Church Of St George

Church of St George

This is a parish church of 12th-century origin, substantially altered and extended through the centuries. The building features coursed rubble and ashlar limestone with a stone slate roof, and comprises a nave with south aisle, a west tower, south porch, chancel with south chapel, and north vestry with organ loft.

The south elevation displays a restored Perpendicular moulded doorway with a 4-centred arch, above which is a 14th-century ogee-headed niche containing a 20th-century carved St George figure. The Perpendicular porch, extended at an unknown date, has a Tudor arch with hood beneath a parapet-gabled end featuring diagonal offset buttresses; the porch roof was rebuilt in the 19th century with wagon-vaulting. The south aisle wall contains five Perpendicular-traceried windows with buttresses of varying design. One buttress to the right of the porch is dated 1607, and another at the point of extension is dated 1823, marking when the aisle was extended eastward with matching bays. A 19th-century pointed-arched doorway in the east bay has quatrefoil spandrels. At the eastern end of the aisle, a 19th-century Perpendicular-traceried window includes an image niche in its parapet. The aisle wall is topped by a crenellated parapet incorporating a small octagonal turret.

The north nave wall retains a 12th-century corbel table running its full length, though most corbels are heavily weathered; some retain face carving. A blocked 12th-century round-arched doorway and the remains of a small round-arched window survive here. Three main nave windows are narrow 14th-century openings with Decorated tracery, two of which were restored in the 19th century.

The 19th-century chancel end wall, constructed in a mixture of ashlar and coursed rubble, features a triplet window. A corbel table is reset at the chancel eaves, interrupted on the north side by a gabled organ loft and vestry with a circular stair turret in the east angle.

The west tower comprises three stages, with the lower two being 12th-century. These have narrow round-arched windows on the north and south sides with clasping buttresses. A Decorated 2-light west window is pointed-arched, with a fragment of an earlier round-arched window above. The 14th-century belfry stage has 2-light openings to each face with stone louvres. Below the crenellated parapet, a moulded string course carries two carved animal gargoyles on each face. A memorial on the north side of the tower, dated 1732, features a fine cartouche with flanking pilasters and entablature.

Interior

The interior is limewashed with ashlar dressings. The 12th-century tower arch is notable, as is a row of five carved head corbels set well below the present boarded barrel-vaulted roof of the nave, which carries painted decoration executed by Bodley. Part of the splay to the 12th-century nave window survives with a zig-zag border. The restored 4-bay south arcade features octagonal columns with moulded pointed arches. The aisle has a flat panelled ceiling, also decorated with painting by Bodley.

The lofty chancel is dominated by an Early English-style moulded arch supported on attached column shafts with stiff-leaf capitals. The east triplet window has painted column shafts. A 19th-century 2-bay south arcade serves the chapel. The chancel contains a major organ of 1876, the case of which was designed by Thomas Liddiatt. Choir stalls, thought to be by Rev. John Gibson, include four carved with the Evangelists. Two painted metal candelabra of unusual design may be by Bodley, along with an ornate gilt candelabrum. An iron chancel screen encloses the space. 19th-century additions include a timber-panelled pulpit and pews.

A square font dated 1877 has coloured marble inlay and stands on a central circular pier with small marble columns at the corners. The tower contains a collection of medieval tiles set in the sill of the west window.

Memorials

The church holds a notable collection of memorials. In the tower are monuments to the Paul and Clutterbuck families, particularly the memorial to Obadiah Paul (died 1724) by T. King of Bath, which features a sarcophagus with bust and supporting putti. A Clutterbuck memorial dated 1655 has a segmental pediment with flanking mourners.

The north nave wall displays many memorials, including that to John Holbrow (died 1790) with a broken column and shrouded urn; a memorial by Wood of Gloucester to Rev. Thomas Bayley MA (died 1817); a memorial by James Millard of Gloucester to Sarah Hawker (died 1793) with a sarcophagus and draped urn; and a memorial with pediment and putti holding hour glasses to Jasper Clutterbuck (died 1752).

In the south aisle, a memorial to the Paul family dated 1723 features a shell background with three cherubs' heads, and a memorial to Richard Clutterbuck (died 1714) displays a pediment with central escutcheon and putti with torches.

The stained glass is predominantly by Clayton and Bell.

The church was substantially altered and enlarged in 1823 and underwent extensive restoration and additions in 1876, including the creation of the new chancel, all work directed by the architect George Frederick Bodley.