Church Of St Mary

SU 5032 part/5132 ITCHEN VALLEY CHURCH LANE Easton 13/10 5.12.55 Church of St Mary

GV I

Parish church. Circa 1200, C16, restored 1866-1872 by H. Woodyer. Flint and dressed stone, once rendered, old plain tiled and lead roofs, shingle covered belfry. Late Norman plan of tall parapeted chancel with apse, nave and W tower, C19 N.E. vestry. Chancel has tall stepped buttresses at each end of walls and apse has 2 similar buttresses at 1-third-points. All round offset plinth, and C19 zig-zag ornament string course below windows and heavy machicolated parapet. 4 C19 round-headed Norman windows with columns and 3 order arches, to apse and S chancel, and in SW corner outline of large window, to N gabled vestry. S nave wall has central Norman door, mostly C19 of 2 orders and label with nook shafts with 3 shaft-rings. High on each side tall C16 square headed 2-light quatrefoiled windows with hood moulding. N wall has at E restored hexagonal rood stair turret with tiny lights and pointed roof. In centre plain round headed doorway of 2 orders and label. High on each side tall thin round headed lancet. W tower has SE stair tower restored C19 and top stage and splayed plinth and roof are C19. C19 2-light plate tracery W window, above on each face round headed lancet. Stair tower has half hipped roof at level of smaller plan top stage which has tiled skirt all round below it, supported on struts of stone string course. 3-light round headed bell openings on each side and single light similar in tall hipped dormer on pointed roof. Inside chancel is vaulted with apse; between pointed arch of 2 orders with keeled rolls, label on slender clusters of shafts with foliage capitals. Chancel vault quadripartite with finely moulded ribs and square bosses, and apse ribs rise to apex of arch. All windows C19 round headed with stained glass by J. Hardman, Birmingham. String course all round at sill level. Distorted round chancel arch with keeled rolls, slender groups of responds with keeling and waterleaf capitals. Monuments: 1595 Agatha Barlow, inscribed panel behind 2 unfluted Ionic columns supporting small ogee-curved gable with date. 1661 Anne Odes, 1770 Rev. Charles Monckton. Nave has a sill level contimation of string course. S windows have C16 rear arches, S door rebuilt with high stilted arch that breaks string. N windows have widely splayed rear arches with continuous keel roll inside. N door is covered over and in till corner door to rood stairs and above doorway onto screen. Tower arch unmoulded pointed arch with imposts joining with wall string, and high above round headed doorway to former nave roof space. C16 arch braced roof, with wind-braces each side of principle rafters to 2 sets of butt purlins. Pulpit at NE is Jacobean with arabesque panels above panels with small double arches. Painted carved coat of arms poss. to William III. Monuments under tower: 1780 to Edmmnd Elyott & Son, 1806 to Mary Simpson.

Listing NGR: SU5101332142