Building record 4717/1/1 - Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Roade

12th-13th century. North aisle of 1850 by E.F. Law who restored church in 1857 (chancel) and 1864 (nave), vestry/organ chamber added 1879, further 20th century restoration and church hall built with link to church 1972. Chancel, vestry/organ chamber, central tower, nave, north aisle and south porch.

{1} Church. C12 and C13. North aisle of 1850 by E.F. Law who restored church in 1857 (chancel) and 1864 (nave), vestry/organ chamber added 1879, further C20 restoration and church hall built with link to church 1972. Chancel, vestry/organ chamber, central tower, nave, north aisle and south porch. Coursed limestone rubble, and slate roofs. 2-bay chancel has 3-light east window with C19 Decorated-style tracery, 3-light Perpendicular window to north-east with 4-centred head, both with hood moulds. 1-light low-side window to north-west with rectangular chamfered stone surround and pair of round-headed 1-light Norman windows to south. C19 vestry to south with 1-light windows. 3-stage central tower has single lancet windows to north and south, and similar windows to east and west of bell-chamber stage, all with hood moulds. Middle stage has lancet to middle bay of 3-bay blind arcades north and south with circular shafts and carved capitals. 2-light bell-chamber openings to north and south with trefoil-headed lights, transoms and hood moulds, plain stone-coped parapet and recessed pyramidal lead roof with gilded ball finial and weathercock. North aisle has lancet windows, paired to north. Nave has 2-light windows to south with Y tracery and hood moulds and 3-light west window with stepped pointed-arched lights and hood mould. South door has 2 orders of shafts, with scalloped capitals, inner arch moulding with beakhead, outer arch moulding stylized leaves or horns alternating with fruit, and hood mould. C19 gabled south porch has double-chamfered doorway and small lancets either side, all with hood moulds. C20 church hall extension is not of special architectural interest. Interior: chancel has piscina with pointed trefoiled head. Tower arches, much renewed, have 4 chamfers, the outer 2 dying into wall the inner on polygonal responds with dog-toothed capitals. C19 roofs throughout. Plain tub font. Perspective by E.F. Law, watercolour over pencil in ormolu shield-shaped frame for restoration, hangs in chancel. Slate wall monuments to Susanna Henshaw d.1706, Stephen Hoe Senior d.1713, John Henshaw d.1762, with scull and cross bones, and Reverend Stephen Hoe Henshaw, d.1772. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: 1973, p386; The History of St. Mary the Virgin, Roade, (guide book) 1982)

{5} A church was established around 1100 by the Hartwells of Hartwell and the Lupus family of Ashton, and by 1167 Simon Hartwell had given his portion to the abbey of St James, Northampton as a chantry for the souls of his father, Geoffrey, and his brothers William and Henry.

The original aisleless nave and chancel are mid-12thc. work, to judge from the small round-headed lancets in the chancel and the S nave doorway, with beakhead decoration. The tower, a substantial structure of stone rubble, is presumably contemporary, but the pointed lancets and the spacious triple arcading on the N and S walls suggest a remodelling around 1200, while the transomed, trefoil-headed double bell-openings of the upper storey must date from the 15thc. The nave roof collapsed in 1660, and in 1669 it was re-roofed and new windows put in the S wall. At the same time one of the tower arches was bricked up, and only a small door provided to give access between nave and chancel. In 1822 the chancel was still walled off from the nave, and was in use as a Sunday School. The partition was eventually taken down in 1840. Meanwhile the nave was repaired in 1822, when the floor level was raised and a gallery was added at the W end. The N aisle was added in 1850. The tower was restored in 1856, and the chancel in 1857 by E. F. Law, including re-roofing with the present high-pitched roof. The nave roof was raised to match the chancel roof in 1864. The S vestry was added in 1879. A major restoration of the tower took place in 1949-50, and in 1950 the interior of the church was restored. A further restoration of the exterior took place in 1981. Detailed description of the Romanesque features: S nave doorway and the tower arcading; plan of church

{6} Undated photo, also photo dated 07.01.1994.

{7} Ground plan of church, 1850 by EF Law.

{11} Photos, drawings, sketches, measurements, notes;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 11/124 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F10 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN45262.

<3> Glynne S., 1859, Church Notes of Sir Stephen Glynne, (unchecked) (Manuscript). SNN39492.

<4> DRAWINGS, (unchecked) (Drawing). SNN46842.

<5> King's College, London, 2017, A corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, Site 172 (Website). SNN110894.

<6> Photographs of buildings in Roade (Photographs). SNN113060.

<7> Lambeth Palace Library, Incorporated Church Building Society Archive, ICBS04270 (Digital archive). SNN115761.

<8> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.321-22 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77325.

<9> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.386 (unchecked) (Series). SNN1320.

<10> Historic England, Undated, St Marys Church, Roade, BF107397 (Archive). SNN116090.

<11> Dryden H.E.L., 1842-1895, Dryden Collection, DR/25/229/3-11,13 (Archive). SNN115.

Record last edited

Dec 16 2024 3:50PM