Church Of St Andrew And St Mary

Church of St Andrew and St Mary

Parish church at Watton-at-Stone, largely rebuilt in the early to mid-15th century on the site of an earlier foundation, with a later 15th-century north chapel added. The building was thoroughly restored in 1851 by G. Clarke at the expense of Abel Smith of Woodhall Park. It is constructed of flint rubble with knapped flint in places and stone dressings, with tiled roofs.

The church is built to a Perpendicular style plan with a wide four-bay nave and three-bay chancel, north and south aisles with porches, a north chancel chapel, and a west tower. The chancel features an east window of three lights with a four-centred arched head and restored rectilinear tracery, with a mask-stopped hood mould. A coped gable parapet with ridge finial rises above. A buttress to the east end supports the north chapel, which has a 19th-century three-light window with rectilinear tracery and a lower coped gable parapet. Gargoyles overhang two-stage angle buttresses. On the south side of the chancel are two similar three-light windows with four-centred arched heads and outer casement mouldings, with a 19th-century door in a shallow porch between them. The porch features a cusped pointed arch with shafted jambs and an ogee head elaborately crocketed and finialed, with string course to embattled parapet. The north chapel displays two 19th-century three-light windows with segmental arched heads and rectilinear tracery, supported by angle buttresses, with string course to plain coped parapet.

At the angles of the chancel and the taller nave are stair turrets for access to the former rood loft and to the roofs—hexagonal with embattled parapet to the south, octagonal with plain parapet to the north. The nave clerestoreys contain four two-cinquefoiled light windows with four-centred arched heads on each side, with string courses to embattled parapets. The south aisle has a three-light window to the east matching the chancel pattern, flanked by similar windows on the south side where they frame a 19th-century porch. Two-stage angle buttresses support this section, with string course to embattled parapet and a base for a 19th-century chimney stack above the porch. A diagonal buttress to the west end supports a 19th-century two-light window. The north aisle is similar with an additional window.

The south porch contains an inner 15th-century pointed arch with double wave mouldings and an outer 19th-century four-centred arch with shafted jambs and quatrefoils in the spandrels to a square hood mould. Two-light pointed arched windows pierce the returns, with shallow gabled head and embattled parapet. The north porch is two storeys high, with a double roll-moulded outer pointed arch and an inner arch with shafted jambs decorated with Tudor flower ornament. A parvis chamber window of three cinquefoiled lights occupies a square head with shallow gabled head and embattled parapet. Two-stage diagonal buttresses support the structure. The west return contains a two-light pointed arched 19th-century window, while the east return has a taller semi-octagonal stair turret with slit windows and string course to parapet.

The west tower rises in three stages with a taller hexagonal stair turret to the southwest. A chequerwork double plinth is carried up with four-stage angle buttresses to the belfry, with raking stone courses between stages. The west entrance features an almost round arch with heavy moulding, alongside a small door to the stair turret with four-centred arched head. Above the west entrance is a 19th-century three-light pointed arched window. The belfry contains tall louvred two-light openings with quatrefoils in pointed heads. Clocks face west and north. String course to embattled parapet with gargoyles on the turret; slit openings pierce the turret and second stage to south and north.

Interior

The tall two-centred tower arch comprises three orders with inner and outer wave mouldings dying into chamfers. The 19th-century chancel arch displays casement and wave mouldings with respond columns. The four-bay nave arcades feature complex piers with clustered colonnettes to east and west with hollows between, moulded caps and bases—finer in detail on the south side. The two-centred arches display a double wave with central hollow moulding; the outer casement runs from the wave moulding down to ground on the piers. Inner faces of the arches carry labels with foliate stops. A 19th-century triple arcade runs from the chancel to the north chapel, with pointed arches and clustered three-quarter columns with heavy mouldings. A similar single arch from the north aisle to the north chapel is now blocked by the organ.

The nave and chancel roofs are 19th-century work with moulded and arched braced construction. The aisle roofs are 15th-century lean-tos with moulded principals and purlins decorated with carved bosses. The four-bay north chapel roof is probably early 17th-century work, with four-centred arched vault plastered with moulded ribs and 19th-century elephant head corbels. A door in the north aisle east end provides access to parvis chamber stairs. The north aisle east end contains a round-headed recess; to the southeast is a blocked squint to the chancel with floating cornice. Rood loft openings to north and south retain a door to the south. The south aisle east end has a piscina with cusped pointed arched head. The chancel south wall east end contains a 15th-century piscina and triple sedilia with cusped pointed arched heads, raised and restored. The north chapel houses a 15th- or 16th-century oak chest with heavy iron bands and rounded head. Royal Arms of George III hang over the north door, while Arms of a Bishop dated 1851 appear over the tower arch. 19th-century Gothic fittings include reredos, octagonal font, pulpit, lectern, choir stalls, communion rails with ironwork, chapel screen with iron gates, tower screen, and seating.

Monuments and Brasses

The church contains several good brasses. In the north chapel: Sir P. Peletoot, died 1361, shown as a full-length figure of a knight in a cusped canopy; Sir J. Boteler, died 1514, as a smaller figure of a knight with five shields of arms, below which is a late 15th-century civilian in a fur-lined coat, possibly the mason who built the church, with fragments to R. Boteler (died 1614), his wife and daughter. The chancel preserves an almost lifesize figure of a priest from the mid-15th century, possibly J. Brigenhall. The nave contains a lady of the Boteler family, circa 1550. The south aisle has E. Bardolph, died 1455, and family (damaged). The north aisle retains a late 15th-century pair of figures.

Floor slabs include: north chapel—Sir R. de Graveley (14th century) with border inscribed in Lombardic script; Sir J. Boteler (late 15th century), large alabaster slab with incised figures, arms and inverted inscription; various 18th-century slabs. North aisle: R. de Larabi (14th century) with border inscribed in Lombardic script. South aisle: Sir J. Gore, died 1697, and daughter, died 1725, marble with relief arms. The chancel has various 17th- and 18th-century floor slabs.

Wall monuments appear chiefly in the north chapel, now known as the Abel Smith chapel, which contains many family monuments. On the west wall is a monument to S. Smith and wife, died 1834 and 1835, by Manning—a sarcophagus against an obelisk with arms and epitaph below. The north wall features W. Rumbold, died 1786, probably by Bacon, with marble epitaph showing an urn wreathed with an oak garland on dark pointed arched ground. The east wall displays Sir T. Rumbold, died 1791, by Bacon, with marble epitaph and tondo relief of mourning woman flanked by festooned urns in shallow relief. In the north aisle: D. Turner, died 1740, with marble epitaph in a simple aedicule with fluted pilasters. The south aisle contains J. Boteler, died 1774, with large marble epitaph in an aedicule with segmental pediment, panelled pilasters gadrooned at base, arms in cartouche, and cherubs below with console supports. Also in the south aisle: P. Boteler and wife, died 1712 and 1740, marble figures—he in contemporary dress, she in mourning leaning on a pedestal—with arms in cartouche above, epitaph below, all set within a Gothic niche.

The church contains 19th-century stained glass, notably in the east window depicting the Nativity, Deposition, and Resurrection.