Church Of St Germain

The Church of St. Germain is a building of probable 13th-century origins, largely re-clad in red brick during the late 18th century. A gault brick chancel and a northwest tower with a belfry were added in the 19th century. The church is covered by a plain red tiled roof.

The crenellated tower features angled buttresses and, at ground level, two stone-dressed rectangular windows above circular lights set within square stone surrounds. A clock is located on the north face. The belfry has elongated, two-light openings with two-centred heads under moulded labels, with stops to each face. A chamfered and moulded two-centred porch opening is also present. The nave’s north and south walls contain three matching windows each, with two lights, cusped trefoils, tracery above, and moulded labels that are stopped. The chancel has two matching windows of two lights with cusped trefoils, tracery above, and foliate stops to the moulded labels. The east window is three-light, with cusped tracery, and features foliate stops to the moulded labels. The east gable wall is distinguished by two two-step buttresses and a parapet verge with a brick band and cornice, surmounted by an ornate cross. A late 19th-century to early 20th-century red brick vestry extends to the southwest, with a red tiled roof and leaded, two-light windows within timber frames. The 19th-century entrance door, featuring a two-centred head, is constructed of nailed plank and muntin, set within a plain, two-order stone surround.

Internally, the nave’s roof is a seven-cant construction of ancient timbers, featuring moulded wall plates and two moulded, stop-chamfered tie beams. The two-bay, 19th-century chancel roof is of canted, braced collar construction, with quatrefoils to the bracing and tiny arch-braced king posts. Foliate stone corbels support wall brackets. Complete 19th-century box pews remain, with intact doors and 17th-century panelling on the north and south walls. A face-to-face Sunday School seating area is positioned at the rear of the nave. The octagonal, lead-lined font, possibly 15th century, rests on a later moulded octagonal base. The pulpit and attached reader's desk are constructed from 17th-century panelling and decorated with arabesque and jewel patterning. Carved stone plaques depicting the Ten Commandments are positioned on either side of the east window. 19th-century wrought iron altar rails are also present. 19th-century stained glass is found in the chancel windows. Several brasses are affixed to the chancel wall, commemorating W. Bourne (1581), R. Bourne (1639), Weldon and Olivers (during the 19th century), and six funerary hatchments are in good condition on the nave roof. A wall monument dedicated to Major G. Capel-Cure and his wife, Ione (created in 1963), incorporates a 16th-century Madonna and Child, attributed to Pietro Lombardo, acquired by the Capel-Cure family from a palace in Mantua. A wooden plaque records R. Bourne’s Charity. A 13th-century piscina is located in the south wall of the nave, featuring a moulded two-centred arch and jambs with attached shafts, moulded bases, and capitals carried along as imposts.