Details
IMBER
1366/1/79 CHURCH ROAD
11-DEC-87 IMBER
(South side)
CHURCH OF ST GILES
GV I
Anglican parish church. Late C13, C15, restored 1849 and 1895. Dressed limestone with flint, tiled roof with coped verges and cross finials. Plan: nave with north and south aisles, north porch, chancel with north vestry, west tower. Gabled north porch with moulded pointed doorway and hoodmould, diagonal buttresses carried up to crocketed corner pinnacles, cornice to shallow gabled
battlemented parapet. North aisle has 2-light square-headed window with cusped lights and hoodmould either side of porch. Lean-to north vestry with shouldered chamfered doorway and chamfered window, 2-light cusped east window. Chancel has lancet to north, diagonal buttresses and 3-light east window with interlaced tracery, to east with hoodmould with king and queen mask terminals, south side has three lancets. South aisle has blocked pointed moulded doorway with hoodmould, square-headed 2-light window with ogee cusping and hoodmould either side, leaded C18 oeil de boeuf to right, cornice to plain stone parapet, good 3-light Perpendicular window to east end of aisle, west end partly rebuilt in brick, C18. Two-stage Perpendicular tower has heavy moulded plinth, diagonal
buttresses, moulded Tudor-arched west doorway with C19 door, 3-light window over with hoodmould, string course to bellstage with cinquefoiled single light below 2-light louvred Perpendicular opening on west, same on other three sides, moulded string course to battlemented parapet and corner pinnacles. Stair turret on north side with chamfered arrow loops and battlemented parapet with
crocketed pinnacles. Interior: Porch has fixed stone benches, heavily-moulded C15 Tudor-arched inner doorway with square hoodmould with large lozenge terminals with shield to left and quatrefoiled rosette to right, C19 door, cusped stoup to right Nave has 3-bay late Medieval arch-braced collar rafter roof with two tie-beams, runner with carved bosses, previously plastered. Late C13 three-bay north and south arcades with double chamfered pointed arches on cylindrical piers with moulded capitals, traces of red-coloured painted decoration on arches and wall above. Tall moulded tower arch, depressed arch
doorway to stone newel stairs. Lean-to aisle roofs with chamfered beams, previously plastered. South aisle has trefoil-headed piscina, blocked doorway with depressed arch and inverted arch over. Late C19 double chamfered chancel arch on short shafts, polychrome tiled floor, braced rafter roof with diagonal ribs. Double chamfered arch to vestry with C19 wooden screen, hoodmould over east vestry window has reset king and bishop mask terminals. Unusual painted bell-ringing mural on north wall of tower, dated 1692 on west panel, originally seven panels and designed for a peal of 5 bells, red-painted figures on panels with gabled tops, some partly erased. All fittings from this church removed since Imber evacuated by the Ministry of Defence in 1943, font moved to Brixton
Deverill, pulpit to Winterbourne Stoke, seating, bell and two effigies to Edington. Late Medieval wall painting of St Giles retained on north wall of north aisle. Monuments: Early C18 stone and slate tablet with broken pediment in south aisle to Thomas Aycliffe, white marble classical tablet with shaped apron to Elizabth Ballard died 1786. North aisle east wall has white marble tablet to John Wadman died 1745, urn and cartouche on dentilled cornice with carved scroll below. Classical white marble over north door to Johannis(sic) Offer died 1822, signed by Reeves of Bath. The restoration of 1849 was paid for by the Marquess of Bath and cost £630.10s, the 1895 restoration cost £1,000. The church is closed, but is reopened for services on one day a year in
September.
(Kell's Directory, Wiltshire, 1911; Unpublished records of
RCHM(E), Salisbury)
Listing NGR: ST9651048370
