Church of St Mary

Details

TF 73 SE BIRCHAM GREAT BIRCHAM 7/17 Church of St. Mary. 5.6.53. - I Parish Church. C12 tower door, C13 north door, early C14 chancel, mid C14 nave and aisles. Knapped and rubble flint, cement rendered chancel, slate roofs. South west tower, 4 bay nave and aisles, north porch, 2 bay chancel. 3 stage tower on axis with south aisle has ashlar plinth, string courses, and buttresses with set offs. Ground floor stage has 2-light Decorated window with tracery head, rectangular lancets at south-east angle to internal stair- case. 4 lancets to second stage. Bell chamber has 4 2-light Decorated tracery windows with flat parapet cornice above. Nave west gable has fine 5-light Perpendicular tracery window with lower battlemented transoms and rich upper lights with transoms, cusping and sub-cusping, label moulding with carved head end stops. South aisle has 3 straight-headed Decorated 3-light tracery windows in deep reveals with richly cusped and sub-cusped opposed tracery spandrels. Decorated south door. South aisle east window has flowing tracery with 2 cinquefoils and 2 quatrefoils in spandrels. 2 south and one east buttresses. North aisle has one Perpendicular 2-light west window. 2 north 3-light and one east 2-light Decorated windows with same details as south aisle. Perpendicular north porch has chamfered outer arch with capitals, flanking flush work arches. 2 north, one east and west buttresses with set offs. 3 flush work ogee headed niches above. Kneelers with crocketted spirelets. 2 north and 2 south tracery windows. Chancel has one south and 2 north c.1300 'Y' tracery 2 light windows, one south Perpendicular 3-light window. 5-light Perpendicular east window replacement of c.1850. Angle buttresses. Interior: North porch north door C13 has paired columns with bases and capitals, richly moulded pointed arch. North and south sides articulated by rectangular chamfered frame with blank shields springing from wall seats, with two outer and one inner blank arched headed niches. Fine 4 bay north and south Decorated nave arcade has 3 clustered semi-columns with angle fillets and chamfered hollows with base seats. Moulded capitals and bases. Double hollow chamfered arches and half columns responds with same details at east and west. North and south doors have label head mouldings. Fine late Norman c.1200 tower east door into south aisle has single colonnettes with capitals and zig zag moulded arch refashioned presumably later as pointed arch. South aisle piscina. Octagonal C13 Purbeck marble font set on C15 Perpendicular shaft with moulded pedestal and capital, octagonal plinth. Hexagonal C17 pulpit with arched carved panels and cherub heads in spandrels, C18 wooden stairs with carved string and Gothick arched head tracery between balusters. Pre-Reformation stone altar mensa with consecration crosses set in floor in front. C.1850 box-pews with poppyhead bench ends. C.1850 nave and aisle roofs. C.1850 west window stained glass with texts. Fine Decorated chancel arch with moulded bases and capitals,with lower and upper rood stair doors. C15 rood screen, 7 lights. Painted lower panels, tracery dado and upper lights. Blocked C15 north door and blocked north-east window. North and south 'Y' tracery windows have internal hood moulds, on south with stained glass arms of Clare family, C14 patrons. C15 sedilia, 3 seats with carved spandrel and cinquefoil heads. Piscina. C17 Holy Table with "Donum GY 1640". C.1850 4 bay roof with carved wooden corbel heads to wall posts.

Listing NGR: TF7704632600

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

221548

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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