Church Of St Mary Magdalene

Church of St Mary Magdalene

This is a church of the 13th and 14th centuries, with substantial 19th-century work. The building is constructed of squared coursed lias and limestone ashlar with a lead roof. It comprises an aisled nave and chancel, a west tower, and north and south porches.

The chancel's south elevation contains a single window range featuring a 3-light window with 19th-century reticulated tracery, with ashlar gable parapets and finials beneath a shallow pitched roof. The 4-light east window also has reticulated tracery. The north elevation of the chancel is similar to the south, with a blocked door opening below the window having a 4-centred moulded stone head.

The south aisle is a 4-window range. Three windows to the left have 2- and 3-light square-head windows with carved label stops and ashlar gable parapets beneath a lean-to roof. The south porch, positioned left of centre, has double-chamfered pointed arched openings with octagonal responds to the outer arch, ashlar gable parapets, a shallow pitched roof, and a finial with sundial to the left. To the far right of the south aisle, a one-window range forms the south chapel, which was reconstructed in the mid-19th century. This chapel has a 2-light window with a south door in a gable projection to the left and a similar 3-light east window, with ashlar parapets and a shallow gabled roof. Three 18th-century tablets are fixed to the south aisle wall, one decorated with cherubs' heads and drapery.

The north aisle is a 4-window range of 2- and 3-light square-head windows with carved label stops, ashlar gable parapet, and lean-to roof. The north porch is similar to the south but with moulded and chamfered arch head openings and a statue niche above the outer arch.

The nave clerestory contains a 3-window range of 2-light square-head windows with ashlar gable parapets and shallow pitched roof.

The west tower comprises four stages with 3-stage shallow angle buttresses to the lower two stages. The west door is in a Decorated opening with a cusped lozenge above. The third stage has 2-light Decorated ringing-chamber openings to each face. The fourth stage is Perpendicular work in limestone ashlar, stepped back from the lower stages, and has pairs of 2-light bell-chamber openings with transoms to each face. Above these is a quatrefoil frieze with quatrefoil parapet, gargoyles, and pinnacles at the corners.

Interior

The interior contains a 4-bay nave arcade of 13th-century double-chamfered arches with polygonal piers and one circular pier to the north. The eastern bay to either side is separated from the other bays by a masonry pier, possibly indicating the position of former transepts. A triple-chamfered chancel arch has octagonal responds. Similar north and south chapel arches and a tower arch have two, three, and four chamfers respectively. The nave and south aisle have plastered ceilings with some exposed beams to the south aisle and three carved wooden bosses to the nave wall; other roofs are 19th-century. An early 19th-century panelled pulpit and box pews are present, along with a late 17th-century communion rail. The north and south porches have plank doors. A circular font stands on a 19th-century base.

Family trees of the Palmer and Whalley families consist of square marble tablets formed into pointed arch shapes.

Monuments

Samuel Freeman (died 1707) has a monument on the chancel west wall comprising a cartouche surmounted by an urn and flanked by cherubs. John Palmer's monument, erected in 1732 by Rysbrack and situated on the chancel north wall, is a large marble tablet on brackets with a bust above and cartouche below. Another John Palmer (died 1761), also by Rysbrack and signed by H. Cox, is similar but with an obelisk behind. Catherine Whalley (died 1817), by Rossi, occupies the south wall of the chancel and depicts two kneeling figures holding a circular medallion. Ann Isted (died 1763) has a monument on the north wall of the south chapel, an inscribed tablet with urn, pediment, and obelisk above and flanking cherub in various marbles with Rococo detailing. The Norris family monument, early 18th-century, is a stone tablet on the west wall of the north aisle featuring a flaming heart and masons' symbols at the head. The south chapel contains numerous 18th- and 19th-century tablets to the Isted and Sotheby families of Ecton Hall.

The stained glass includes a north chancel window by Morris and Company (1924), an early 20th-century chancel east window, and two early 20th-century windows in the south chapel.