Church Of St Mary

TIDWORTH SU 24 NW TIDWORTH 1381/11/10019 Church of St Mary 7.3.73 I

Formerly listed in the Borough of Test Valley, Hampshire. Built at the expense of Sir John Kelk, of Tidworth House, in 1879, architect John Johnson; becoming the parish church, but now a Redundant church. Spectacular Geometrical Gothic design, with a nave of 3 bays with aisles, large south porch, chancel with north and south (not symmetrical) chapels to the western half, vestries north of chapel and eastern bay of the nave, western bell turret. Walls of coursed rock-faced stone with ashlar dressings, and a steep tiled roof. The prominent roof has tiny vents with gables containing trefoils, it extends to a low eaves across the aisles, but the other units have their separate gabled treatment. The elevations have buttresses, angled at corners, with steps and gabled tops: there are bands linking sills and connecting hood-moulds to the openings: moulded and stepped plinths. The windows to the aisles and vestry are of 2 and 3 lights, being lancets with cusped heads: the east gable has a quatrefoil above 3 stepped lancets with attached columns and there are similar lancets to each side of the chancel: at the west end are coupled tall lancets below trefoils on each side of the centre buttress, and there is a cinquefoil window in the vestry east gable. The most spectacular feature of the building is the very tall and slender bell turret (or fleche) which stands on a massive stepped buttress in the centre of the west gable: it has cylindrical form with gabled buttresses separating the 4 openings, and is topped by a spire. The porch has an arched opening on recessed orders of 3 attached columns, an interior arcade (of 6) leading to a south door, with recessed orders of 2 columns. Within, the building is tall, with a full expression in orderly arrangement, of clustered marble columns, with moulded bands and bases, and stiff-leaf capitals. Pilasters in the aisles form the springing points for half-arches. The rich effect is enhanced by decorative corbels, painted panels to the chancel ceiling, tiled floor to the nave and mosaic floor to the chancel, circular stone pulpit, brass eagle lectern and 6 brass candle-stands in the nave. The square font is raised on 2 steps in front of a niche (within the massive west-end buttress).

Listing NGR: SU2353947699