and splayed string coursing. A renewed Tudor arch forms the west door, with a two-light window above. The second stage contains a datestone and a single small chamfered light above, with similar two-light windows on north and south sides. The third stage has large moulded two-light traceried openings, a moulded cornice and parapet, and gargoyles. A recessed broach spire features lucarnes, finial and weathercock, with a stair turret in the north-west angle having a door with chamfered shouldered head.

Internally, the chancel has a re-cut piscina below the south-east window and an aumbry in the east wall. Windows have rere arches. A 19th-century panelled wood barrel vault covers the chancel, which features a transitional-style chancel arch incorporating re-used 12th-century lozenge chain moulding. The nave retains an arched braced king-post roof with moulded wall pieces, braces, tie-beams and stone corbels. A moulded tower arch with outer segmental pointed arch springs from imposts. The 14th-century arcade has octagonal pillars with moulded bases, capitals and two moulded orders. A re-used 16th-century Perpendicular nave roof features simply moulded timbers.

Fittings include a font with 19th-century octagonal bowl and stem, a 14th-century base-mould and stop, and carved oak fittings from around 1875—pulpit, altar rails, chancel stalls, pews and tower screen. Stained glass includes an east window of 1856 by Wailes and south-east window of 1850, alongside other 19th-century glass.

Monuments comprise the head of an early 13th-century effigy. Wall monuments in the chancel south include William Holbech (1717) and Georgius Lamprey, Vicar (1724). The nave south contains monuments to Jeremiah and Elizabeth Hall (1711, with cartouche featuring an open book), Joane Hall (1650), Dorothy Ralegh (1692), and Mary Wagstaffe (1667). A brass set in the nave has moulded and decorated inner and outer frames with moulded cornice and leaf bands, accompanied by a long inscription.

The church was restored in 1858 and underwent major restoration by G. G. Scott in 1875, including reconstruction of the north aisle, bell chamber and roof, nave roof, and spire. Both restorations were commissioned by Reverend C. W. Holbech. The 1875 work cost £4,700.