Church Of St Martin

SU 03 SE BARFORD ST MARTIN WEST STREET (south side) 2/25 Church of St Martin 23.3.60

GV I

Anglican parish church. C13, C15, restoration and rebuilding of north transept 1841. Rubble stone and dressed limestone, Welsh slate roof. Aisle-less cruciform church with west entrance. Tudor-arched chamfered west doorway with ribbed door, 3-light square-headed window with pointed lights and hoodmould over with C18 and C19 tablets to Crouch family either side, stepped parapet to gable. South side of nave has three 2-light square-headed windows with cusped pointed lights and hoodmoulds with one 2-Light to right, buttresses and parapet with saddleback coping. Octagonal stair turret in angle between nave and south transept has Tudor-arched doorway and attached square ashlar stack with moulded capping. South transept has 3-light pointed Perpendicular window, 2-light cusped square-headed window to east side, heavy cyma- moulded plinth. Chancel has two pairs of lancets to south and north sides, east end has diagonal buttresses and three stepped lancets with relieving arch. North transept of 1841 has Tudor- arched doorway and lancet on east side, to integral vestry, 3-light Perpendicular-style north window. North side of nave has three square-headed windows with cusped lights, battlemented parapet. Two-stage crossing tower has buttresses with offsets, round gilded clockfaces on north and east sides, offset bellstage has 2-light pointed Perpendicular windows with louvres, cavetto-moulded cornice to battlemented parapet with gargoyles. Interior: C20 vestibule at west end of nave, with 6-bay C16 king- post roof; moulded soffits and short curved braces to C19 stone corbels. Narrowness of nave and height of window sills suggests an early medieval structure. C13 crossing rebuilt C15 with hollow and cyma-moulded piers, tierceron vault on octagonal shafts with rosette and zoomorphic bosses and central circle for bells. South transept has arch-braced collar-rafter roof, chamfered pointed piscina on south wall and squint to chancel. North transept has plastered Tudor-arched barrel-vaulted ceiling, north part forms vestry, benefactions board on west wall records 1841 rebuilding and provision of nave pews. Chancel has 3-bay collar-truss roof, good C17 wainscot panelling with rosette frieze and C17 choir stalls, C19 encaustic tiled floor. Fine C17 chip-carved wooden altar with matching reredos, possibly re-using panels. Font at west end; C19 bowl. Relief-carved Royal Arms on east wall of nave. 1920s Gothic-style stained glass. Monuments: good brass in south transept to Alis Walker died 1584. Stone panel in chancel with relief figure of woman with basket of loaves, restored niche on south wall contains late Medieval painted effigy of woman with Latin inscription. Collection of C18 and C19 wall tablets includes grey marble tablet in chancel to Petri Hersent (sic) died 1759. (N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England, Wiltshire, 1975)

Listing NGR: SU0565031388