Church Of Saint Clement

Church of Saint Clement

A parish church of 13th-century origin, now substantially rebuilt in the 15th century. The vestry was reconstructed and the chancel restored in 1879, with further restorations undertaken between 1887 and 1902. The building is constructed of ashlar with some carstone, and has leaded roofs.

The church comprises a nave, aisles, transepts, and chancel. The west front features an arched doorway with four orders of continuous fleur-de-lys mouldings below a string course. The 5-light panel tracery west window has two tiers of cusped transoms and is flanked on either side by statuary niches with nodding cusped ogee canopies topped with crocketed finials. Inside, tiercerons vaults are visible. Polygonal stair turrets supported by stepped western buttresses rise to a panelled parapet and terminate in pepperpot pinnacles. The 3-light aisle west windows feature polygonal angle turrets crowned with spirlets. Diagonal buttresses occur at the corners. The battlemented nave aisles and clerestory have crenellations enriched with Perpendicular panelling. The 3-light aisle windows have ogee-headed lights and bifurcating supermullions. The clerestory comprises fourteen 3-light segmental windows of panel tracery, arranged two to each bay, with pilaster strips between each window. On the south side, each bay is defined by pinnacles on the parapet, repeated on the aisle parapet. The nave vault is supported by flying buttresses on the first bay from the west; these are subsequently abandoned, although the north buttresses rise above the parapet to provide for further flyers. The remaining south buttresses are stepped. A gabled south porch has diagonal south buttresses and one flanking side buttress. The plinth course features punched decorated roundels. The doorway is segmental arched, and the south face displays two tiers of arcaded panelling below a frieze of punched roundels, with a sundial in the gable head. The 3-light Perpendicular side windows complete this face.

The full-height transepts have angled buttresses to the east and flat buttresses to the west. The transepts were originally intended with a west aisle, for which lozenge piers on tall polygonal bases survive embedded in the walls. The south front of the south transept is fenestrated in three tiers: three segmental ground-floor windows, the outer two with grotesque figure carving over their arches; two similar windows above; and a single window at the apex. The parapet features spiked wavy moulded ornament, which appears stylistically out of date by about 100 years, suggesting 19th-century work. The north transept's north facade is fenestrated in two tiers: two arched windows matching those of the nave aisles below, with a similar smaller window under a depressed head above. This transept has a panelled parapet. The nave clerestory continues into the west transept walls and is repeated on the east. The east gable of the nave is pierced by a 5-light window. Polygonal rood stair towers to north and south terminate in cusped arcading below a spirelet.

The chancel is divided into three bays. It has a high plain base course with a string course below the windows. At the east end is a square door to a crypt. Stepped buttresses separate 3-light arched windows with hood moulds, with buttresses angled to the east. On the north side, two western windows are partly obscured by a two-bay crenellated vestry. A string course below a brick clerestory is followed by six 3-light panel tracery windows beneath basket arches with continuous hood moulds; the western windows on both sides are of two lights. A crenellated parapet tops this section. The 5-light transomed east window closes the chancel.

The interior contains a seven-bay arcade of octagonal piers on high polygonal bases supporting moulded polygonal capitals and double-chamfered arches. A string course below the clerestory is studded with animal or figurative carvings, from which rise polygonal shafts with capitals. These alternately support statuary plinths with ogee cusped canopies or wall posts for the roof. The restored roof comprises principals on arched braces, collars, and two tiers of butt purlins. The 19th-century aisle roofs have arched braces below principals and one tier of butt purlins. A western screen spanning the nave and aisles dates to 1788. It comprises eight plain pilasters below Composite capitals, with ramped and pierced central double doors and side doors to the aisles. The remainder is articulated by large panelling. Over the transept arch are seven crocketted ogee niches stepped up to the apex and flanked by shields. Four crossing arches on piers, with wave-moulded arches—those to the chancel on corbels—articulate the crossing. The chancel piers are decorated with Perpendicular panelling. Masonry vault springers support a timber quadrangular vault. A 5-light window sits over the chancel arch. The low-pitched chancel roof has arched braces to principals and one tier of butt purlins with a ridge piece. Wall posts drop to stone corbels. The transept roofs and clerestory match those of the nave.

A 13th-century triple arched sedilia in the chancel's south wall comprises round shafts with moulded capitals supporting trefoiled arches decorated with dog-tooth carving and stiff-leaf capitals. An identical double piscina occupies the space immediately to the east.

The 15th-century octagonal font has engaged columns supporting a panelled bowl decorated with tracery and cusping. The 17th-century font cover is in two stages: the lower stage is an octagonal drum with clusters of three painted columns supporting a carved frieze, which opens to reveal an interior painted with landscape scenes and the Baptism of Christ. The upper portion diminishes through three tiers of Gothic buttressing, elaborately cusped and pierced with openwork tracery.

A wall monument in the chancel's north wall commemorates Dorothy Edwards (died 1721). It is constructed of alabaster and features a cartouche with an achievement flanked by weeping cherubs, below which is a wrought-iron grill of leaf scrolls arranged in two panels. To the west stands an alabaster wall monument to John and Mary Ascham (died 1704), with a cartouche of drapery folds and two cherubs, and a coat of arms above.

The north transept displays a painted panel inscribed with the Creed, dated 1635. The south transept contains Psalm 23, also dated 1635. Royal arms above the north door commemorate Queen Anne.