Church of St Mary

Details

NORTH LEIGH CHURCH ROAD SP3813 (West side) 21/163 Church of St. Mary 12/09/55 GV I Church. Late Saxon church of c.1000-1050 with central tower; chancel converted into aisled nave and former nave demolished c.1200; early C14 alterations and extension to west of nave aisles; Wilcote Chapel, at east end of north aisle, built c.1439 for Elizabeth Wilcote and possibly by Richard Winchcombe; Perrott Aisle added to north of north aisle by Christopher Kempster for James Perrott, d.1724; restored 1864 by G. E. Street. Coursed and uncoursed limestone rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings; gabled stone slate chancel roof; other roofs of lead. Chancel and aisled nave with west tower. Late C13 three-light trefoil-headed east window. Mid C19 two-light Decorated-style window to each side; south organ chamber added 1954. South side of nave has two C15 two-light square-headed windows, and gabled porch by Street; mid C12 south doorway has billetted roll-moulded arch set on shafts with scalloped capitals and C14 inner archway. Wilcote Chapel, with gabled stone slate roof and offset buttresses, has three fine Perpendicular windows with panel tracery. Perrott Aisle, of 2 bays, has 4 semi-circular arched windows with eared architraves set under straight hoods with scroll brackets; to west is round window with cherub's head as key above keyed semi-circular arched doorway with Doric pilasters and cornice, and plank door with decorative strap hinges; all windows have latticed leaded lights. West bay of north aisle has C15 two-light square-headed window above blocked early C14 pointed chamfered doorway. 3-stage west tower has early C14 two-light west window and blocked openings in gabled outline of former late Saxon nave; early C11 lancet to south; early C11 two-light stone-louvred belfry windows with imposts; C14 crenellated parapet with gargoyles. Interior: early C14 cinquefoiled piscina with credence table; hood mould over late C13 trefoiled tomb recess to north; chancel also has 2 late C13 responds with moulded capitals of former chancel arch. Chancel screen, in Decorated style with stone open tracery, by G.E. Street: adjoining pulpit also by Street. c.1200 two-bay nave arcades, have chamfered arches set on round piers with scalloped capital to north and waterleaf capital to south. Late C13 tower arch of 2 orders with stiff-leaf to hood mould stops and capital of south responds: chamfered tower arches to north and south, and voussoirs of late Saxon blocked order to south. C15 two-bay tie-beam roof in nave with moulded beams. Wilcote Chapel and monuments: probably by Richard Winchcombe (Harvey), for Elizabeth Wilcote, d.1442; has very fine 2-bay fan vaulting; cinquefoiled piscina. Crocketed ogee arch, with angels bearing shield on flanking pinnacles, frames tomb of Elizabeth Wilcote and her husband Sir William Wilcote, d.1410: superb alabaster effigies, with much carved detail, lie on alaster tomb chest with canopied panels. Monument to William Lenthall, d.1576, and wife shows them at prayer with mutilated group of children below and flanked by obelisks with grape pendants. C17 and C18 floor tablets. Perrott Aisle and monuments to north: by Christopher Kempster for James Perrott, d.1724: 2-bay Tuscan arcade with acanthus leaf spandrels and heraldic crest; early C18 screen reset on C19 bench ends; rerearches have carved heads and acanthus leaf carving; C18 brass plaques with fine lettering, probably former coffin plates; fine memorial to Henry Perrott, d,1740, by Ricketts of Gloucester, has 2 cherubs reclining on sarcophagus with grey marble pyramid; wall tablet with urn to James Musgrave, d.1814; memorial to James Musgrave, d.1778, has draped urn with grey marble pyramid set on sarcophagus; fine architectural monument to James Perrott, d.1724, has extravagently-carved Baroque frame surmounted by flaming urn. Other monuments: wall-monument of stone and alabaster to Robert Perrott, d.1605, and wife is similar monument, also with complete row of children, to Lenthall Monument in Wilcote Chapel (q.v.). Brass of Knight in chancel floor depicts Thomas Beckingham, d.1431. South aisle has fine architectural monument to John Andrew, d.1754, with cherubs heads set in tympanum; early C18 Perrott monument to east, set in architectural frame with ball finials flanking urn. Wall painting: fine C15 Last judgement scene on east wall of nave. Perrott Arms on west wall of chancel: early C18, with Baroque swags, etc. Stained glass: late C19 east window, very fine C15 glass set in heads of Wilcote Chapel windows; tops of canopies set in heads of main lights; lower range of tracery lights has vine foliage designs alternating with letters of the alphabet; inserted fragments to east; lions' faces set in vine foliage above; heraldic badges depicting stags and eagles in main lights of north-east window. Kempster worked for Wren on St. Paul's Cathedral, Abingdon Town Hall and other buildings. (Buildings of England: Oxfordshire: pp719-721; National Monuments Record; Bodleian Library, Topographical Drawings, for late C18 and C19 drawings; H.M. Colwin, A. Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1660-1840, 1978, p486)

Listing NGR: SP3873613654

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

252819

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Sherwood, J, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, (1974), 719-721
Colvin, H M, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840, (1978), 486

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.