Church of St Botolph

Church of St Botolph

This is a late 14th-century parish church in Trunch, substantially restored in 1881. It is constructed of flint with ashlar quoins and lead roofs, and comprises a west tower, nave, aisles and chancel.

The four-stage tower diminishes in size at each level and is supported by stepped diagonal buttresses with string courses marking the divisions between floors. The west window is a three-light Perpendicular design. The ringing chamber contains two-light windows with arches supporting a reticulation unit, while the belfry has two-light ogeed windows carrying a central four-petalled vesica. The nave aisles feature stepped side buttressing and two-light west windows with renewed Perpendicular tracery.

A gabled south porch is entered through a wave-moulded arch, with blocked side windows beneath hood moulds. The inner south door is double wave-moulded with a hood mould on labels. The north door is arched. Three aisle windows on both north and south sides display two-light openings with alternating designs: panel tracery and four-petal flower motifs. The eastern aisle windows show petals on the south and panel tracery on the north. The clerestory comprises four two-light basket-arched windows with cusped ogival lights. The eastern nave gable and chancel parapet have been repaired in brick. The chancel is lit by two early Perpendicular three-light side windows, separated on the south side by a stepped buttress rising from the apex of the gabled porch to a priests' door with a moulded arched entrance. Diagonal east buttresses and a three-light transomed east window complete the external features.

Interior

The interior contains a four-bay arcade of octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases, supporting double chamfered arches. The clerestory windows sit above the arch apexes. The tower arch is hollow and wave-moulded, springing from semi-circular responds. The chancel arch is double hollow chamfered with responds terminating in polygonal capitals.

The nave roof is a hammerbeam structure for which a bequest of 1486 exists. It was repaired in 1897 and again between 1976 and 1984. The hammerbeams rest on arched braces and alternately drop to wall posts. The wall posts are enriched with capitals and bases resting on corbels carved as angels bearing shields and scrolls. Hammerposts carry arched braces to the principals. The spandrels of both hammerpost and hammerbeam are pierced with geometric tracery patterns. The hammerbeams terminate in carved angels bearing scrolls, shields and instruments of passion. One tier of butt purlins and a ridge piece with fleuron bosses complete the structure, with all timbers moulded throughout. The aisle roofs were repaired in 1897 and feature arched braces to principals and butt purlins, all moulded.

The church contains a hexagonal 14th-century font with flushwork tracery to the stem and cusped petal tracery panels to the bowl. It is surmounted by a magnificent oak font canopy of approximately 1500 in two stages. The lower stage comprises six hexagonal annulated posts carved with leaf and vegetative trails, supporting an elaborate cusped fan vault with a central pendant. The upper stage is also hexagonal, with blank panels originally painted (a Crucifixion scene remains barely recognisable on one panel). Panels are separated by crocketed buttresses rising to groups of three nodding ogee canopies to each panel. Each canopy contains miniature vaults and rises through foliage-carved barrels to crenellated tops. The cap consists of six crocketed ogee open arches meeting at a central finial. This font canopy is one of only four surviving in England.

The chancel screen, dated 1502, has three bays right and left of an arched opening. The dado panels on the west side are divided into two ogeed lights and painted with figures of saints: Saints Thomas, Philip, James Minor, Matthew, James Major, Peter, Paul, Andrew, John, Jude, Simon and Bartholomew. Round-headed upper tracery heads sit above crocketed ogees.

The chancel contains six 16th-century choir stalls with misericords, and its roof dates from 1907. On the north wall is a monument to Launcelot Thexton of 1588, constructed in ashlar with a pediment carried on a pair of strapwork pilasters. Between the pilasters is a rounded recess carved with a cloak, shield and helmet above a brass inscription panel. The apron below takes the form of opposing strapwork scrolls. A repaired angle piscina is also present.