Church of Saint Ismael

Church of Saint Ismael

This is a Decorated Gothic church built in rockfaced squared sandstone with slate roofs, coped gables and cross finials. The building comprises a nave with a south porch on the left and a lean-to projection on the right, a chancel with a large gabled south vestry on the left, and a lean-to squint passage in the angle to the north aisle's east gable (in line with the nave east). The aisle's west gable is set back from the nave west. A medieval small tower with a saddleback roof is attached to the north aisle's northeast corner.

The church displays characteristic Decorated Gothic features: grey sandstone tracery with 2-light pointed windows featuring cusped heads to the lights and quatrefoils in the heads, all with hoodmoulds and rock-faced voussoirs. The nave has a west window and two south wall windows to the left of the gabled porch. The porch itself has a pointed chamfered entry with hoodmould and a twentieth-century door. The lean-to projection to the right of these windows has a cusped single light and coping on the west side; its east side abuts the vestry. The chancel's gabled vestry has a small 2-light on the south, possibly a reused medieval window mentioned by Glynne, with cusped heads to the lights. An shouldered-headed door is set to the left of the east side. The east wall contains a reset or copied Bath stone late Gothic 3-light pointed window. The north side has a diagonal wall with a reused small medieval 2-light with cusped heads and sunk spandrels. The north aisle has east and west windows in the same style. Below the east window, the masonry (former side of a north transept) bears marks of blocked openings. Small blind lancets appear in the aisle and nave west gables.

The medieval tower attached to the left end is plain and thin, with a pointed doorway on the east side set to the left and reached by stone external steps with stone voussoirs. The truncated top has a slate saddleback roof and two louvred rectangular openings on the east side; similar blocked openings exist on the west.

The plastered painted interior contains significant features. The porch has a pointed south door and a 3-sided boarded ceiling. The nave has a 5-bay roof with arch-braced collar trusses on corbels. The south door and windows have segmental-pointed heads. The chancel arch is pointed, not central (offset to the left), and minimally chamfered. A 3-bay arcade opens to the right into the north aisle, with thin chamfers to the arches continued down to the ground at each end and two painted round columns with round bases and leaf capitals. The nave south has a projection on the left with a segmental pointed arch. The north aisle has 5 trusses on corbels and a small door with segmental-pointed head to the right at the base of the tower. The tower base has a low cambered stone vault pierced by a circular hole for raising the bell. A large squint passage runs from the north aisle to the chancel, with a segmental-pointed opening to the aisle's east end. The squint window is late medieval with cusped heads to two lights and sunk spandrels.

The chancel is narrow with a 4-sided panelled ceiling featuring large painted timber roll-moulded ribs and 6-by-4 plaster panels with small corbels. A broad segmental-pointed arch on the north leads to the squint, its chamfers matching those on the chancel arch. A medieval reset corbel stands to the right and another opposite on the south. The chancel's east window is a restored medieval example. On the south wall, a medieval bowl stoup with lobes is reused as a piscina on an 1873 ornate capital, with a cusped head to the recess above and a hoodmould. To the right, a large segmental-pointed arch opens into the vestry with a 3-sided boarded roof.

The fittings include a massive 12th-century square scalloped font bowl with rope-moulding around the top of a round shaft, painted white, and a carved font cover dated 1939. An octagonal pitch-pine pulpit with Gothic panels and roundels in the frieze sits to the right of the chancel arch, on an octagonal stone base. Short pews around the font are of the later 19th century with poppyhead bench-ends. A timber lectern with a small carved angel is in use, and a timber eagle lectern stands in the north aisle. Wrought-iron standards to the altar rails feature cross and flower motifs in scrolls. A Gothic altar dates to around 1935.

The stained glass includes a west window 2-light dedicated to Rev. Meares (1873) depicting the road to Calvary and "Feed my lambs" by T. Wailes. A nave south 2-light window to G. J. Bland (1908) shows Cornelius and Dorcas by R. J. Newbery (the original design is preserved in the vestry); an adjoining 2-light window to Rev. John Phillips (1918) depicts the Sower and Reaper, probably also by Newbery. The east window, showing the Virgin and Child with Magi and Shepherds, was made by Powell of Whitefriars for A. Harrison in 1956.

Memorials on the north side include a marble plaque to Joseph Mathias of Cartlett, a builder (died 1806) and his wife (died 1829), with a pediment and reversed torches to the sides, and a brass to G. Bland (died 1906). A fine classical memorial to Charles Gibbon of Uzmaston (died 1779) features Ionic pilasters and a broken pediment with pulvinated frieze. On the south side, a white marble memorial to Mary Mathias (died 1820) on grey stone has reeded rounded piers each side and an urn. The north aisle contains a small plaque with an urn to Richard Mathias of Cartlett, a coach-maker (died 1833). A small medieval recumbent figure in grey stone with an ogee canopy to the head sits on the windowsill in the squint, removed from Boulston church. The chancel south has a plaque to Sparks Martin of Withybush (died 1787) with a crude broken pediment and urn, and a plaque with an unusual scrolled urn between branches to John Martin of Withybush (died 1819) and his wife (died 1832).