Church Of St Mary

TM 1354 8/3

CODDENHAM Church Road Church of St. Mary

9-12-55

I Parish church. Medieval with major phases of mid C14 and late C15. Nave, chancel, north and south aisles and north-west tower. Organ chamber of c.1880. Flint rubble with freestone dressings; inclusions of brick rubble in both C14 and C15 work. Low-pitched leaded roofs to nave and aisles, partly with parapets. Chancel roof plaintiled; parapet gables throughout. Areas of C11/C12 rubble walling to north chancel, and perhaps west nave; in the former is a slit window. The chancel was extended eastwards in mid C13: good east and south windows with hoodmould and tracery; one window has a piscina with corner shaft, and another is reset with good matching doorway in the C19 organ chamber. Fine carved masks at the east gable kneeler stones. Plain early C14 tower, raised by two stages in early C16 with flushwork parapets. Nave and aisles rebuilt mid C14: arcades upon octagonal piers with moulded capitals, north and south doorways, windows with varied curvilinear tracery and a piscina in the south chapel, all with much hoodmoulding. The nave and aisles were remodelled to a high standard in mid or late C15: clerestory in 7 full and 2 half bays; traceried windows, the interstices entirely panelled with intricate flushwork, and above is an inscription "ORATE PRO ANIMAE JOHANNIS FRENCH ET MARGARETE"; fine roof with trusses of double hammerbeams and short kingposts, all members being enriched and the arch-braces carved; angels and wall-post figures much renewed, but one at least of the former is original; matching aisle roofs with arch-braced principals. Restored early C16 south porch, with flushwork panels, the doorway with label and lion corbels. Rood loft stairway with brick walls and two doorways. Some fragments of screen (now elsewhere) are dated 1534. Early C17 arcaded pulpit on C19 limestone plinth. Late C17 rails with barley-sugar balusters, at south chapel and at chancel arch. In the chancel are C15 choirstalls with misericordes, and 4 reused bench-ends. The limestone font in the C15 manner is probably a C19 renewal. Three good wall monuments in the chancel: to Philip Bacon (d.1666), to Revd. Baltazar Gardenau (d.1739) and Lady Catharine his wife (d.1757), and to Revd. Nicholas Bacon (d.1796). Over the Bacon vault in the chancel is a marble slab with achievements. In the south aisle is a floor slab with indents for brasses of C16 type. Six painted panels, mainly in the nave, have coats of arms.

Listing NGR: TM1327254160