Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary

Parish church, substantially from the 14th century, with a nave dating to that period, mid-14th-century chancel and south porch, and a west tower that may be 14th-century but underwent extensive alterations in the 16th, 17th and later centuries. A north aisle was added around 1826, and later restorations included the rebuilding of the chancel arch.

The church is constructed of flint, rubble and septaria with brick, with limestone dressings. The roof is covered with red tiles featuring diamond patterning and pierced ridge tiles, with a cross to the gable.

The chancel has a moulded plinth with walls below the windows displaying flint and brick chequerwork and a moulded band below the windows. Angle buttresses are present to north and south walls, with the south-east buttress containing 2 niches with trefoiled ogees and crocketed heads, accompanied by side shafts with pinnacles. The central north buttress and south-western buttress each have trefoiled ogee niches. The north wall is plastered above the windows, while the south wall displays flint dressed with red brick below the eaves. The east window, largely 19th or 20th century except for its rear splays, arch and label, contains 5 trefoiled lights with tracery in a moulded 2-centred head and a moulded stopped label. The four north wall windows vary in design: the eastern has 3 trefoiled ogee lights with tracery in a 2-centred head with moulded label, jambs and mullions; the second has 3 lights with the middle one cinquefoiled and the others trefoiled with tracery similar in style to the east window; the two western windows each have 3 trefoiled ogee lights with quatrefoils or trefoils in 2-centred heads. The four south wall windows are similarly designed with variations in tracery; the western window has 3 cinquefoil lights while the others have 3 trefoiled lights. A moulded and carved 2-centred arch doorway is positioned below the second window.

The nave has stone corbels to the gutter on the south wall. Two 14th-century windows with 18th-century frames and mullions feature 2 cinquefoiled ogee lights with tracery over 2-centred arch heads and labels. The 14th-century south door between the windows has moulded jambs, a 2-centred arch and label with defaced head stops.

The 14th-century gabled south porch is timber-framed on dwarf walls. The moulded 2-centred outer arch is probably 19th-century, but flanking it (now covered by foliage) are a pair of lights with cinquefoil ogee heads and traceried spandrels. The plastered side walls contain 3 bays, each with 3 cinquefoiled lights with elaborate tracery over; the north-east bay has lost its lights and tracery, and there are no mullions to the centre bays. The flat roof is divided into 2 square bays by moulded ribs with central bosses, now mostly defaced except for 2 which bear a face and a rosette respectively. A 14th-century stoup with moulded jambs and cinquefoiled head is present.

The north aisle, constructed of ashlar, has grey slate double hipped roofs, central and angle buttresses, two 3-light 2-centred arched windows to the north wall, and a segmental pointed-head window to the western wall.

The west tower is buttressed to the western angles with a stair turret to the south-east wall, a 19th-century red brick full-height chimney stack to the north-east angle, and a 19th or 20th-century red brick parapet. It has a moulded plinth with some chequerwork. Flint panelling remains on the north and south walls; the remainder shows signs of many repairs. The bell turret features 19th or 20th-century 2-light louvred openings with segmental heads to each face and a red brick roundel to the upper stage of the north face. A 19th-century western window has 2 cinquefoiled ogee lights with a chamfered 2-centred head. A 19th or 20th-century western doorway has a moulded 4-centred head with a label above and a vertically boarded door with ornate hinges. A weathervane is present.

Interior

The chancel has a probably 19th or 20th-century boarded barrel-vaulted roof with bosses at intersections and a moulded foliate wall plate. Two 19th-century tie beams and octagonal 4-armed crown posts are present. The 4 north and south wall windows are set within wall arcading resting on attached shafts with moulded capitals and bases. The arch moulds are richly carved: the 2 north-western bays feature foliage; the second bay displays owls and foliage; the north-east bay contains mostly male figures forming a chain, some holding each other by hand or foot, with 2 holding musical instruments. The southern window arches are covered with foliage in the 2 western bays, foliage and squirrels in the second bay, and foliage and birds in the eastern bay. Below the southern windows, the 14th-century piscina, 3-bay sedilia and door arch are surmounted by a moulded cornice carved with dragons and animal heads, now mostly defaced. The 5 bays are divided by square piers with diapered faces and attached shafts with moulded bases and foliated capitals. Above these are moulded cinquefoiled ogee heads with moulded and crocketed labels, and moulded and crocketed finials to piers between bays reaching into the cornice. The spandrels are carved with oak and vine leaves and contain a figure in high relief of a robed person, probably playing a musical instrument, now all defaced. The door spandrels each have a central crowned head and a number of smaller defaced figures. A round drain serves the piscina.

A monument on the north wall commemorates Edward Waldegrave (1584) and Johan (Ackworth), his wife, executed in alabaster and marble. It features kneeling figures of a man and woman in round-headed recessed arches, divided and flanked by Corinthian columns supporting an entablature, cresting and 3 shields of arms.

The floor is diamond-tiled with 3 floor slabs commemorating Edward Waldegrave (1621), Thomas Harris (1699), and Dame Sarah Bingham, wife of William Waldegrave (1634). The east window contains 19th-century stained glass; 2 northern windows retain medieval glass fragments. The north wall displays 19th-century carved and traceried alabaster panelling, while the east wall features similar panelling with a central triptych reredos incorporating carved initials, foliage, and tall niches to the north and south of the east window containing carved figures, possibly Christ and Mary. A 19th-century multi-colour tiled sanctuary floor is present, along with 19th-century wrought iron altar rails and 19th-century poppyhead choir stalls. The 19th or 20th-century chancel arch is 2-centred with 2 chamfered orders resting on pilasters supported by foliated corbels.

The nave has a 19th-century 3-bay canted roof with carved ashlar and 2 arched braces resting on plain corbels. A brass eagle lectern is present. An approximately 1906 timber octagonal panelled pulpit stands in the nave. Two hatchments, one each to the north and south walls, and one charity board to the south wall are displayed. The north aisle contains 3 bays, with the eastern bay serving as an organ chamber. It features octagonal and circular columns with foliate capitals and 2-centred arches. Cast iron floor ventilator strips are present. A stone or cement urn font has a moulded base, moulded petal base with ringed bowl stem and moulded rim. A painting of Lawford Church hangs on the north aisle wall. A 19th or 20th-century moulded brick 2-centred tower arch is present.