Church Of St Mary Magdalene

ST55SE CHEWTON MENDIP CP CHURCH LANE (North side)

17/19 Church of St Mary Magdalene 22.11.66

GV I

Anglican Parish Church. Saxon establishment, work of C12, C13, C14, C15 and C16; restored 1865. Coursed and squared rubble and ashlar, freestone dressings, lead sheeting and slate roofs, crested ridges. Nave, chancel, south aisle, south chapel, south porch, large south vestry. Predominantly Perpendicular; Norman, Early English and Decorated work; restoration in poor Early English style. Most note-worthy feature the tower, approx 38 a high, started about 1440, finished ante 1535; set back buttresses, and a diagonal hiding the angle of the tower, higher up the buttresses became angle buttresses terminating in pinnacles; battlements with blank arcading, further large pinnacles; low west door with a 4-centred head, 4-light west window (with two 2-light sub-arches), statue of Christ above in a niche with 8 attendant angels; above 2 tall blank transomed windows with flanking diagonal shafts; above is the bell-stage in conforming. style, open windows with Somerset-type tracery. Four bay nave, a 2 and 3-light Perpendicular window on north side, and a 2-light Decorated window; Norman north doorway with segmental arch and 2 orders of columns, scallop capitals carrying a round arch with chevron decoration; pilaster-buttress at north-east corner, parapet, coping, pinnacles, large gargoyles. Four bay south aisle, 3-light Perpendicular windows and a Decorated window; hidden by the C19 porch a Norman corbel-table, probably re-used; vestry C19. Early-mid C13 chancel and south chapel; the north windows of the former have pointed trefoiled rere-arches and the 2 bay arcade between thee rests on a quatrefoil pier with a water-holding base, the capitals are stiff-leaf, double chamfered arches; chancel with C19 east window, chapel with Perpendicular window; pilaster buttress at east end of chancel and retains of a corbel table. Interior scraped on a flagstone floor. Roofs renewed C19, except fan-vault under tower. Norman arches flanking chancel arch, that to south now only fragmentary; east portion of aisle arcade with C13 piers, quatrefoil, square bases said to be Norman, double chamfered arches; west 2 bays of arcade C14 with octagonal piers. Perpendicular tower arch. Three piscinae; 2 medieval chests; C16 carved bench ends; circular Early English font under tower; restored C15 sedilia; frid-stool to chancel; Jacobean altar rails, altar table, reader and chest; C19 features include altar rails and rich glazed tiles. Much C19 stained glass, but C15 and earlier fragments to chancel window. monument with effigies, Knight and Lady, probably Sir Henry Fitzroger, obit 1388; wall monument to Frances Waldegrave, 1879 by Boehm. Bells of 1913. (Church Guide, 1980; Pevsner, Buildings of England, North Somerset and Bristol, 1958).

Listing NGR: ST5964253151