Church of St Swithun

Details

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SO 8003 SW
12/65

LEONARD STANLEY
CHURCH ROAD (south side)
Church of St. Swithun

28.6.60

GV
I


Former priory church, now parish church. C12; C13 and C14 additions and alterations; c1885 restoration by Bodley and Garner. Random and coursed rubble limestone; stone slate roof. Nave with north porch, crossing tower, transepts and chancel. C12 north doorway with two orders of chevron-enriched round arches; two jamb column shafts with scalloped capitals; billeted hoodmould with beast-head stops. Part of C12 carved capital reset in niche over doorway. Early C14 porch with pointed arch in offset-buttressed parapet gabled wall. C12 round-arched window to right of porch. To left two C14 Decorated nave windows and one larger C15 window with Perpendicular tracery. Parapet gabled west end with C12 doorway as to north; C15 Perpendicular west window over. Flat clasping corner buttresses. Three round-arched nave windows on south side and two blocked doorways, both to same design as north door, formerly leading to cloister. Weathermoulding of lean-to cloister roof survives on nave and south transept; corbel blocks also remain on south transept.

Single round-arched C12 window to south and west walls of south transept; blocked round arch on east side to former apsed chapel (roofline indicated by weathermoulding above). C15 four-centred arched doorway on west side of transept gave further access to cloister. C14 Decorated west window and large C15 Perpendicular north window to north transept with flat clasping buttresses reinforced by C19 offset buttresses. C14 east chancel window with intersecting tracery; flat buttresses to side walls and C14 Decorated windows. Large rectangular crossing tower has C12 lower stage with later belfry, probably late C13, having two lancet openings with timber louvres to each face except north. Crenellated tower parapet and to square stair turret in north west corner which rises above tower, having narrow lancets on north side. Tall hipped tower roof replaced spire, blown down by early C18.

Interior: plaster and rubble-faced nave walls. Segmental inner arches to C12 doorways and deep splays to C12 windows. Wagon roof. Two C14 mortuary recesses in south nave wall, one altered by insertion of pointed-arched rood loft doorway. Stairs to rood loft emerge at matching pointed-arched doorway; small round-arched opening lights stair. Broad round-arched crossing with narrower arches to transepts. Western piers have been rebuilt, but eastern are original, one having fine floral carving to capital. Twin shafts to each face of piers flanked by small buttress projections. Some remnants of medieval painting on chancel arch; studded hoodmould with beast-head terminals. Flat beamed transept roofs; restored passage between south transept and chancel. Timber panelled roof to chancel and marble floor resulting from Bodley's restoration. Attached column shafts for former two-bay cross-vaulted roof, the large shafts to each wall having carved capitals, south depicting the Nativity, north the washing of Christ's feet. Carved string course at sill level matches that over segmental-arched north aumbry, presumably C12. Reset carved tympanum depicting Adam, Eve and the Serpent over further aumbry to south; double-bowled trefoil-headed piscina to right. C19 timber panelled reredos and choir stalls. C17 communion rail with turned balusters. C20 timber pulpit; early C18 stone pedestal font.

Memorials on south chancel wall: to Mrs Eleanor Rishton, died 1765, has Ionic fluted columns and broken pediment with escutcheon; to right Greek sarcophagus monument by Greenways of Bristol to Robert Sandford, died 1804. Fine memorial at west end of nave to John Holbrow, died 1780, has draped urn on delicately elaborated console bracket and obelisk background with crossed inverted tourches and crown in heaven. Royal arms over west door. Stained glass to west window of 1922 by Morris and Company. Originally the church formed part of an Augustinian priory founded by Roger de Berkeley between 1121 and 1129.

Remains of the priory buildings and the earlier Saxon church stand to south and west (q.v.).

(N.M. Herbert, 'Leonard Stanley' in V.C.H. Glos. x, 1972, pp 257- 267; and D. Verey, Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds, 1979)

Listing NGR: SO8023603266

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

131939

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Verey, D, The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire 1 The Cotswolds, (1970)
Page, W, The Victoria History of the County of Gloucester, (1972), 257-267

End of official list entry

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