Church of St Mary

Details

RICKINGHALL INFERIOR BURY ROAD (NORTH SIDE) TM 07 NW 1/107 Church of St. Mary 15.11.54 GV I Parish church. C12 tower, otherwise late C13 and early C14 with C15 alterations. Refitted 1858-9 by J.D. Wyatt, windows restored 1870 and 1891. Flint rubble, part cement rendered; ashlar and red brick dressings with some knapped flintwork. Machine tiled and plaintiled steeply pitched roofs. Short 3 bay nave with separately roofed south aisle/chapel of equal dimensions, chancel, south porch, west tower. Round tower of coursed flint rubble: lower stage has a restored 2-light C14 window, curvilinear tracery in a segmental pointed arched head, above are 2 lancets, one cusped; string course to C14 octagonal belfry, four 2-light openings with cusped Y tracery in segmental pointed arched heads, ashlar quoining, string course with 4 gargoyles to embattled parapet with cusped and finialed flushwork panels, blank shields in octafoils, crocketed finials; tower to east shows line of steeper and taller C14 roof. Nave to north is cement rendered, 3 Perpendicular windows with hoodmoulds, brick voussoirs; those to centre and east are tall and 3-lights, that to west is 2-lights over an entrance with a segemental pointed arch, inner chamfer and outer wavemould, mask stopped hood mould, four 2 stage buttresses, exposed wallplate, coped gable parapets to east and west with a finial to east. South aisle: two 2-light late C13 windows to south towards east end, Geometrical tracery in pointed arched heads, trefoiled lights with bud cusping, 3 quatrefoils at head, that to east has richer tracery with leaf carving in spandrels of cusping, mask stopped hoodmoulds; to returns 2 stage diagonal buttresses with knapped flint, ashlar pinnacles with cusped and crocketed gablets with grotesque masks, crocketed spirelets; aisle to east has a large 5-light window with a pointed arched head, cusped pointed lights with leaf carved spandrels, tracery renewed as rectilinear, mask stopped hoodmould, offset at sill level, coped parapet with ridge cross; aisle west window is 3- lights in a pointed arched head, restored curvilinear/intersecting tracery, coped gable parapet with finial. C14 south porch from west bay of aisle is 2 storeys, upper level rebuilt in C16; C14 entrance arch, outer hollow dying into filletted roll mould, inner filletted roll and hollow dying into chamfer, filletted hoodmould; above arch is a flushwork frieze with damaged MR and IHS crowned monograms, C16 knapped flint to chamber with a cusped 2-light window with a depressed arched head, shallow coped gable with broken ridge cross; 2 stage diagonal buttresses to returns each with 2 small Y traceried pointed arched openings and a quatrefoil, C16 flint above; inside porch side walls have low double arcades with hollow moulded segmental pointed arches on small restored semi-octagonal shafts with moulded caps and bases, stone seats to sides, C16 roof with roll and hollow moulded binding beam and joists; C14 inner entrance, a pointed arch with 2 continuous quadrant mouldings, mask stopped hoodmould. Chancel: to east an offset plinth and string course below restored 3-light C14 window, pointed arch, complex curvilinear tracery, mask stopped hoodmould, 2 stage diagonal buttresses with cusped gablets, moulded kneelers to coped gable parapet; to north a C15 or C16 2-light window with cusped ogee headed lights, square head and hoodmould; to south two 2-light C14 Y traceried windows in pointed arches, that towards west has cusping, that to east is plain with a mask stopped hoodmould, central low side door with a restored 4-centred arched head, roll moulded jambs. Interior: C12 plain round tower arch with impost bands, above tower arch a blocked C12 round opening; C14 broad and pointed chancel arch, double hollow mouldings, semi-octagonal responds with moulded caps and bases, capital to north has stiff leaf carving, outer hollow moulds with cusped stops. 4 bay nave arcade has complex piers of quatrefoil section with outer fillet and inner spurs, moulded bases and ring capitals, hollow moulded pointed arches with outer quadrant mouldings, to aisle C19 masks at springings. 6 bay nave roof, restored C15 or C16 false hammerbeam with arch braced brattished collars, double brattished wallplates and hammerbeams, moulded braces, butt purlins and ridge piece; aisle and chancel roofs are ceiled. In south aisle: richly moulded rear arch to east has filletted roll leaf stopped hoodmould, double shafted jambs, vine scroll frieze at sill, hoodmould continues as impost band and hoodmould to south with a filletted roll moulded jambs to south east window, a moulded base to west, to west end a filletted roll leaf stopped hoodmould with a filletted roll mould at sill level; in aisle south wall a blocked banner stave cupboard with a 4-centred arched head; towards east end of aisle a restored angle piscina, trefoiled openings, dogtooth and ball flower mouldings, stiff leaf cap to shaft, crocketed and finialed gablets, adjacent dropped sill sedilia. Nave north door and chancel north window have simply moulded rear arches. Chancel south wall has a simpler C14 angle piscina, caps and bases to shafts, trefoiled pointed arched headed opening, octafoil bowl, adjacent dropped sill sedilia. Octagonal C14 font in south aisle, moulded base, 7 of 8 faces on bowl have pointed arched 3-light 'windows' with curvilinear and Y tracery. Two C17 oak chests, one with a carved 3 panel front, a C17 Communion table with turned legs, a C17 chancel chair, an C18 bier. C19 reredos reusing traceried panels with carved spandrels and cusping from C15 screen, C19 painted figures; C19 seating, pulpit, reading desk by Burrell, brass lectern, Communion rails, floor tiling. In nave and chancel simple C19 marble mural memorials, in nave to west a tablet with a cornice to J. Amys, d.1767. Late C19 glass in chancel to east and south west, some C17 and C18 fragments in chancel south east window.

Listing NGR: TM0387775126

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439712

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LBS

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