Building record 5387/1/1 - Church of St. Botolph, Slapton

13th-14th century, restored, new tracery added to some windows and tower rebuilt by William White 1878-9. Coursed squared limestone and ironstone, plain-tile roofs except for lead roof to south aisle. Chancel, nave, south aisle, south porch and west tower.

{1} The building of Slapton Church includes several medieval wall paintings in situ.

{3} Church. C13 and C14, restored, new tracery added to some windows and tower rebuilt by William White 1878-9. Coursed squared limestone and ironstone, plain-tile roofs except for lead roof to south aisle. Chancel, nave, south aisle, south porch and west tower. 2-bay chancel has 3-light east window with curvilinear tracery and hood mould. Small trefoil window in gable above with carving of man below playing an instrument. 2-light window to north with straight head, ogee-headed lights and hood mould with label stops. Lower one-light window to north-west with cusped head. Two-light straight- headed window to south with renewed ogee-headed lights and hood mould. Priest's door to south with chamfered jambs, ogee-moulded head and hood mould. Narrow rectangular window to left with chamfered stone surround. Offset angle buttresses and one offset buttress between bays to north. Nave has 2-light windows to north, that to north-east with Y-tracery, that to north-west with ogee-headed lights and quatrefoil to head, both with hood moulds. Blocked north door with shouldered head and stone lintel. South aisle has 2-light renewed east window with straight head and hood mould. 2-light windows to south and west with Decorated tracery and hood moulds. Double ogee-moulded south door with hood mould in porch with chamfered doorway and hood mould and small carved head in gable above. 3-stage west tower has lancet window to west, a 2-light straight-headed window to south of middle stage with ogee-headed lights. 2-light bell-openings to north and south, 1-light bell-openings to east and west; south bell-openings flanked by blank arcades with roll-moulded arches on shafts with moulded capitals. Corbel table, plain stone-coped parapet and pyramidal recessed shingled roof. Diagonal buttresses to tower and south aisle. Interior: chancel has two tomb recesses to north, that by altar with many-moulded arch and hood mould, the other with moulded ogee arch and hood mould with foliage finial and label stops. Image bracket to left of east window. Division between chancel and nave has central arch with chamfered jambs flanked by 2-light straight-headed windows with ogee-headed light, window to right recessed in arch. Nave has 3-bay arcade. Early C13 middle and west arch with circular pier, square abacus and plain arches. Later east bay has double-chamfered arch, the inner arch on moulded corbels. South chapel has C17 screen and piscina. Important series of late C14 and C15 wall-paintings: large St. Christopher on north wall of nave facing south door with mermaid and fishes; south side of nave, St. Francis receiving the stigmata, St. Michael weighing souls, partly on top of this St. George; 2 figures in west arch of arcade and Mass of St. Gregory middle arch; in south aisle, the Annunciation, a martydom and St. Anne teaching the Virgin; on south wall of south aisle - St. Eloi and traces of Three Living and Three Dead. Early C14 stained glass: Lucy arms and grisaille in east window and late medieval canopies to heads of north chancel window. Wall monuments in chancel to Thomas Knight d.1723 with arms in cartouche above inscription. Marble wall monument to Simon and Rachel Knight who died 1776 and 1794 respectively, with urn finial. (Buildings of England: Northanptonshire, 1973, p.404).

{7} Article on the conservation of historic timber bell frames mentions Slapton church.

{8} Foundations of the tower and north side of the nave revealed during drainage work. Blocked doorway in north wall of nave recorded.

{9} Documents regarding conservation work of wall paintings already completed and still to do [in 1991].

{11} Undated photo.

{13} Fragments of medieval glass still surviving in the church include a shield of Lucy, a family who held land here from at least 1265 until the second half of the C15.

{14} Ground plan of church by William White, 1877.

<1> WALLER J.G., 1884, WALL PAINTINGS DISCOVERED……, (unchecked) (Painting). SNN46798.

<2> DRAWINGS, (unchecked) (Drawing). SNN59600.

<3> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 14/100 (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<4> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F08 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN45262.

<5> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.404 (unchecked) (Series). SNN1320.

<6> WALLER J.G., 1877, On The Wall Paintings Discovered in The Churches of Raunds and Slapton, Northamptonshire, p.219-42 (unchecked) (Article). SNN108242.

<7> COUNCIL FOR THE CARE OF CHURCHES, 1993, The Conservation and Repair Of Bells And Bellframes: Code of Practice (Booklet). SNN101122.

<8> Sharman, T., 2017, Archaeological observation, investigation and recording at the Church of St Botolph, Slapton, Northamptonshire, December 2016 (Report). SNN110768.

<9> Mumford, D R, 1991, St Botolph's Church, Slapton, Northamptonshire: Wall Painting Preservation (Correspondence). SNN111067.

<10> Crank, N. (Editor), 2018, South Midlands Archaeology (48), p. 67 (Journal). SNN111393.

<11> Photographs of buildings in Slapton (Photographs). SNN113234.

<12> Richmond H., 1988, Survey of Northamptonshire Parish Churches (Unpublished Report). SNN1195.

<13> Marks R., 1998, Stained Glass Of Northamptonshire, p. 172-3 (Book). SNN101533.

<14> Lambeth Palace Library, Incorporated Church Building Society Archive, ICBS08087 (Digital archive). SNN115761.

<15> Historic England, Undated, St Botolphs Church, Slapton, BF107415 (Archive). SNN115795.

Record last edited

Dec 17 2024 9:37AM