Church Of St Mary Magdalene

Church of St Mary Magdalene

A parish church of 13th-century origins, substantially rebuilt in the 15th century and underwent major restoration in 1861. The church stands on the north side of Church Lane in Barkway. The 1861 work, including rebuilding of the tower, addition of a porch and vestry, and general restoration, was carried out by the architect B. Ferrey at the expense of the Hon. Mrs. V. Harcourt.

The exterior is constructed of knapped flint with stone dressings. The chancel has a steeply pitched tiled roof, while the nave and porch are roofed in slate at a shallower pitch. The building comprises a large six-bay nave with broad north and south aisles, a narrower and shorter chancel, a western tower, a south porch, and a north vestry with organ bay.

The chancel is lit on the east by a round-arched three-light window with 19th-century geometrical tracery. The south wall has a 19th-century pointed-arched entrance, a restored 13th-century lancet, and towards the west a low side window of two cinquefoiled lights, blind below a transom with a square head and mask stopped label. The north wall contains two blind lancets and a large 19th-century opening of three cinquefoiled lights with square head and a two-stage buttress. The chancel has quoins, a coped gable parapet with ridge cross and kneelers.

The nave is lit by five clerestorey windows to each side, consisting of paired cinquefoiled lights with square heads and ball-flower friezes. The north and south aisles contain restored 15th-century windows of three cinquefoiled lights with rectilinear tracery in depressed arched heads, three to each side. The east end of the nave has a coped parapet with kneelers and ridge cross.

The south porch has an outer moulded pointed arch with shafted jambs and double plinth, diagonal buttresses, and a coped gable parapet. Two-light windows in the returns have pointed arched heads. The inner entrance is a 15th-century four-centred wave-moulded arch.

The projecting vestry has a three-light north window matching those of the aisles, double plinth, diagonal buttresses, coped parapet, and a pointed-arched door to the west.

The three-stage western tower was rebuilt to its original pattern during the 1861 restoration. The west face rises through two stages with a tall four-light window with rectilinear tracery, an ogee-headed label with finial and stops. The belfry openings are two-light with pierced quatrefoil panels. A small door faces north, and additional small lights appear in the belfry to north and south, with a clock imposed on the north belfry opening. The tower has a double plinth and string courses separating its stages. Three-stage diagonal buttresses with empty niches in the lower stages have crocketed and finialed surrounds. Buttresses flank the tower where it meets the nave. To the southeast is a semi-octagonal ashlar stair turret with small outer entrance. The parapet is embattled with crocketed finials at angles and a weathervane at the top.

The interior features an early 15th-century pointed chancel arch with a double order of wave mouldings and label. Semi-octagonal responds are wave-moulded with elaborately moulded caps and simpler bases. The tower arch is tall and pointed, with outer wave, middle casement and inner hollow mouldings; the latter terminate on engaged shaft responds with foliated moulded caps.

The six-bay nave arcades differ very slightly in mouldings, the north arcade possibly representing a slightly later rebuilding. They are pointed with hollow, casement and wave mouldings terminating on capitals of composite piers with four engaged semi-octagonal columns, moulded caps and bases with hollows in angles. Labels over the arcades feature grotesque masks and animals at the springings.

The roofs were rebuilt in the 19th century while reusing some old timber in the nave. Arched braces rise from posts resting on large carved 15th and 19th-century stone corbels depicting angels with shields, crouching figures, and grotesque heads; similar corbels appear in the aisles. The chancel roof is a depressed barrel vault ceiled with bosses on 19th-century ribs and 15th-century moulded wall plates. The chancel north wall displays the upper part of rear arches of blocked lancets. A 15th-century wave-moulded rear arch frames the east window, while a similar blocked arch lies above the 19th-century door to the south. At the southeast angle of the nave is a small door in a splay leading to rood stairs, with the upper door now blocked.

Two piscinae are present: in the chancel south wall is a 13th-century example with trefoiled head and a 19th-century one with two arches and central marble shaft; in the south aisle east end is a pointed wave-moulded arch with broach stop.

Furnishings include a simple 17th-century chest, an octagonal 19th-century Gothic pulpit, a 19th-century Gothic font, a brass eagle lectern of 1881, and an early timber ladder in the tower.

The church contains numerous monuments of considerable artistic significance. In the tower is a large neo-classical marble monument by J.M. Rysbrack to Sir J. Jennings (died 1743), comprising a tall broad pedestal stepped forward twice with moulded base and capping, epitaph over cartouche and arms, flanking gadrooned projections, and above a bust in Roman costume with flanking putti and military accoutrements. The north aisle wall holds two marble pendant epitaphs by P. Chenu: to J. Andrew (died 1796), with fluted pilasters framing the epitaph and above a black obelisk with relief allegorical figure of Hope; and to T.T. Gorsuch (died 1820, executed 1821), similar in design with torchières in place of pilasters, arms at base, and relief figure of Father Time. The south aisle wall contains a similar marble monument by Kendrick to John Baron Selsey (died 1816) and his son (died 1811), with draped urn, willow branches and pelican over epitaph and arms. Small reset brass figures commemorate R. Poynard (died 1561) and his two wives.

The chancel south wall displays a Baroque marble epitaph by Stanton to Mrs. J. Chester (died 1702), with aedicular frame, inscribed panel with segmental head, Solomonic Corinthian columns, open segmental pediment, arms above with festoons, and surmounting urn with scroll brackets below featuring skull, two seraphs and flowers. A companion monument to Mrs. M. Chester (died 1703) has similar styling with inscribed panel bowed out slightly, skull and cross bones, fluted pilasters with scrolled outer jambs, arms above with scrolls to urn with festoons, framing putti, and at base relief of skull and musical seraphs.

The chancel north wall contains a marble monument to E. Chester (died 1708), with long epitaph in ellipse within aedicular surround, scrolled pilaster jambs and scrolled broken pediment with arms above. Another by R. Hartshorne to T. Smoult (died 1707) has long epitaph in aedicular surround panel with Ionic columns of black marble, outer scrolled jambs, skull at base, trumpet and leaf relief above, and panel with flanking funerary urns and book with flanking seraphs. A smaller alabaster monument to Mrs. S. Castell features a framed panel with scrolled brackets and seraph below, frieze with lozenges, and arms above. A huge wall monument to Dame S. Chapman (died 1800) comprises a marble slab with festoon and urn above on a Gothic arched backing. Floor slabs commemorate Mrs. E. Devenish (died 1670) and Mrs. J. Chester (died 1702).

The stained glass includes in the south aisle east window the remains of a mid-14th-century Jesse window in the centre light, with 15th-century fragments of saints and musical angels above in the flanking lights. Some 15th-century heraldic fragments appear in the north aisle east window. The east window contains a Crucifixion dated 1905 by Clayton and Bell.