Church Of St Clement

Church of St Clement

A parish church of major importance, with a 13th-century west tower, 14th-century nave, and 15th-century remodelling of the nave and aisles. The chancel is 15th-century in origin but was rebuilt in 1863. A north transept chapel was added in 1527, and the church underwent restoration in 1887.

The exterior is constructed of Barnack and ragstone with some brick repairs, with the north transept built in brick. Plain tiled roofs cover the building. The three-stage tower is supported by angle buttresses to the first stage and features a four-centred west door below a four-light 15th-century window. The ringing chamber windows date to the 13th century and consist of two arched lights on a round shaft with a pierced circle in the spandrel. The 14th-century belfry windows have two cusped lights supporting a quatrefoil vesica. A plain parapet with corner pinnacles and an 18th-century pyramidal roof cap the tower. A polygonal stair turret at the southeast rises to the ringing chamber.

The aisles and clerestory are crenellated. Angle buttresses to the corners are stepped to the flanks. The south aisle west window has four lights with Perpendicular subarcuated tracery. A three-light 14th-century window with flowing tracery stands to the west of a two-storey south porch. The porch is entered through a stilted arch and supported by stepped side buttresses, with a two-light parvise window in the gable head and upper storey side windows to east and west. An external entrance to stairs is on the west side.

The interior is of considerable architectural richness. A two-bay tierceron vault with fleuron bosses features cells with 19th-century brick infilling. The south aisle is illuminated by two transomed segmental-headed 15th-century windows of six or seven lights, and a five-light transomed east window of panel tracery type with pinnacles on the parapet over buttresses. The aisles embrace the chancel. Five three-light four-centred clerestory windows light the north and south sides. The chancel east window has five lights, and three-light side windows, all with transoms and panel tracery. The north aisle east window has six lights with a transom, the transom above cusped lights, with a statue in a niche below a cusped canopy to right and left of the tracery head. Four three-light 15th-century north aisle windows have segmental heads. A segmental arched north door stands in the second bay.

The brick transeptal chapel of the 1520s has diagonal buttresses, a four-light north window under a depressed arch, and three-light segmental-headed side windows, with a straight gable and no crenellations to the north aisle parapet west of the transept.

Within the interior, a five-bay octagonal arcade of the 14th century features wave-moulded south arches and chamfered north arches on moulded capitals, with clerestory windows over the apexes. A 15th-century tower arch has Perpendicular mouldings and angel capitals to the responds. A double wave-moulded chancel arch sits on polygonal capitals.

The nave roof is notable for its alternating hammer beams and tie beams, the former carved in the shape of angels bearing symbols and scrolls. Tie beams drop on arched braces to wall posts supported on corbels, with carved figures standing on the corbels. Three painted angels decorate each tie beam and at intervals on the wall plate. Queen posts and subsidiary struts rise to moulded principals from the ties, with arched braces rising from hammer beams. One tier of moulded butt purlins and a ridge piece complete the structure. The south aisle has a gabled roof with hammer beam roof where the hammer beams are in the form of angels, with boarded ashlaring decorated with painted angels, moulded arched principals, one tier of moulded butt purlins and a ridge piece. A polygonal staircase to the upper storey of the porch impinges on the south aisle. The north aisle roof is 19th-century.

The aisles are separated from the chancel chapels by wave-moulded arches, with chapels entered from the chancel through depressed four-centred continuous Perpendicular arches. The roof of the south chapel matches that of the south aisle. Against the south wall is a 14th-century four-centred cusped and sub-cusped founders' tomb recess with fleurons and seaweed foliage. The Beaupre monument occupies the south chapel, consisting of a tomb chest and recess to Nicholas Beaupre of 1511, the tomb chest of Purbeck marble in alternating wide and narrow panels with floral decoration and shields. The recess has spiral fluted colonnettes to right and left supporting a frieze of quatrefoils in square panels below an incised top cresting. Above this is an alabaster achievement commemorating the death of Edmund Beaupre in 1567. An alabaster tablet is inserted in the recess with strapwork and garlands within an egg and dart border.

The north chancel chapel has a cinquefoil piscina and a roof of arched braces pierced in the spandrels, with square flat decorated purlins and principals. The north transeptal chapel opens from the east bay of the aisle through a stilted wave-moulded arch. A full hammer beam roof in three bays features crenellated and crested hammer posts standing on pierced arched braces which drop to carved angel corbels. Carved angels adorn the hammer beams. Pierced arched braces rise to collars decorated with a foliage trail, with one tier of moulded butt purlins and a ridge piece.

An octagonal font in the nave has cusped tracery. On the north aisle north wall is a brass of 1511 to Richard Quadryng, depicting a man in armour praying. Fragments of late 15th-century stained glass survive in the south chancel and depicting three wise men in the north transeptal chapel.