Church Of St Mary The Virgin

Overview and History

The Church of St Mary the Virgin dates primarily from the late 11th century, with significant 14th and early 15th-century alterations, and was restored in 1858 by William White. Although modest in scale, it preserves an exceptional range of medieval fittings and features.

The parish is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 alongside Great Baddow, though the church itself is not recorded—a common omission for Essex churches at that time. The building was probably constructed shortly after the Norman Conquest. A Roman hypocaust discovered in the churchyard indicates earlier occupation of the site.

Around 1330, the south wall of the nave was demolished and rebuilt further south, creating an asymmetrically widened space as though an aisle had been planned but never completed inside. This remodelling included the insertion of two elaborate tomb recesses, new windows with fine tracery and carved head stops, and possibly a chantry arrangement for the tomb occupants. The quality of this 14th-century work is exceptionally high, though the masons remain unidentified. The chancel arch was rebuilt at this time or shortly afterwards.

The west tower was added in the late 14th century, and the chancel was rebuilt in the early 15th century. The south porch dates from the 15th century. Around 1800, a north vestry and west gallery were added. William White's restoration of 1858 included rebuilding part of the south nave wall. Further work in the 20th century saw the removal of the west gallery.

The church's unusual plan—with an enlarged nave but no aisle—might suggest parish poverty, but the elaborate 14th-century tombs associated with a chantry make it more likely that a south arcade or substantial screen, perhaps in timber, originally existed but has left no trace in the fabric. Both the 14th-century tombs and the large Mildmay monument reflect the close relationship between the church and the local manor.

Materials and Construction

The church is built mainly of flint rubble with some Roman brick and stone mixed in. The northeast angle of the nave and the north door feature Roman brick quoins; other dressings are stone. The south porch is timber-framed with rendered brick infill. All roofs are tiled.

Plan

The church comprises an unaisled nave (wider on the south side), west tower, north vestry, south porch, and chancel.

Exterior

Chancel

The chancel has large 19th-century diagonal eastern buttresses with brick on their outer faces. The east window is early 15th century with three cinquefoiled lights and vertical tracery. A small, square window is placed off-centre in the east gable wall. The south chancel wall contains an early 15th-century window with two cinquefoiled lights; a matching window on the north side is now blocked. A 15th-century low-side window and a blocked door are also present in the south chancel wall.

Nave

The south side of the nave projects beyond the chancel. Its east wall contains an early 14th-century window with flowing ogee tracery, complete with a hood mould and finely carved head stops. A similar but smaller window with head stops appears in the north nave wall.

The northeast quoin of the nave is Roman brick. The north door is late 11th century with a Roman brick surround. Herringbone brickwork in the lower part of the north wall indicates a late 11th-century date; the upper part was rebuilt later. The lean-to northwest vestry was added in the early 19th century.

The south nave wall has been partially rebuilt. It features an 18th-century window west of the porch and a 19th-century Decorated-style window to the east. The south door is mid-14th century with moulded jambs and a hood mould with head stops. The south porch may be 15th century, timber-framed with rendered brick infill, and has an outer opening with a shouldered head.

Tower

The late 14th-century west tower has three stages, an embattled parapet, and a north stair turret. The 14th-century west door has continuously moulded jambs and a hood mould. Above and to the left (north) of the door is a rectangular recess, probably formerly for a statue, with three carved finials springing from shields on its lintel. The second stage has a west window with two traceried lights and a hood mould, plus smaller single-light windows in each face. The upper stage has two-light, square-headed windows. A brick-framed panel on the south side was probably a 16th-century addition for a sundial.

Interior

The interior is plastered and painted, though wall paintings were uncovered during 20th-century repairs.

Nave

The nave roof was largely rebuilt in the 19th century but retains three 15th-century tie beams. The middle beam has short, arched braces standing on corbels: the north corbel is a 14th-century male head; the south corbel is 19th century.

The chancel arch was rebuilt around 1350 and is set asymmetrically in the east wall of the nave. It has two orders: the outer continuously moulded, the inner chamfered and set on attached half-shafts.

In the south nave wall are two very fine tomb recesses from around 1330, containing chests with timber effigies of a man and a woman, and a matching piscina. Above them runs a fine carved string course with foliate bosses. The 14th-century windows have internal hood moulds with head stops.

The upper and lower rood stair doors survive in the northeast corner of the nave.

Chancel

The chancel is dominated by the large Mildmay tomb.

Tower

The tower has a medieval ceiling and an inserted 20th-century platform. The west gallery was removed in the 20th century.

Principal Fixtures

Wall Paintings

An excellent, large, and very well-preserved 14th-century wall painting of St Christopher appears on the north nave wall opposite the south door. A second figure within an architectural frame stands to the left of the main figure. East of the north door is a figure of a devil on a faux-ashlar background.

Glass

Medieval glass includes a St Michael and the Dragon from around 1400 in the east window, along with fragments of saints, canopy work, and borders. Other 14th-century fragments are reset in the nave windows.

Monuments and Tombs

Two elaborate tomb recesses from around 1330 in the south nave wall have segmental, cinquefoiled ogee openings with foliate brattishing and finials. The tomb chests feature quatrefoil panelling with shields. On the chests are timber effigies of a man and a woman, both in civilian dress, probably members of the Filiol family. A contemporary piscina in the south nave wall forms part of the 1330 scheme.

In the chancel stands an elaborate monument to Henry Mildmay (died 1639), attributed to John and Matthias Christmas. It features a large alabaster effigy in armour lying on a chest, with his wives kneeling below, surmounted by an entablature with a broken segmental pediment on columns. Military trophy bas-reliefs flank the epitaph. The monument is surrounded by a spiked iron railing, probably contemporary.

Other monuments include a brass to William Toft (died 1470), another to Mercymight Bristowe (1611), and a floor slab for Henry Mildmay (died 1692).

Furnishings

Late 20th-century choir stalls and simple 19th-century nave benches. A 19th-century polygonal timber pulpit with panelled sides. An octagonal 19th-century font. War memorials of limestone.

Architect

William White, who carried out the sensitive mid-19th-century restoration, was a well-known church architect particularly associated with Oxford.