Church of St. Mary

TG 3026 9/48

WORSTEAD CHURCH PLAIN Church of St. Mary

16.4.55

I

Parish church. Medieval. Quaternary flint, chert and Lincolnshire Limestone, lead roof. West tower, nave, north and south aisles, south porch, chancel, vestry.

Four stage embattled west tower of flint; setback buttresses. Flushwork basecourse of cusped arches; stone frieze above of quatrefoil relief, then cusped intersecting blind arcade of flushwork.West door with encircled quatrefoil roundels in the spandrels, niches to each side; castellated label forms sill to west window of four lights, Decorated, mostly C19. Square lights with tracery to ringing chamber, hood mould over; clock now to east face. Two-light windows with panel tracery to bell-openings, ballflowers in one order; continuous hood mould. Stone battlements with quatrefoil and cusped arches in relief. Gargoyles.

Buttressed nave of five bays; basecourse pattern repeated as tower; three-light windows with panel tracery; angle buttresses with flushwork. Flushwork parapet. North doorway with traceried spandrels. Exterior rood stair to north with flushwork. Clerestorey of two three-light windows under four-centred arches to each bay. Flying buttresses to two easternmost bays. Sixth aisle bays form chapels. East window of south chapel with four-centred arch. Chancel of two bays without decorative base as nave and tower; window, C19, of three lights. Five-light east window with reticulated tracery; brick voussoirs. Buttressed vestry of two storeys to east end of north aisle chapel. Flushwork base, single light windows to ground floor; three-light window under four-centred arch to east. South porch of two storeys to second nave bay. South west stair turret, stonework much repaired. Flushwork to south face and angle buttresses. Tierceron star vault to ground floor; doorway to nave with fleurons in two orders of jamb and arch.

Interior. C14 nave arcades with octagonal piers and hollow-chamfered arches. Angel corbels with shields to hammerbeam roof with tracery in the spandrels, much restored in 1899. Line of previous roof visible above tower arch. Aisles with arch-braced roofs with tracery in the spandrels. West tower arch of clustered shafts with hollows. Octagonal shafts to chancel arch. Chancel with arch-braced roof. Stone altar, reredos and altar rails all added in 1840's. Figure brass of 1391. Rood screen dated 1512, upper parts much restored. Rood beam removed in 1809. Screens to chapels much restored. Tower screen dated 1501, with lower parts repainted in 1831. Screen supports ringers gallery. Font on three steps, panelled stem; octagonal bowl with cusped quatrefoils, supported on angels. Board over south nave door recording the benefaction of the Rev. Henry Wharton which funded the re-pewing in 1736. Box pews in nave with high back walls and quadrant pilasters at the corners.

Listing NGR: TG3020026059