Church Of St Dunstan

Church of St Dunstan, Cranford

This grade II* listed church dates probably from the 13th century, with a 15th-century tower, early 18th-century nave, and mid-20th-century vestry. It has undergone major restorations in 1895 by J L Pearson and 1935–6 by Martin Travers.

The building is constructed in flint and rubble with red brick and tile roofs. It comprises a separate nave and chancel, both under pitched roofs, with a west tower and a north-west vestry addition.

The exterior presents an entrance elevation to the south. The nave is built in red brick with a pitched tile roof and shallow buttresses. A handsome rusticated south entrance features a double-panelled door with a surround of false stone quoins. The decorative tripartite keystone supports a moulded cornice and lunette with a gauged round brick arch. A round-headed window in the same style stands to the east, with a pair of similar windows on the nave's north elevation. The chancel is pebble-dash rendered over flint rubble to the east with a pitched tile roof. A blocked lancet, probably 13th-century, has a stone surround; a double-light square-headed window is positioned to the east, accompanied by stepped brick buttresses. The east elevation displays a triple-light 19th-century traceried window. The chancel's north elevation contains a blocked door with red brick surround and a flat-roofed, triple-light roof dormer. A 1950s flat-roofed and rendered vestry of no architectural interest adjoins the tower's north elevation.

The handsome west tower rises four storeys. Its three lower storeys are 15th-century, constructed in flint and rubble with stepped diagonal buttresses and ashlar quoins. The belfry level is in red brick and appears contemporary with the nave, dating to 1710. A polygonal stair turret at the south-east corner is lit by loopholes. A clock occupies the north elevation.

Internally, the church is rendered and painted white. The nave roof is panelled and ribbed with arched braces and tie beams supported on stone corbels. A gilded chancel arch with painted cherub supporters and cartouches forms part of the 20th-century restoration by Martin Travers. Flagged floors, some consisting of grave slabs, are complemented by Jacobean black and white marble in the sanctuary. Medieval wall painting appears on the chancel's east wall, likely forming the upper portion of an originally larger design. These paintings display features of two or possibly three phases spanning the early 14th and 15th centuries, featuring stencilled letters including repetitive use of the capital 'M' surmounted by a crown and a possible sunburst motif. A mid-20th-century gallery by Travers provides the ringing chamber. A stone spiral staircase serves the tower. The vestry is of no special interest.

The font dates from 1710 and is a gift from the Berkeley family, fashioned from white marble on a black baluster. A peal of six bells includes the oldest, cast in 1380 by William Burford of Aldgate, reputed to be the oldest in the Diocese. A clock by Gillet & Co dates to 1886. The baldochino, altar frontal and reredos all date from the 1930s by Travers, executed in wood simulating draped tapestry. Altar rails, a statue and plinth of Our Lady (serving as a war memorial), and the gallery also originate from Travers's restoration. A Sanctuary Lamp by Omar Ramsden, the renowned Arts & Crafts silversmith (1873–1939), is of note. An impressive collection of stained glass includes the east window by Kempe, dated 1895. Curiosities include very early depictions of a biplane and tank in a north window, part of a First World War memorial.

The church contains a remarkable collection of monuments. A vast monument in the chancel commemorates Sir Roger Aston and his wife, dated 1611–13. This tripartite monument in Tudor style features kneeling figures of the deceased and their children, and is one of the few documented works by William Cure II, Master Mason to King James I. It was moved to the north wall and restored in the 1930s. An accomplished tomb of Elizabeth Berkeley (died 1635) by Nicholas Stone displays an unusual and beautifully carved low-relief white marble effigy of the deceased wrapped in a shroud. Various other tablets and monuments, many of 17th-century date, are scattered throughout the church. Large early 18th-century monuments occupy the nave: on the north wall, a monument to William Smythe (died 1720) of the Berkeley family features a portrait medallion flanked by cherubs and pilasters with a shell top; on the south wall stand two monuments to Pelsant Reeve and his wife (died 1727 and 1729 respectively).

It is likely that a church of early origins existed on the same site as the present building, with suggestions of a seventh or eighth-century Saxon church. The Domesday Book of 1086 mentions a priest serving the church in Cranford prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066. A priest was presented to the living in 1363 by Bishop Roger of Lichfield. A blocked lancet in the chancel, probably 13th-century, suggests the chancel may also date from this period. The chancel wall painting displays features of both early 14th and 15th-century date. The majority of the tower, excluding the belfry level, is 15th-century. A small, possibly Tudor, blocked brick north doorway exists. Following a fire in the nave, it was rebuilt in brick in 1710 by Elizabeth Dowager Countess of Berkeley.

The church underwent two major restorations: the first in 1895 by J L Pearson, who added the east window (by Kempe, dated 1896); the second in 1935–6 by Martin Travers, a craftsman of some repute employed by Rector Maurice Child. Much of Pearson's interior scheme was subsequently removed by Travers, who added many fixtures and fittings including the gallery and remodelled the chancel arch with the cherubs and cartouches. During this later restoration, the chancel wall painting was uncovered. Travers regarded the restoration of Cranford as his best work. The north-west vestry is a 1950s addition, probably replacing a late 19th-century structure. All but one of the pews were removed in the late 20th century. The chancel ceiling was restored in 2006 and found to be of medieval date. An attractive timber lych gate on a brick plinth with a hipped tile roof stands to the south of the church and is probably contemporary with the mid-20th-century restoration.

The church occupies the former Cranford Park Estate, gifted by Henry VIII following the Dissolution to his friend Henry, Lord Windsor. In 1604 the estate was purchased by Sir Roger Aston, minister to James I, but on his death without male heirs it was purchased by the Berkeley family in 1618, specifically by Elizabeth, Lady Berkeley. The adjacent mansion was demolished in 1939, although early 18th-century stables survive to the west of the church.