Church Of St Mary

ST52NW CHARLTON MACKRELL CP WEST CHARLTON (North side) 5/44 Church of St Mary (previously listed as Church of St Mary the Virgin) 17.4.59

GV II*

Parish church. C13 origins, but restored 1792-4 and 1847. Local lias stone cut and squared, with Ham stone ashlar and dressings; stone slate roof between coped gables. Cruciform plan, with south porch, north east vestry and tower over crossing. Chancel has plinth, angled corner buttresses with moulded offsets, eaves course; east window a C19 version of C14 tracery, 3-lights, arched label with foliated stops; 2 similar windows on south side, and between them a trefoil arched doorway; one similar window in north wall, but to north east corner a C19 Vestry, apsidal plan in a C13 style with hipped roof. north transept has plinth, double corner buttresses, eaves course; 2-light C19 tracery east and west windows, but north window a fine 5-light curvilinear traceried window of c1300-1340, with unstopped arched label. South transept has angled corner buttresses, with C19 copies of C15 windows, 2-light to east and west, 3-light to south, this last with headstop label. Nave has 3 C14 style traceried windows to north wall, and two early C15 style to south wall, all 3-lights; between these last the south porch with C13 style arch with ball flower decoration and headstops to label; inner arch C15 style, but walls and encaustic tile floor C19: west window has elaborate C15 style tracery, with transome and headstop to label; a former square headed doorway under now blocked. Tower has one stage clear of roof ridges, with string courses, corner gargoyles and battlemented parapet; south east corner stair turret capped with spirelet; 2-light traceried windows in hollow recesses, with headstop labels, to each face, fitted with decorative pierced stone baffles. Inside spacious, but almost totally C19. Chancel has windbraced arched trussed roof, richly decorated stone reredos; an ogee arched piscina possibly C14, and the chancel and crossing arches may be C14. Organ in south transept; in north transept a tulip bowl font on turned base, probably C13. Nave has richly decorated stone pulpit and octagonal font at west end, with wood cover; elaborately decorated bench ends to west of nave, some of which are early C16: early C19 glass in west window; two chandeliers, probably C18. (Hamilton and Long, Some Account of the Parishes of Charlton Adam and Charlton Mackrell, 1961).

Listing NGR: ST5282728336