Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary, Rickinghall Superior

This is a redundant parish church dating from the mid to late 14th century, with the nave rebuilt and a south porch added and altered in the mid 15th century. The building was thoroughly restored in 1868 by W.C. Fawcett. It is constructed of flint rubble with ashlar and red brick dressings, including some knapped and squared flint, with a steeply pitched slate nave roof and a steeply pitched plaintiled chancel roof.

The church comprises a 4-stage square west tower, a wide nave of 4 bays, a 2-storey south porch, and a chancel.

The west tower has an offset to its second stage, which bears a 2-light curvilinear traceried pointed arched window with a hoodmould. The third stage is pierced by quatrefoils on three sides, with a string course leading to the belfry, which has louvred openings below. Another string course rises to a 15th-century embattled parapet decorated with traceried flushwork panels, 'IHS' and 'MR' monograms, and varied patterns. The parapet is topped with gargoyles to north and south (pinnacles have been removed). Four-stage diagonal buttresses rise three stages, featuring a moulded plinth, offsets, and a square and compass mason's mark to the south west.

The 4-bay nave is flanked north and south by double plinths with stone offsets. The lower section displays flint and stone rubble chequerwork, while the upper wall has a squared flint frieze with blank stone shields, above which are flint and stone rubble chequerwork walls. Four very large 3-light Perpendicular windows with cusped headed lights and intricate intersecting or rectilinear tracery run the length of the nave. These windows have 4-centred arched heads and hoodmoulds, with flint and brick voussoirs. Five 2-stage buttresses with paired cusped headed flushwork panels in the plinth support the nave. Coped parapets run east and west, with chequerwork squared in the east gable.

To the north, west of centre, is a smaller window above an entrance with a continuously moulded pointed arch and mask-stopped hoodmoulds. Towards the east, a canted projection accommodates rood stairs, with a slight projection on the east return. To the south, the westernmost window is shorter, as it originally sat above a now-demolished mortuary chapel of W. Howell (died 1492). Below this window is a blocked 4-centred arch, and brick walling appears to the side of the adjacent south porch. To the south west of the nave, a diagonal buttress has brick walling at its base.

The 2-storey south porch features a triple-moulded pointed entrance arch with an outer continuous hollow mould. The entrance is flanked by double shafted responds with moulded caps and bases, and the spandrels contain blank shields of arms in foiled roundels. Ashlar forms the sides, above which are six flushwork 'IHS' and 'MR' crowned monograms. The porch chamber is lit by a 2-light window with a 4-centred arched head, and a shallow gable with a coped parapet crowns the structure. To the east is a 2-stage buttress with squared flintwork, a plinth with panels matching those on the nave, and a now-removed pinnacle above. The eastern return has a plinth and frieze matching the nave, with a 2-light 4-centred arched headed window. To the west, a section of wall belonging to the former chapel projects to the south with a moulded shaft and early brickwork. A projection containing stairs to the porch chamber is fitted with a small 19th-century lancet window. Inside the porch is a good stone tierceron groin vault with stone seats on both sides, and the inner pointed entrance arch has outer hollow and inner roll moulds with moulded bases.

The chancel is lower, narrower, and shorter than the nave. To the east is a string course below a restored 3-light 14th-century window with a pointed arched head and intricately cusped intersecting or curvilinear tracery (the hoodmould is a 19th-century restoration). Above this is a small blocked cusped headed opening. Two-stage diagonal buttresses flank the chancel, and the coped gable parapet has kneelers and a ridge cross. The north side has two 2-light 15th-century windows: one with rectilinear tracery in a segmental pointed arched head, the other with ogee-headed lights and a squat quatrefoil in a 4-centred arched head. The south side features a central low side door in an ogee-headed pointed arch with three continuous hollow mouldings, a hoodmould with a crocketed finial and mask stops, and two windows matching those to the north.

Interior features include a segmental pointed chancel arch with triple wave moulding and a hoodmould, chamfered responds, and a 15th-century pointed tower arch with an outer continuous chamfer and two inner chamfers to semi-octagonal responds with moulded caps and bases. Above the tower arch is a quatrefoil opening. The nave has north and south wall arcades with 4-centred arches over the large windows, engaged shafts with moulded caps and bases, and low stone seats along both walls. The chancel windows and door have simply moulded rear arches.

The 8-bay nave roof is a 19th-century replacement with arch-braced brattished collars and brattished wall plates. The chancel roof is ceiled, with 4 bays and bosses with brattishing. To the south west of the nave is a blocked hollow-moulded 4-centred arched headed opening to the former chapel, and a 4-centred arched headed door to the porch chamber stairs. The porch roof comprises 15th-century cambered timbers. To the north east of the nave is a 4-centred arched headed opening for rood stairs, with a similar opening in the east wall of the nave. To the south east is a restored piscina with a hollow-moulded 4-centred arched head.

The chancel contains a 15th-century piscina with an ogee-headed 4-centred arched head, crocketed cusping, a moulded square surround with a crenellated head, and an octafoil bowl with a dropped sill. An octagonal 14th-century font in the nave stands on a step above a moulded base with a plain stem; the moulded underside of the bowl is patterned with elaborately cusped blank tracery. A timber bier dated 1763 is also in the nave.

The 19th-century furnishings include tiled floors, Communion rails, seating, and a pulpit. A 19th-century brass ewer is present. The tower floor contains a memorial to J. Browne (died 1716) with arms in relief, and the tower wall bears a benefactions board and two peal boards.

The nave's north window opposite the entrance retains fragments of 15th-century glass. The chancel's south window towards the east contains fragments of 15th- and 18th-century glass. The chancel east window was made by O'Connor in 1868, while the chancel south-west window and the tower west window were made by Heaton, Butler and Bayne around 1875.