Building record 619/1/1 - Church of St.Martin, Welton

A 15th-century church with earlier tower. A corbel on the west wall of the nave is supported by a bearded head, probably 12th/13th century

{1} Church. C15 with earlier tower. Ironstone rubble, squared and coursed with slate roof to chancel, nave, vestry and porch. Chancel, which is of 2 bays has 2 restored C15 windows to south and one to north and one restored C15 window to east. Small C15 priest's door to south has moulded arch and later wood door. Adjoining nave to north a vestry of later date with wood-panelled door. Hood mould and label stops to windows and doors, coping to gables and quoins to angles. Aisled nave has no clerestorey and is of 3 bays. 3 restored C15 windows to south with one at east and one at west, and 3 to north with one C14 window at west. Hood moulds and label stops, some carved. Door to north has pointed, triple moulded arch with hood mould and later 2-leaf wood-panelled door. Roof has coped gables. Porch to south has moulded door surround with wood plank door and hood moulds and roof has coped gable and kneelers. To either side a small, square-headed window of 2 liqhts. Tower is of 3 storeys, to west at first stage a single pointed lancet, chamfered and with hood mould, probably C14. Second stage has similar lancet to south and clock face to west. Third stage, which is slightly set back, has three C14 sandstone windows of Reticulated tracery, all with hood moulds. The corners have angle buttresses. Corbel table to top stage with carved faces. The whole building rests on a stone plinth. Interior: chancel window to east surmounted by hood mould with carved foliage label stops. The roof is C19 and rests upon carved foliage corbels. C14 piscina in south wall is cusped. Chancel arch, which is C15, is chamfered and has polygonal respond shafts below capitals. Nave is 4-bay double-chamfered arcade with C15 polygonal piers upon plinths, with responds to west wall and chancel. Tower arch is set slightly off centre and is double chamfered beneath hood mould. Roof is mostly C19 and C20 restoration, perhaps with some reused C15 beams in aisles. Moulded pointed arch to porch has hood mould and 2-leaf wood door of 10 panels. Arch to outer door is moulded and chamfered. Floor to east end of chancel is decorated with C19 polychrome marbels and some malachite, reputed to be a Russian gift. C20 choir stalls. Pulpit was carved by villagers in 1899. Pews are C19. C19 stained glass in 2 chancel windows and in west wall tower. Series of C17, C18 and early C19 memorial tablets set in walls of chancel and nave are dedicated to the Clarke family, some having been carved by Cox of Daventry. Corbel set into wall is late medieval and probably reset, whilst simply moulded stone font is of later date. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, 1973, pp.456-7).

{8} Re-set in the W wall of the nave, S of the tower arch. The corbel is a single block of stone carved with a male head with shoulders and arms, and including an integral chamfered abacus at the top. The head is elongated with caplike hair running back from the brow in straight rolls. The brow is low, the eyes huge and almond-shaped under chamfered eyebrows. The nose is short. The upper lip is rounded and defined by nasolabial grooves, the mouth straight with a drilled hole at each end, and he has a long wavy beard. From the side his shoulders are hunched up against his ears, and his arms bent at the elbow, terminate in two-toed paws alongside his chin. There are traces of white plaster in the grooves and recesses of the head.
The head is of a composite creature; a man with a dog's front legs and paws, and this kind of babouin is more typical of the 13thc. than the 12thc. The same could be said of the treatment of the mouth, although the eyes and hair could equally be Romanesque.

{9} Undated photo;

{12} Sketch of church and drawings of windows;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 5/296 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F04 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN44900.

<3> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.456-57 (unchecked) (Series). SNN1320.

<4> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.97-99 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77325.

<5> Baker G., 1830, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.463-66 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77327.

<6> DRAWINGS, (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN56552.

<7> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p. 456-7 (Series). SNN1320.

<8> King's College, London, 2017, A corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, Site 829 (Website). SNN110894.

<9> Photographs of buildings in Welton (Photographs). SNN114031.

<10> Ordnance Survey Map (Scale/date), OS 6" 1955 (Map). SNN112944.

<11> Historic England, St Martins Church, Welton, BF107435 (Archive). SNN114843.

<12> Dryden H.E.L., 1842-1895, Dryden Collection, DR/25/295/3 (Archive). SNN115.

Record last edited

Dec 17 2024 4:00PM