Parish Church of St Lawrence (Church of England)

Details

TL 3027 ARDELEY ARDELEY (south side)

9/12 Parish Church of St Lawrence (C of E)

22.2.67

GV I

Parish church. Nave C13 or earlier; chancel and N aisle early C13; early C14 S aisle, chancel arch, and W tower; C15 clerestorey and angel roofs to nave and aisles; N porch donated 1508; C19 N vestry and half-timbered S porch. Chancel restored 1864 by Butterfield; general restoration 1880-84. Flint rubble with stone dressings and remains of external render. C18 red brick buttresses with tumbled brickwork, stone bases and stone offsets to S aisle and chancel (rendered). Steep old red tile roofs to chancel and porches, roofs of nave and aisles concealed by embattled parapets. Similar parapet to unbuttressed tower with Hertfordshire spike. A picturesque village church with nave, N and S aisles, chancel, W tower, N and S porches, and lean-to flint vestry. A polygonal turret at the NE of the nave contains the rood stair. Chancel with C13 lancet in N and S walls (reset), piscina on S and tomb-recess on N both with shafted jambs and dog-tooth ornament. E window renewed 1858 flanked by niches said to have been found in 1849 and restored 1864 by Butterfield from record drawings (Harbord (1952) 9). Behind C20 reredos scratch-moulded panelling painted with luxurient vegetation and flowers on a green ground in the style of Wm Morris. Simple C19 collar-rafter roof after Brandon with sloping ashlars and all members chamfered and simple trefoil cusping over altar. Brasses on S wall Philip Metcalffe 1515 vicar; on S jamb of C14 chancel arch of 2 chamfered orders Thomas Shotbolt with wife and children 1599; on N wall Wyndham Malet 1885 vicar; next pulpit lower part of female figure and inscription to John Clerk and wife c1430. Cut-down screen with 4 painted saints, restored in 1884 (Kelly (1914) 24). Rood loft with crucifix and attendant saints and panelled canopy over, 1928 by Frederick Charles Eden, supported on carved posts with curved braces. 3-bay nave with 3 2-light cinquefoil clerestorey windows on each side. Stone figure corbels at E wall but timber corbels elsewhere support wallposts of C15 3-bay low-pitched open timber roof and curved braces to cambered tie beams with traceried spandrels. Moulded ridge and purlins have carved bosses in each bay at mid-span where they meet a similarly moulded secondary principal rafter with a large angel figure on the lower part with wings displayed, playing a musical instrument. Similar roofs in N and S aisles have angels with shields or scrolls. The easternmost half-bay of the nave roof is panelled with carved bosses and ribs, over the rood. 3-bay early C13 N arcade has 2-centred arches in 2 chamfered orders, octagonal shafts and simple bell capitals. Corbel head supports capital at W impost. More pointed C14 S arcade has additional drip mould, wider piers and more elaborate moulded caps. Fine wall monument on S side of chancel arch to Mary Markham 1673 attributed to Edward Stanton (Pevsner (1977) 72). Demi figure in niche with Corinthian pilasters and broken pediment with swaddled baby on ledge in front. C15 benches with poppy heads at rear. N aisle has late C13 2-light W window with stained glass in situ in tracery at head. 2 late C15 3-light windows in N wall and more elaborate 3-light Perp E window. Elaborate swagged marble cartouche to Henry Chauncy 1703, son of the county historian Sir Henry Chauncy 1632 - 1719 also buried in the church. S aisle little altered with late C15 tracery in the original openings of its 3-light windows. Narrow trefoil headed window at W. Piscina with cusped trefoil head and shelf. C15 Octagonal font with heads carved on alternate facets of bowl above moulded cap to octagonal shaft. W tower of 2 stages is entered by a tall C14 tower arch of 2 chamfered orders on heavy polygonal jamb shafts. C14 2-light W window and C15 2-light bell openings. N Porch has an entrance archway with shafted jambs, a scissor-braced roof with ashlar pieces and moulded cornice, small 2-light E and W windows, stone basin to W of doorway, and 2 stone benches with graffiti. Wall paintings are said to have been found in the church in 1880 but are not now exposed. Ornate cistern with date '1775' between N aisle and vestry. (RCHM C1911) 36: VCH (1912) 198: Pevsner (1977) 72: Harbord RE The Parish of Ardeley: A Short History priv. print. Ardeley, 1952.

Listing NGR: TL3081727138

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

159505

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Doubleday, A, The Victoria History of the County of Hertford, (1912), 198
Harbord, R E, The Parish of Ardeley A short History, (1952)
Pevsner, N, Cherry, B, The Buildings of England: Hertfordshire, (1977), 72

Other
Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Hertfordshire, (1910)

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