Church of St Mary

Details

KIDLINGTON CHURCH STREET SP4914 (West side) 10/84 Church of St. Mary 07/12/66

GV I

Church. C12, remodelled in mid C13; aisles, north-east and south-east chapels added c.1330 by Abbot Thomas of Osney Abbey; C15 clerestory. Squared and coursed limestone and coursed limestone rubble; stone-coped gabled stone slate chancel, south-east chapel, transept and porch roofs; lead nave aisle and north-east chapel roofs. Mid C13 cruciform plan with early C14 chapels, tower and aisles. C14 hood moulds with head stops over all windows. Chancel has mid C13 offset corner buttresses, early C14 quatrefoil window above C15 Perpendicular 3-light window; 2-light Decorated south window. South-east chapel has early C14 curvilinear 5-light window with carved head set in centre of foliated circle in apex; two 3-light rectilinear windows to south side. North-east chapel has curvilinear 4-light east window and two 3-light rectilinear south windows. South transept, restored in late C19, has C15 Perpendicular 3-light east window, similar restored window and C17 sundial to south, and medieval gabled stone hood and hood mould over early C14 pointed arched chamfered doorway and ancient door with mid C18 panelling to rear. North transept has C15 three-light trefoil-headed window and Perpendicular 3-light window to east; similar Perpendicular north window; 2 mid C13 lancets, three C15 trefoil-headed lights, mid C19 stack and doorway. Tower has late C13 trefoil-headed lancets to lower stage and early C14 Decorated 2-light lucarnes. North side of nave has offset corner buttresses, stair-turret with slit lights, C19 three-light window and C15 Perpendicular 3-light clerestory windows. South aisle has 3 restored early C14 Decorated 3-light windows and plain parapet; early C14 gabled porch has canopy above pointed arched moulded doorway with ballflower ornament; early C14 south doorway. Five C15 cinquefoiled clerestory windows. West gable has C15 Perpendicular 5-light window with panel tracery; ancient studded double doors with strap hinges to C15 casement-moulded doorway. Interior: early C14 cinquefoiled piscina and sedilia; C19 communion rail with reset C15 cusped panels; reset glazed C14 floor tiles; fine head corbels support C14 three-bay arch-braced roof with hollow-moulded arch braces and moulded purlins and ashlar plates. Two-bay early C14 north and south arcades with double-chamfered arches set on central octagonal piers. North chapel has hood moulds with head stops and C14 carved corbels to ceiling. South chapel has hood moulds with crouching figures to stops and similar 4-bay arch-braced roof restored in C19. Triple-chamfered chancel arch and double-chamfered crossing arches set on heavy chamfered piers with moulded capitals; early C14 corbels support beamed ceiling. South transept: similar 4-bay roof, blocked Norman window and crocketed cinquefoiled piscina. North transept: C15 three-bay arch-braced tie-beam roof with hollow-moulded beans, king struts and traceried spandrels; two C14 head corbels and crocketed cinquefoiled piscina. Nave: Jacobean pulpit with blind arcading and richly-carved decoration; trefoiled statue niche in south-east corner; C12 tub font set on C15 octagonal base. South aisle: C15 roof with moulded beams and ashlar plates, and solid wood arch braces with pierced cusping. Wall painting: C15 Virgin and Child and part of narrative scene on east wall and painted fragment on west wall of North Transept. Fittings: very fine C15 doors; similar traceried rood screen; ten mid C13 misericords (Crossley); two C15 benches with poppyhead finial; mid Cl9 stalls have reset panels taken from C15 bench ends, with arms, rebus, badges and traceried carvings. North Chapel has fine C15 traceried screen with quatrefoil spandrels to pointed-arched doorway and C15 door with Decorated-style blind tracery; similar screen to west end. South Chapel has similar screen with cusped head to doorway with C15 door. Memorials: wall tablet with scrolled ends to William Smith, d.1793, and family; tablet to Margaret May, d.1716, has cartouche with cherubs' heads and festoons; memorial to John Smith, d.1764, has heraldic cartouche and cherub's heads below. North Chapel has memorial tablets to Reverend Joseph Smith and wife May, d.1745 and Anne Hargreaves, d.1762, and mid C18 monument with heraldic cartouche and urns surmounting architectural frame. South transept has memorial to John Philips, d.1719, and mid C18 monument with urn surmounting architectural frame. C19 wall tablets, and C17 and C18 ledger stones. Stained glass: east and south chancel windows have reset C13-C15 fragments, panels, figures and armorial glass; west window by O'Connor, 1857. (Buildings of England: Oxfordshire: pp670-2; National Monuments Record; Bedleian Library, Topographical Drawings)

Listing NGR: SP4972514807

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

394071

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Sherwood, J, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, (1974), 670-2

End of official list entry

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