Church Of St Mary The Virgin

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Hornby

This is a church of considerable architectural importance, with origins in the 11th century and major additions spanning the medieval period into the Victorian era. The main phases of construction date from around 1080, the 12th century, around 1330, around 1410, the late 15th century, the 16th century, and 1877. The 1410 work was undertaken by Richard Mason of Newton for John Conyers of Hornby, and the 1877 restoration was carried out by J L Pearson for Fanny Georgiana, Duchess of Leeds. The building is constructed of rubble with ashlar dressings and has lead roofs.

The church comprises a west tower, a nave with north and south aisles, a south porch, a chancel with a north vestry and organ chamber, and a south chapel.

The west tower rises in four stages. The lower three stages date from around 1080, while the upper stage is from the late 15th century. The first and second stages have round-arched windows, with a clock on the second stage. The original belfry opening on the third stage contains 2 lights divided by a recessed baluster with a cushion capital, with round-arched lintels. The fourth stage has a double-chamfered 2-light belfry opening with mullion and transom, featuring trefoiled segmental-pointed heads to the lights and round-headed tracery above. The 19th-century crenellated parapets are supported on corbels. Corner pinnacles have recently been removed. The west side of the tower has a plinth, corner pilaster buttresses, and a doorway with a slab lintel below a round arch. The north side of the tower has a round-arched light vent on the first stage.

The south porch is gabled and dates from the 19th century. The south aisle dates from around 1410 and features a doorway with a double-chamfered pointed arch and hoodmould. Two 2-light pointed-arched windows with tall Perpendicular tracery flank a shallow stepped buttress. A blocked 19th-century three-light window is flanked by deep stepped buttresses leading to the south chapel. The parapet has triangular corner finials, and there is a triple-chamfered, flat-headed, trefoiled single-light west window. The east end of the south chapel, dating from the late 15th century, has a 3-light pointed-arched window with tall Perpendicular tracery and a deep stepped buttress to the left.

The nave clerestory dates from the late 15th century and contains three flat-headed windows with trefoil-headed lights—two of 2 lights and one of 3 lights. The parapet features an eastern gable cross.

The north aisle dates from around 1330. From west to east, it has an angle buttress, three double-chamfered 2-light trefoiled windows with a tomb projection between the first and second, and a blocked double-chamfered doorway between the second and third, followed by another angle buttress. The east window is double-chamfered and trefoiled with 3 lights and intersecting tracery. A 19th-century three-light west window also present.

The chancel is constructed of ashlar and dates from the 12th century. It has a moulded and rolled plinth. A 16th-century double-chamfered, triangular-headed priest's door is present. Two 12th-century windows with a sill band and continuous hoodmould are positioned around central and right pilaster buttresses. A corbel table and coping with a gable cross to the right complete the external treatment. At the east end of the chancel are three 19th-century Romanesque-style windows with a wheel window above.

The 19th-century gabled north vestry has a weathered cinquefoiled doorway and a window of 3 cinquefoiled lights, both with hoodmoulds. A heating chamber below features a 3-light mullion window. The 19th-century gabled organ chamber has a 3-light window with plate tracery and hoodmould.

Interior

The interior is notable for its arcades and furnishings. The north arcade comprises 3 bays dating from around 1180, with quatrefoil columns featuring delicate waterleaf capitals. The arches are of 2 orders, each one different, including chevron, zigzag and beading motifs. The south arcade of 3 bays dates from around 1410 and has octagonal piers on hollow-chamfered bases with chamfered capitals. The arches are double-chamfered with 2 orders, the inner one hollow-chamfered.

A 19th-century chancel arch in Romanesque style is present. The tower arch, dating from around 1180, is tall and narrow with a semicircular arch and imposts.

The north wall of the chancel features a 12th-century round-arched doorway with continuous roll and mason's marks in the form of an arrow. The east wall of the chancel has a cavity, possibly for relics. The south wall of the chancel has 12th-century windows with continuous roll.

The east wall of the north aisle contains a trefoiled piscina and three small panels of contemporary stained glass from around 1330 in the east window. The north wall of the north aisle, from east to west, includes an aumbry, a trefoiled ogee-headed niche for a statue (probably of St Cuthbert, dedication of a chantry founded in 1332), a double-chamfered, pointed-arched recess containing two 14th-century effigies of a knight and his lady (the knight in a crocketed canopy, probably members of the Mountford family), and a wall monument to Robert D'Arcy, Earl of Holderness, who died in 1778, created by John Bacon in 1780, featuring a weeping cherub in bas-relief in a circular panel with an urn above.

The east end of the south aisle has a trefoiled piscina and a 12th-century oval font on a circular stem.

The south chapel is separated by a 15th-century parclose screen with paired lights and Perpendicular tracery, featuring 5 original painted lower panels. The chapel contains a remarkable collection of monuments. On the east wall is Lady Frances D'Arcy, who died in 1670, with an inscription surrounded by swags and coat of arms above. On the south wall is a large Renaissance monument to Elizabeth D'Arcy, who died in 1578, featuring a small sarcophagus framed by Doric columns and frieze with an eagle on a large ovolo cornice, with an upper tier showing the coat of arms framed by Atlantes carrying a pediment.

The floor of the chapel contains several medieval grave covers: a 13th-century grave cover with foliate cross and sword; a 13th-century grave cover with pattie cross, stepped base, chalice and sword; parts of a 13th-century grave cover with a fleury cross; a 14th-century effigy of a lady; and late 14th to early 15th-century alabaster effigies of a knight and his lady, possibly the builder of the south aisle, Sir John Conyers and his wife Margaret St Quintin. Set in the floor are a black marble ledger stone with brasses of Thomas Mountford (died 1489) and Agnes his wife, with figures of eight sons and seven daughters, and another black marble ledger stone with matrices for brasses and an inscription commemorating Christopher Conyers and Ellen his wife, who died in 1443.

A lead-lined octagonal font with crocketed canopies on each side, a hollow-chamfered stem and base, bears an inscription stating it was a gift of Mary, Countess of Holderness, in 1783.

Historical Context

A contract survives for the building of the south aisle, dated 1409, between John Conyers of Hornby and Richard Mason of Newton le Willows. This documents the work of one of the significant medieval campaigns undertaken at the church.