Church of St Mary

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TQ 14 SW 11/223

SHERE CP Holmbury St Mary HORSHAM ROAD Church of St Mary

14.6.67

GV I Church. 1879 by George Edmund Street, extended to west in 1966 by James E. Ralph. Snecked Holbury Hill sandstone with Bathstone ashlar dressings, plain tiled roofs with wood shingled bellcote and brooch spire to west end. Built on a prominent hillside site, the nave and chancel are under one roof, aisles in continuous catslide to main roof.

Two storey chancel to east with chancel chapel to north, vestries underneath. Early English style with four cusped and arched louvred openings on bellcote. Trefoil head arched windows to aisle walls and six lobed roundel window on west side of north chancel chapel. Two three-light ribbed cusped tracery windows to north side on first floor of chapel, two trefoil head windows below flanked by diagonal buttresses. Trefoil head two-light windows to storey chancel with complex five-light and roundel east window. Set into south wall of chancel is cusped arched niche with buttress piers to ends and crocketed gable over the chest tomb to the second Mrs Street. Quatrefoil band on recessed panelled sides and cross with floral decoration to top. Buttressed sloping roof transept block to south wall with rounded buttress to west end. Depressed three-step arch to basement stairway of north vestry door. Main door to south west corner in ribbed bolted stone porch recess, arched and chamfered porch entrance approached up a flight of six steps, panelled and planked door with strapwork hinges.

Interior: narthex to west end closed off by glazed screen. Three bay crown post roof to nave with pentice roofs to aisles. Nave arcade of octagonal grey stone - Pennant stone with marble shafts attached, coved rood screen with cusped tracery. Chapel to north (dedicated to the Holy Spirit) approached up a flight of steps. Vivid stained glass by Clayton and Bell from designs by G.E Street. Cusped windbrace panelled roof to chancel.

Fittings: painted and panelled pulpit. Octagonal stone font on four-lobed stem. Organ of 1881 by T. Lewis and at entrance to the organ chamber is an oak screen with carving of St Cecilia over designed by Arthur Street, son of the founder. Piscina and Sedilia in chancel.

Paintings: reredos in chancel shows Infant Saviour and Virgin attributed to Spinello Aretino, died 1410, donated by G.E. Street. North wall of north chapel twelve-sided framed painting possibly by Jacopo de Sellaio (1442-1493). Limoges enamel C12 crucifix also given by Street.

Narthex: Roundel by Luca della Robbia (1400-1481) given by J.R. Clayton of Clayton and Bell showing a Madonna and child in majolica work.

Listing NGR: TQ1099244426