Details
LANGLEY SUTTON ROAD
TQ 85 SW
(west side)
2/103
Church of
St. Mary
GV II*
Parish church. 1853-5 in a late C13 style, by Butterfield, for
Dr. Pusey's brother. Roughly coursed stone with ashlar window
dressings. Plain tile roof. West tower, nave, south porch,
chancel with lean-to vestry to east half and projecting organ
bay and choir vestry to west half of north side, lean-to to west
of organ bay and choir vestry, north aisle to nave, lean-to
boiler-room to north of tower. West tower: 2 stages on low
chamfered plinth, with moulded string to top of each stage.
Broach spire with stone lucarne to north, south, east and west.
Large 2-centred-arched window to each face of belfry, each of 2
trefoil-headed louvred lights with quatrefoil. Small single
trefoil-headed lights towards top of lower stage; two to west,
one to north and south. Tall narrow 2-light Geometrical-style
west window with low cill and pointed head. Low north-west and
south-west angle buttresses with beaded off-sets. South-east
stair turret in form of large pilaster buttress. South porch:
with very high plinth. Open timber-work to south with arcaded
queen-struts and 2-centred arched door-head with solid spandrels.
Wavy bargeboards. No outer door. Stone inner doorway in a C13
style. Decorative tiled floor. Nave: south elevation: no plinth.
2 two-stage buttresses alternating with 2 slender, 2-light pointed-
arched, low-cilled windows. Chancel: no plinth to west half, but
very high chamfered plinth to east half, returning round east end
on its own low chamfered plinth. 2 south windows in a Geometrical
style; that to west of 3 lights, that to east small of 2 lights,
set immediately above plinth, with hoodmould and label-stops.
East window set above plinth; 3 stepped trefoil-headed lights,
quatrefoils and cinquefoil, with hoodmould and label-stops.
Lean-to vestry: no plinth. Set back about one foot from east end.
Two-light east window without overall architrave. Choir vestry:
no plinth. Gabled. Two-light north window without architrave.
2-centred-arched east doorway with hood-mould and label-stops.
Boarded door to west lean-to. North aisle: lean-to roof. 3 north
windows; 2 outer windows same as choir vestry window, central
window similar, but of 3 lights. Narrow rectangular stack to
north-west corner, relating to boiler-room, with 4 pilasters
surmounted by crosses. Boiler-room: quatrefoil window to west
formed from 4 blocks of stone. Boarded north door.
Interior: Structure: 3-bay north arcade to nave of chamfered
pointed arches springing, to east and west, from chamfered
rectangular piers with moulded imposts; 2 circular columns with
bell capitals and bases. Pointed chancel arch of 2 orders,
springing from attached bell capitals with tapering gadrooned
corbels. Tall, narrow, pointed tower arch of 3 thick chamfered
orders, the inner springing from attached bell capitals on plain
tapered corbels, the 2 outer springing from wall; frames the west
window. Broad doorway to belfry above tower arch immediately
below nave rafters. Shouldered doorway to tower stairs and
between organ bay and lean-to vestry. 3 broad, shallow steps
between chancel arch and centre of chancel. Roof: scissor-braced
common rafters to nave, with long ashlar-pieces and ridge-piece.
Chancel roof of same construction, divided in half by extended
trefoil-headed arch or canopy; both halves painted with finely-
stencilled pattern, but east half boarded and more elaborately
decorated. Fittings: C15 octagonal font with concave-sided bowl
bearing Tudor roses and shields, set in north-west corner of nave.
C19 crocketed font cover. Remaining fittings of Butterfield
period. Doors to vestry, choir vestry and south porch. 2 pointed-
arched pink marble sedile-type recesses with trefoiled heads, and
jambs extending to floor, on south wall of east half of chancel,
with adjacent piscina. Marble-topped wooden altar. Decorative
iron altar rails with wooden handrail. Pentagonal wooden pulpit
on stone base in north-east corner of nave, and complete set of
pews and stalls designed by Butterfield. Decoration: single line
of text printed in black and white beneath nave cornice. Scroll-
moulded string round chancel, higher in east half than in west.
East half of chancel decorated below string with pink marble and
red, orange and black tiles. Floor tiles throughout church; plain
colours to nave except round font, slightly differently arranged
tiles in west half of chancel, and decorative tiles round font
and to east half of chancel. Altar stands on plinth incorporating
tiles finely patterned with intertwined roundels, small leaves and
stars in deep colours. Stained glass: complete west window in a
C13 style by Hardman, to Butterfield's design. Trefoils and
quatrefoils to heads of all but east and south-east chancel windows,
and including north choir vestry window. Designed with "dry-eyed
clarity and force" (J.Newman, Buildings of England Series, West
Kent and the Weald, 1980) and intact.
Listing NGR: TQ8065951073
