Church Of St Margaret Hardley

LANGLEY WITH HARDLEY LOWER HARDLEY ROAD TG 30 SE 3/53 Church of St. Margaret 5.9.60 Hardley

GV I

Parish church. C14 and C15 with some C12 work including base of west tower. Flint, partly rendered and red brick; limestone dressings. Slate roofs. West tower, nave, chancel, north porch, north vestry. Round west tower, C12 with later upper stages; small western lancet, with bell opening above semicircular headed, dressed in red brick with rubbed arch and dripmould. North and south bell openings lancets with chamfered reveals. Embattled tower parapet of red brick with roll-moulded copings. Tower not co-axial with nave, suggesting a north aisle now incorporated in nave. Nave and chancel each have two 2-light C15 windows on the south side, bays divided by staged buttresses. Cl4 north nave doorway. Nave east gable much rebuilt at south-east corner; coped gable parapet on moulded stone kneelers. Diagonal buttresses to east gable; 4-light C15 east window, the cill apparently raised. On the north side of the chancel, a C19 red brick vestry with a parapeted north gable with internal chimney with an octagonal shaft; two small lancets in gable with leaded iron-framed casements. Three 2-light C15 windows in north wall of nave and chancel; the westernmost nave window square-headed and probably of earlier date. North porch much rebuilt with C14 ogee-headed entrance arch in brick gable. Niche with cusped head above entrance. Block single-light window in west wall of porch. Interior: nave and chancel ceilings plastered, arch-braced roofs on castellated wall corbels. The chancel roof has short wall-posts and roll-moulded purlins. Roof stair at south-east corner of nave. Screen probably C15 in origin but much restored and with the remains of only one original-panel on the south side. C18 panelled pews built around C15 poppyhead benches. C15 piscina and dropped cill sedilia in south wall of chancel. Stoup adjoining south nave door. Chancel windows set in large arched recesses. Painted consecration cross on west wall of nave; large St. Christopher on north wall of nave. Good heraldic brass to Drake William Playters d.1632 in chancel. Good C15 font: octagonal on two risers, the upper riser with quatrefoil tracery: four lions around the stem, the signs of the Evangelists and four angels around the bowl.

Listing NGR: TG3853400730