Listed Building: Church of St. Mary the Virgin (1075276)

Church. C14 and C15, tower rebuilt 1709. Restored 1880 by office of E.F. Law. Uncoursed ironstone rubble, ironstone ashlar and coursed squared ironstone with limestone and sandstone dressings. Lead and copper roofs. Chancel, organ chamber, nave, north and south aisles, west tower. Chancel has east window of 3 lights with cusped intersecting tracery, a 2-light window to north with Y-tracery, 2 similar windows with cusped Y-tracery to south and small hollow-chamfered priest's door. Organ chamber to north-west end of chancel continues north aisle and has 1-light east window and re-used 2-light window to north with cusped Y-tracery. Nave has impressive clerestory with continuous row of 10 2-light Perpendicular windows with straight heads to both north and south; 2 early C18 lead rainwater heads and pipes to north and south. North aisle has 2-light Decorated window to east of blocked double-chamfered north door, a 2-light window with cusped Y-tracery to west. South aisle has 3-light Decorated east window and to south a 4-light window with reticulated tracery to east of porch, a 3-light window with straight head and reticulated tracery to west. South door has chamfered pointed arch. South porch has diagonal buttress, 1-light windows north and south, moulded door with 4-centred head and stone coped gable with kneelers. West tower of 3 stages has 2-light C19 west window, south door with round-headed arch with imposts and keyblock, a circular window with keyblocks and similar windows at higher level. Bell chamber openings with coupled round-arched windows with keyblocks and flat Y-tracery, a battlemented parapet and obelisk pinnacles with ball finials and gilded weathervanes. Chamfered plinth. Angle buttresses as far as belfry stage, limestone pilaster buttresses above. Interior: chancel has 2-seat sedilia with hollow-chamfered arches and hood moulds resting on shafts with capitals and piscina with cusped arch on responds. Early C18 communion rail with turned balusters. Matching communion table in vestry behind organ. Double-chamfered chancel arch. Nave has 5-bay arcades with octagonal piers and capitals and double-chamfered arches. Capitals of half-columns to east and west ends of north aisle have ball-flower ornament and that to east has inset piscina with nodding ogee head. Aumbry at north-east of north aisle. C19 tower arch. C19 tie beam roof to chancel; nave roof mostly C19 with moulded tie-beams but some timbers and moulded wall plate possible. Aisles have lean-to roofs with ties, some stop-chamfered, others moulded and probably early C16. Other timbers mostly renewed C19. C19 stained glass in chancel and south aisle and west tower. C15 stained glass shields with arms of Abbots of Evesham and Royal arms and inscription formerly in north clerestory, now in north aisle window. Octagonal Jacobean pulpit. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.100; Parish Records; Northants Record Office; Kellys Directory 1903).

Record last edited

Dec 18 2023 9:50AM