Church Of St Swithin

TG 21 NW FRETTENHAM CHURCH LANE

2/26 Church of St. Swithin.

10/5/61 II*

Parish Church. Fabric mainly of C14, with chancel rebuilt in 1869 by R.M. Phipson. Flint, partly knapped and coursed, with limestone dressings. Slate roofs; lead over aisles. West tower, nave, chancel, north and south aisles, south porch. West tower has staged buttresses with stone quoins and flushwork panels, Coped tower parapet with simple corner pinnacles and brick quoins. Western parapet dated 'T 1672 . R' in dark brick.lettering. Louvred belfry openings with C14 traceried heads, square Decorated ringing chamber opening. West window with C19 panel tracery. Small quatrefoil stair windows on south side. Quatrefoil clerestorey windows; knapped and squared flintwork to upper nave walls. Nave roof lowered : small blocked triangular headed opening above new ridge line in east tower wall. Chancel entirely C19, but with a three light Decorated window re-set in the south wall. Two light north and south windows with simple geometrical tracery. Priest's door in south wall; blocked doorway with segmental head in north wall. Aisles have angle buttresses with flushwork panels; two and three light Decorated windows. South porch has gable of knapped and squared flints with stone dressings and coping. South doorway with demi-quatrefoil piers with keeled fillets, matching arcade piers. Interior: Good three bay arcades with quatrefoil piers with keeled fillets; arches with double wave-mouldings. Poppy-head bench ends in north aisle. High level opening to rood stairs at south east corner of north aisle. Piscina with cusped arched head. Tall blank opening with semi-circular arched head on east side of north door. Octagonal font of Purbeck marble with blank arcading : base and stem renewed. Blocked mediaeval north doorway in chancel, probably re-set. Dropped-cill sedilia to south-east chancel window; fragments of-mediaeval glass in tracery heads. Piscina with cusped head. C19 roof structures : King post over nave, arch-braced collar with collar-runner and wall posts over chancel.

Listing NGR: TG2448518529