Church Of St Margaret

Church of St Margaret, Bellamy's Lane, Burnham Norton

This is a parish church of considerable historical importance, with fabric spanning from the 12th to the 15th centuries. The building is constructed of flint with stone dressings and slate roofs, and comprises a west round tower, nave and aisles, north porch, and chancel.

The round tower dates to the 11th or 12th century. Its west face has an axial window that is partly blocked with brick, above which are four narrow round-headed lancets. The belfry stage contains six round-headed windows set between flint block quoins with smaller infilling flint quoin arches, and 18th-century honeycomb brick soundholes. A string course with spout-heads and battlemented parapet crowns the tower.

The nave is 13th-century in origin, with evidence of the original 12th-century west gable surviving to the north, showing conglomerate and flint quoins. The nave was heightened in the 15th century, when the clerestorey was added. The north side shows the kneeler and coping of the 13th-century nave alongside the later heightening.

The south aisle exhibits an early Decorated south door with fleurons to the abaci and a moulded arch with head label stops. It is lit by four south and one west three-light Perpendicular windows with stepped, battlemented transoms. Three south and one east angle buttresses support it, with set-offs; at the east end these show stone ashlar and flint flushwork incorporating a heraldic beast and stepped battlemented middle set-off. The west end of the south aisle has a circa 1300 'Y' tracery window.

The north aisle similarly dates largely to the 13th century, with a circa 1300 'Y' tracery west window and four north windows plus one west window. These are of 15th-century date. Three north and one east buttress support it with similar detailing to the south aisle. A 15th-century north porch stands at its west end, its porch arch dying into the reveals. It has two four-centred windows (north and south), infilled with pre-18th-century brick, and a Decorated door arch with two head label stops.

The 15th-century clerestorey heightening introduced four north and south two-light straight-headed Perpendicular windows.

The chancel contains two 13th-century south lancets and two fine flowing tracery Decorated two-light north windows. The 19th-century two-light east window suggests the original chancel was of greater length and has been truncated.

Internally, the church preserves much of great interest. A blocked 12th-century first-floor round-arched tower door survives. The five-bay north arcade is 13th-century, with round piers, simple bases and abacus capitals, and double hollow chamfered two-centred arches. The five-bay south arcade has three east bays of 13th-century date with similar detailing save for the easternmost respond, which bears a stiff-leaf capital; the two west bays and west respond are 14th-century, featuring octagonal piers with bases and capitals.

A fine Perpendicular chancel arch frames the chancel, with internal rood stairs accessed through an arched entrance. Traces of wall painting survive. At the north door is an internal rectangular opening, perhaps for a communion-wafer oven, and two further openings to east and west with cinquefoil-headed holy water stoups.

The Norman font is of exceptional quality, comprising five piers with bases, capitals and carved shafts supporting a rectangular bowl with gadrooned edges, inscribed arches and diamond patterns. A crude south aisle piscina is also present.

A fine Perpendicular six-light rood screen survives, bearing an inscription to William Groom and dated 1458. It retains shafts and arches with tracery; the panels bear illegible painted figures. A 20th-century bracketed vaulted loft has been added above.

The most outstanding feature of the interior is the painted 15th-century goblet pulpit, with knob, ribs and coving, tracery, spandrels and cornice. Its painted panels depict four Latin Church Doctors and two kneeling donor portraits identified as Johannes Goldalle and Ketherina Goldalle his wife. A rectangular single-decker pulpit of early 17th-century date stands separately, panelled with a door fitted with cock's head hinges. A contemporary wall plate back-board with arches and brackets adjoins it, supporting a contemporary hexagonal carved tester with a twisted metal bracket attached to the wall.