Church of St Mary Woodhorn Church Museum

Details

ASHINGTON WOODHORN NZ 38 NW 3/32 Church of St. Mary, 14/4/49 (now Woodhorn Church Museum) GV I

Parish Church. Pre-Conquest nave and perhaps west tower; north aisle early C12, south aisle mid-C12. Eastern arches of arcades and chancel arch C13. External walls, except for lower part of west end and tower, rebuilt 1843 by B. & J. Green of Newcastle. Tower roughly-squared stone, C19 parts tooled stone with tooled ashlar dressings. Welsh slate roofs. C19 parts in heavy Norman style.

South aisle has porch with boarded double doors in round arch, with 1818 sundial above, under coped gable with roll-moulded finial; 4 round-arched windows with hoodmoulds to east of porch, similar windows in each end of aisle. North aisle shows similar fenestration. Clerestorey with 4 pairs of round-arched lights on each side; coped east gable with elaborate cross fleury finial. West tower shows low stepped diagonal buttresses and slightly-projecting stair turret with small loops. West window of 2 trefoil-headed lights, with shields of Ogle and Widdrington under square head, is probably 1843 copy of C15 original; above window a built-in small effigy, perhaps of a priest. Set-back bell stage with large 2-light openings and heavy parapet with blind arcade and shafts at angles.

To south of tower south-west quoin of Pre-Conquest nave is exposed, of large irregular blocks. Fenestration of chancel includes 2 round-headed loops and C15-style 4-light window on south, and lancet triplet on east, reproducing pre- 1843 features. C19 parts have sill strings and eaves cornice on block corbels; plaque with Greens' monogram beneath east and west windows.

Interior: internal tower walls of long roughly-shaped blocks in irregular courses. Round arch of 2 square orders to tower, on restored chamfered imposts; square-headed doorway to tower stair on south, and blocked square-headed opening above. Tower stair of unusual square plan. Western bays of north arcade have round arches of a single square order with a chamfered hoodmould, on squat round piers with scallop capitals; taller eastern arch has filleted roll mouldings towards nave, on triple-shafted respond with still-leaf foliage and mask corbel. Western bays of south arcade have round arches of 2 square orders with a chamfered hoodmould, on round piers with re-cut capitals and bases with nail-head; tall double-chamfered eastern arch with broach stops and moulded hood. The western arch of each arcade cuts into a single-splayed Pre-Conquest window; the monolithic pseudo-arched head of that on the south has decoration of incised concentric circles. Double-chamfered chancel arch on twin-shafted corbel responds, the northern partly cut away.

C19 nave and chancel roof with laminated round-arched trusses, on moulded stone corbels.

Patterned mid-C19 glass in eastern lancets. 2 medieval bells now displayed in chancel. Well-preserved C13 effigy attributed to Agnes de Valence. C18 and early C19 mural monuments including 1739 Walton monument in south aisle and tablets by Davies. Font has early C19 cable-moulded bowl on older shaft and base. Collection of sculptured stones including Pre-Conquest cross fragments, headstone crosses and C12-C14 cross slabs; other unprovenanced carved stones from Society of Antiquaries'collection in Newcastle and inscribed cross slab from Kickhill Chapel Site, Hepple, are also displayed.

Woodhorn may be the 'Wudecestre' (Woodchester) granted to the Lindisfarne community by Ceolwulf in 737.

Listing NGR: NZ3013788851

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