Church Of The Holy Trinity

Church of the Holy Trinity

A church of mid and late 13th-century date with late 14th-century additions and 19th-century restoration. Built of squared coursed limestone with ashlar spire and lead roofs. The building comprises an aisled nave, chancel and west tower.

The chancel's south elevation displays a 2-window range of 2- and 3-light windows with Y- and intersecting tracery beneath a shallow gabled roof with plain parapet and finial. A 4-light Perpendicular east window with panel tracery is flanked by 2-stage buttresses. The north elevation of the chancel is blank. A 19th-century lean-to boiler house is attached to the east end of the north aisle.

The south aisle, of 4 bays, has a 3-window range comprising a 2-light square-head window with geometrical tracery to the left, a similar central window, and a 3-light window with intersecting tracery to the right. It has a lean-to roof with ashlar parapets and 3 gargoyles. A 3-light Perpendicular east window with 4-centred arch head and hollow responds and a 2-light square-head west window with geometrical tracery are also present. A gabled porch positioned in the bay to the left of centre features 2-centred double-chamfered arch heads to both inner and outer doorways. The outer doorway is decorated with nailhead ornament and polygonal responds; the inner doorway has renewed shafts.

The north aisle, of 5 bays, has a 4-window range. Two 3-light Perpendicular windows with 4-centred arch heads occupy the centre bays, whilst 3-light windows with Y-tracery occupy the flanking bays. The window to the far right has renewed tracery and is set in a square-head recess. A north door in the bay to the right of centre has a 2-centred arch head. Two-stage buttresses between windows separate 3 bays to the right which break forward slightly. The roof is lean-to with ashlar gable parapets. A blocked west window is also visible.

The south nave clerestory comprises a 4-window range of 2-light square-head windows with hood moulds and carved label stops, beneath a shallow gable roof with plain ashlar parapets, a corbel table, 3 gargoyles and a finial. The north clerestory is a 4-window range of single-light square-head windows.

The west tower is of late 13th-century date and consists of 2 stages with 3-stage angle buttresses at the corners. A 19th-century west doorway with 2-centred arch head featuring 4 chamfers and one order of shafts is positioned here. Above it is a tall lancet window with carved label stops. A band of plain corbels runs across the upper part of the lower stage with a tie-bar above. The upper stage is ashlar, with a triple arcade to each face featuring 2-centred arch heads and shafts; the centre bay of each face is a 2-light bell-chamber opening. A corbel table above supports a plain parapet with octagonal pinnacles at the corners. A set-back octagonal broach spire with 2 tiers of lucarnes crowns the tower.

Interior

The interior contains a 4-bay nave arcade of double-chamfered arches with quatrefoil piers and polygonal responds. The chancel arch is double-chamfered with semi-circular bracketed responds. The tower arch is triple-chamfered with polygonal responds. A piscina with roll moulded arch is positioned to the left of the altar, and a piscina with plain arch is located in the south aisle.

The south wall of the chancel features a double arcade with trefoil heads and cluster shafts; a similar arcade of 4 bays is on the north wall. Three carved heads adorn the spandrels of the arches. Remains of a relieving arch above the arcade contain 4 holes for acoustic jars, of which one survives. A blocked doorway to the right of the arcade originally led to a chantry chapel or vestry that was demolished in the 16th century. A single-stage internal buttress is present in the south aisle wall.

The roof structures are of 19th-century date. A Perpendicular style painted screen around the vestry in the north aisle is said to incorporate parts of the original rood screen. 19th-century furnishings include the font and pulpit.

The east window of the south aisle contains 3 mid-16th-century roundels depicting biblical scenes and 2 mid-17th-century rectangular panels depicting saints.