Church Of St Mary, Kingston

Church of St Mary, Kingston

A church built in 1887-9, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield, replacing an earlier church of 1843 by T E Owen, which itself had superseded the original medieval church. The foundation stone was laid by Empress Frederick of Prussia (Queen Victoria's eldest daughter) on 9 August 1887.

The building is constructed of flint with Bath stone dressings and plain tile roofs, designed in the Neo-Perpendicular style. The plan comprises a 6-bay nave and aisles, a 2-bay chancel with ambulatory, a Lady Chapel to the south of the chancel (now used as church hall and kitchen), a 2-storey sacristy, organ loft and vestry to the north of the chancel, a west tower, and west, north and south porches.

The tower rises in 4 stages with offset stone buttresses featuring rusticated quoins and flint infill panels. These terminate at stage 4 with diamond strip pilasters. The south face has a lean-to roofed porch at its first stage with a 2-leaf boarded door under a moulded pointed arch and ogee hoodmould with rusticated jambs. Two 3-light Perpendicular style traceried windows flank the door, similarly detailed. The second stage has a moulded sillband and a 2-light window, with a clockface above it flanked by narrow window slots. The third stage repeats this pattern with two similar windows, while the fourth stage has two taller 2-light Perpendicular windows panelled with trefoil-headed lights. An embattled parapet is topped with crocketed pinnacles at each corner. The west face is similarly detailed with a recessed 2-leaf door approached by stone steps at the centre, set under a moulded pointed arch springing from paired colonnettes with an ogee hoodmould. The door is flanked by diamond pilasters, each terminating with a pinnacle above arch level, and traceried stone panels rise above the doorway. An octagonal stairs access turret stands to the left. The north face mirrors the south.

The south-facing aisle has a low projecting porch with a 2-leaf boarded door and pointed stone arch. Stepped offset buttresses flank this, each terminating with a stone pinnacle. A facing stone gable with traceried stone panels stands above, with three recessed flint panels on left and right returns. An embattled parapet runs the length. To the left of the porch and to the right are three Perpendicular style 3-light windows with hoodmoulds and rusticated jambs, flanked by stepped buttresses rising to diamond pilasters with crocketed pinnacles. A moulded stone band and embattled parapet run above.

The nave has six paired 2-light Perpendicular style clerestory windows, each flanked by stepped pilasters rising to diamond pilasters and crocketed pinnacles. At the junction of nave and chancel stands an octagonal stairs access turret with Tudor-type flat arches and traceried windows to each face and an embattled parapet.

To the right of the aisle is the projecting 2-bay Lady Chapel with two wide 5-light Perpendicular style windows with hoodmoulds and rusticated jambs. Stepped buttresses flank these, with a diagonal buttress to each corner. An embattled parapet crowns the structure. A small projecting porch with a 2-leaf boarded door and flat pointed moulded stone arch with lean-to stone slab roof stands to the right of the centre buttress. A similar window appears on the right return. A pedimental embattled parapet finishes this element.

The chancel is lower and narrower than the nave, with stepped offset buttresses each rising into a crocketed pinnacle. Its east face features a large 7-light Perpendicular style window with a hoodmould. The north and south faces have similar 3-light windows. A facing shallow pitch parapet gable tops the structure. Below the window sill projects an ambulatory passage with boarded doors to the north and south returns, each set under a stone pointed arch with a hoodmould. At the centre is a 3-light Perpendicular style window with a hoodmould.

To the right of the chancel, the 2-storey vestry, sacristy and organ loft features a Tudor-type flat-arched window and a moulded sillband to the second floor with a 3-light traceried window. The north face of this structure has similar windows to those on the south aisle, nave and chancel. At the far left (east) is a 2-storey vestry, chapel and organ loft with diagonal stepped buttresses and stone-capped plinth. It has a 4-light Perpendicular style window set under a 3-centred arch. The second floor has a stone sillband and three long narrow lancet traceried windows, each with a hoodmould. A facing gable with stone parapet and gargoyles at each corner finishes it, with a stone stack on the left.

Internally, the church has a lofty open interior. Nave arcades feature octagonal stone piers with capitals having castellated tops. Moulded pointed arches spring from these, with rolled hoodmoulds and small ogees above the arches rising as shafts to the roof corbels. Similar shafts rise from corbels between the springing of arches. A coved hammer beam roof is supported on gilded angels atop stone corbels, continuing over part of the chancel as a timber barrel vault.

The north chapel opening has a wide 3-centred stone moulded arch with carved foliated spandrels and a moulded cornice with carved bosses. Above this is a delicately carved oak organ case with trefoil-headed panels. Behind the organ case are two tall 3-light wide stone traceried open screens.

The chancel sanctuary opening has a moulded stepped intrados to a pointed arch, flanked by colonnettes. To the left face of the chancel arch is a doorway leading to the vestry, organ loft and ambulatory passage. The right face of the arch contains a doorway to the Lady Chapel.

At the east end of the chancel is an ornate wood-panelled and traceried reredos set against a panelled wall surface with a large arched rib intersecting the panel pattern. Above rises the 7-light Perpendicular style window with stained glass.

To the north of the chancel are two recessed panelled wall surfaces, traceried and set under a moulded pointed arch with a hoodmould. The lower part of the right-hand panel has an opening set under a flat pointed stone arch. The upper tier, with a moulded stone band, has a Perpendicular style window on the right and a panelled wall surface with similar rib tracery pattern on the left. The window and wall panels are flanked by colonnettes from which springs a Lierne vaulted ceiling with carved bosses at rib intersections. The south face has similar window and wall panels.

A vestibule at the west end has doors leading to the north and south porches, with the main west entrance door and a 4-light stained glass window. Engaged columns at each corner of the vestibule spring the vaulted ceiling. A 2-leaf door to the nave is set under a stone pointed arch springing from flanking pilasters. The west face of the nave side has recessed panels and pilasters.

Stained glass in an aisle window is by Burlison and Grylls, dating from approximately 1890-1920.

The fittings include delicate cast-iron chapel screens and a wide octagonal stone pulpit with a sub-structure embellished by miniature vaulting.

A cartouche monument to Thomas Bowerbane (1761) stands in the north porch.