Church of St Florence

Church of St Florence

The churchyard sits considerably raised above the surrounding ring of streets, enclosed by a perimeter wall with iron gates. Within the churchyard stands a preaching cross in fragmentary condition with a base consisting of very large steps. A slate sundial by Melvin, London is mounted on a stone base that was formerly a pulpit column. A red granite war memorial of obelisk form also stands in the churchyard.

The church comprises a conspicuous tower beside a nave of moderate height, with a lower chancel, north transept, vestry and chapel to the north and south of the chancel, and a large south porch. The masonry is rubble limestone, except for the tower which is coursed hammer-dressed stone, and the 19th-century rebuild of the north wall of the nave which uses snecked technique. The west wall has a slight batter at its foot. The roof is slate with sandstone gable copings and kneelers. Doors and windows are in sandstone. The nave window west of the porch is an original opening; other nave windows were inserted or renewed in the 19th century in lancet style. The west window comprises a group of three lancets. Several slate memorials are recessed into the exterior walls, and the blocked remnant of a medieval wall tomb stands at the north side of the nave. The tower has a battlemented parapet supported by a continuous corbel course of Perpendicular style in place of the usual corbel table, decorated with grotesque figures. Paired belfry lights of lancet form appear on all four sides of the tower; those to the east perhaps date from the 1890 work and may replace a slit opening.

The chancel, vestry, south transept and porch are all stone-vaulted. The nave and north transept have 19th-century boarded pine waggon-vault ceilings. The sanctuary is raised by three steps and paved with black memorial slabs. At the north side of the chancel is an arch to a lobby, now the entrance to the vestry. At the south side is a mortuary chapel with two roughly-formed four-centred arches of 15th-century date on a circular pier. The sides of the chancel arch incorporate the splays of the original squints and bear rood corbels. The widening of the chancel arch has been carried to an extreme, leaving the arches of the chapels on both sides of the chancel with only minimal abutment. A late 19th-century pulpit in Early English style stands beneath the north side of the chancel arch.

The south transept has a very high vault contemporary with the tower above, bearing on arches at the west side corbelled out from the wall. A passage squint connects the south transept to the chancel across a corner of the mortuary chapel. The transept also has a deep window recess on the east side where there may have been an altar, and an adjacent aumbry the sill of which is now at floor level. Openings 20 centimetres square pierce through the full thickness of the east and west walls. Access to the rood is now thought to have been via the lowest stage of what is now the tower staircase and a lost upper floor in the south transept. The porch contains benches on either side, a water stoup in the corner, and a damaged pillar-stoup.

The east window is a memorial to the Reverend G W Birkett, Vicar from 1829 to 1878, by Thomas Ward. It comprises three lancets with the centre lancet taller than the others. The west window is of three lights containing glass seemingly cut down in size. In 1845 the west window was described as 'lately restored'. A brass plaque beneath it commemorates Orlando Harris Williams and Maria, of Ivy Tower, both died 1849. The glass may be of later date, by Powell of Leeds. A window at the south of the nave commemorates John Leach, the succeeding proprietor of Ivy Tower, died 1876. Painted windows occupy the north and south transepts. The other windows are of plain glass. The font is Norman, of cushion type, with three lobes on each side, on a circular shaft and square base.

Memorials include that to Griffith Toye, Rector 1577-1601, in the south chapel beside the organ, in classical form with a broken pediment. At left of the altar is a plaque to Robert Rudd and Robert Williams, of Ivy Tower, c.1655: Rudd, died 1648, was Rector and also Archdeacon of St David's. Williams was grandson of Bishop Ferrar. A stone at the west side of the mortuary chapel commemorates and displays the arms of John Williams of Ivy Tower, died 1704.