Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary

Parish church. The building dates from the 13th century, with major construction phases circa 1438, 1460s, and circa 1496, followed by restoration in 1841 and alterations in 1858 by Joseph Clarke.

The tower is built of small lumps of roughly-coursed ragstone, while the nave and chancel are constructed of larger blocks of more evenly-coursed ragstone. The porch uses slightly larger blocks still. The tower is covered with wood shingles, while plain tile roofs cover the rest of the building. The plan comprises a west tower, nave, south porch, and chancel which is narrower than the nave.

The west tower dates to the 13th century and has two stages with a battered plinth and pyramidal roof. The belfry stage features louvred pointed lancets towards the top of each face except the east. Pointed and small rectangular lancets appear towards the base of the belfry stage, and pointed lancets to the lower stage. A medieval west doorway with a moulded pointed-arched outer architrave containing tracery of two cinquefoil-headed lights and quatrefoil over was inserted in 1858; it is said to have come from Teston church (demolished circa 1736). The inner architrave is doubly plain-chamfered and pointed. The door itself is ribbed and studded.

The nave dates to circa 1438 or slightly earlier and features a deep moulded plinth continued round buttresses and exposed sections of gable ends. A moulded stone string runs at window-cill level, interrupted by buttresses. Four buttresses reach to the eaves, one at each end of the south elevation and two towards the centre, with moulded stone coping to offsets. Moulded strings return along the gable ends from the offsets of the outer buttresses. Three tall 15th-century south windows virtually fill the bays between buttresses. These are moulded with cambered heads, three cinquefoil-headed lights, tracery of vertical bars, and moulded hoodmoulds with pendant ends. The south-west window has a higher cill to accommodate a doorway.

The south porch dates to circa 1496 and fills the south-west bay of the nave. It has a chamfered plinth continued from the base of the nave plinth and moulded stone coping to a plain parapet. Diagonal buttresses flank the entrance. A small niche with squared hoodmould sits over the doorway, and a small rectangular light lights the east side only. The outer doorway has a moulded four-centred arch with squared architrave, moulded hoodmould, and plain shields to spandrels. The inner doorway is four-centred with cavetto moulding, squared architrave, hollow spandrels, and a moulded hoodmould that continues horizontally for a short distance each side. The door itself has six fielded panels.

The chancel dates to the 1460s and has a moulded plinth continued from the nave and a moulded string. It has lower eaves and ridge than the nave and integral diagonal north-east and south-east buttresses. One moulded pointed-arched 15th-century south window is set towards the west end, with cinquefoil-headed lights, tracery of vertical bars, and hoodmould. A pointed-arched cavetto-moulded 15th-century east window has three cinquefoil-headed lights, tracery of vertical bars and quatrefoils, and a moulded hoodmould. The north elevation matches the south. A mid-19th-century stair-turret extension in coursed square stone blocks overlaps the north face of the tower on the nave's north elevation, with a small bevelled four-centred-arched doorway to its base.

Interior

The interior features a tall moulded pointed (almost four-centred) chancel arch, the inner section of its moulding springing each side from an engaged column with moulded capital and base. A shorter tower arch, altered in 1841, is pointed or four-centred with two plain-chamfered orders; the inner order springs each side from an engaged semi-octagonal shaft with scroll-moulded capital and moulded base. Cavetto-moulded architraves frame the nave and chancel windows.

A medieval window from Teston church, inserted above the chancel arch in 1858, is pointed-arched with two cinquefoil-headed lights, tracery with quatrefoil, and a moulded hoodmould.

The chancel roof has a roll-moulded cornice, collar-purlin, central and gable-end principal rafters all roll-moulded, and plain broad curved common rafters that, with curved ashlar-pieces, form a four-centred arch with the collar purlin as apex. Slightly recessed boarded infilling appears between the rafters. Bosses mark the junction of the collar-purlin and principal rafters. The plastered nave roof has the same outline as the chancel roof and a moulded cornice.

A 15th-century wooden screen from Teston Church now stands under the tower. It comprises four traceried two-light panels with moulded mullions; the boarding below the midrail has been renewed or replaced.

An octagonal stone font stands on a broadly-chamfered stem and plinth.

Stained Glass

The central north window dates to circa 1438 and depicts St. Thomas, St. Bartholomew, and St. Matthew with canopy work (two heads are renewed). The north-west window contains small scenes from the life of Thomas Becket. Fifteenth-century tracery glass depicting angels holding heraldic shields appears in all six nave windows and the east chancel window. The north chancel window (1460s?) shows St. Stephen and St. Lawrence on a decorative ground, with angels and beasts in the tracery. A Crucifixion in the east window dates to 1909 by T.F. Curtis of Ward and Hughes; the Virgin and St. John are said to be largely old. The north-east nave window of 1894 is by T.F. Curtis in a convincing 15th-century style, depicting St. Simon, St. Matthias, and St. Thaddeus with canopies. The south-east nave window of 1911 shows St. Peter, St. Andrew, and St. James Major.

Monuments

On the east wall of the nave, south of the chancel arch, stands a monument to Katharine Scott, died 1616. It shows a kneeling woman and child in a round-headed recess with Tudor roses to the soffit and heraldic shields to the spandrels, flanked by Corinthian capitals. A frieze contains the inscription. An open-topped triangular pediment with reclining putti and achievements crowns the monument. A pulvinated bay-leaf plinth and scrolled base-plate with text complete the composition.

On the east wall of the nave, north of the chancel arch, stands a monument to Elizabeth Scott, died 1598. It shows a kneeling woman in a round-headed recess with panelled soffit and plain spandrels, flanked by Corinthian capitals. A moulded cornice with encircled shield sits above. A consoled plinth with inscription between consoles and a scrolled base-plate complete the monument.

Historical Context

John or Reginald Pympe of Nettlestead Place is recorded as having put glass in the nave circa 1438, and John's son is said to have left money for the porch circa 1496.