Church of St Swithin

SU 37 SE 11/3

WELFORD WICKHAM Church of St Swithin

6.4.67

G.V. II*

Church. C10 Saxon tower, 1845-9. Rebuilding and restoration by Benjamin Ferrey for William Nicholson. Flint, some squared and knapped, with Bath stone dressings and tiled roofs. Nave, chancel, tower, south aisle, large north aisle, south porch. Plinth, corner and intermediate stepped buttresses, gable parapets carved stone eaves cornice with flower ornaments.

Tower: rough flint Saxon base with long and short quoins and round headed opening high up on West side beneath small double opening with mid-wall shaft. Top stage of tower re-built C19 with corner pilasters and two two-light round headed louvres to each face and crenellated parapet.

South elevation: Tower to left, south porch and two two-light windows, with drip moulds and carved heads at stops, to Nave. Door and single light pointed window to chancel.

West elevation: to left gabled North aisle with three-light window with flowing tracery beneath drip mould with carved head stops. Three trefoil shaped lights form window in the gable beneath a small pointed louvre.

Interior: Decorated style with much carving. Three bay nave with grouped column piers and leaf capitals supporting moulded pointed arches with carved leaf springers; stone angel corbels supporting double purlin hammer beam roof with intricate traceried arched braces and papier mache angels on hammer beans. West wall has ornate traceried entrance to tower flanked by carved stone canopied niches two bay chancel with cusped arch braced roof and leaf corbels, East window had flowing tracery and depicts the nativity, dated 1890 above a carved stone reredos of Decorated style niches. South wall has piscina, sediluim and door. South Aisle, three bays with trusses in the form of carved arches and carved traceried spandrels, leaf and angel corbels. North aisle of four bays, richly ornamented carved hammer beam roof with cusped arch braces, stone angel corbels and papier maché elephants on the hammer beams reputedly from the Paris Exhibition of 1862, double purlin roof with cusped wind braces. Font situated at West end of nave is carved stone octagon in square with intricately carved timber pinnacled cover with plaque stating "This font was worked in New Zealand and shown at the Great Exhibition in 1862." Two pew ends one depicting a bishop and the other an angel are said to have been carved by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.

Listing NGR: SU3947271520