Description

ld Knebworth
TL 22 SW KNEBWORTH OLD KNEBWORTH LANE
(west side)

3/150 Church of St Mary
and St Thomas
27.5.68

GV I

Parish church. Circa 1150 origin to chancel and nave. W tower
c.1420. N chancel chapel (Lytton Chapel) rebuilt c.1705. Chancel
restored mid-late C19. Flint and rubble with stone and brick
dressings. Steep plain tile roofs. The N chancel chapel is
plastered brick with red brick buttresses. 3-stage W tower has
diagonal buttresses. Battlemented. Polygonal SE staircase
turret. Lead spike. 3-light w window; W door with pointed arch
in square surround. Most windows of nave are C15 with cusped
lights. Those of N chancel chapel are original wood mullioned
and transomed with leaded panes. Chancel has Norman Revival
style round arch lights. Gabled S porch Probably c1845.
Interior: Large C15 W arch with attached single shafts. Nave
roof has C15 hammerbeam trusses with traceried panels above the
hammerbeams and crown posts from the collar braces. These
trusses alternate with simple braced collar trusses. Complete
C15 oak box pews decorated with miniature stepped buttresses.
Circa 1150 Norman chancel arch with scalloped capitals.
Outstanding internal feature is the Lytton Chapel which contains
a remarkable set of early C18 monuments to members of the Lytton
family. On N and S wall: to Sir William Lytton (d. 1705) and to
Sir George Strode (d.1707), both by Edward Stanton. Marble
Semi reclining fiqures. Reredos backqround. Columns supporting
segmental arches with cartouches, the former with life-sized
allegories outside the columns. On W wall: to Lytton Lytton
(d.l7l0), perhaps by Thomas Green. Standing figure in shell-
niche tabernacle frame. Fluted side pilasters. Broken segmental
pediment. Cupids either side. Also in chapel, brasses to Roland
Lytton (d.1582) and his 2 wives. Tablet to Anne Lytton (d.
1601). Epitaph to William Robinson Lytton Strode (d. 1732) by
John Annis: two kneeling figures facing sarcophagus. In chancel:
epitaph to Judith Strode (d. 1662) on I wall in baroque style in
black'marble with white marble bust. On N wall: brass to Lord
Simon Bache (d. 1414) formerly in chancel floor. C18 altar
table, with paired Doric colonnettes, the rear panelling with
Greek key. Iron gates to Lytton Chapel by Lutyens, the oriqinal
wrought iron gates removed to W arch. C18 pulpit with fielded
panels, incorporating C16/early C17 Flemish panels at top. Font
at W end c. 1480, limestone, octagonal. 3-light window in S nave
wall by Clayton and Bell (RCHM, 1910; Pevsner (1977)).

Listing NGR: TL2308521007

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Church of St Mary and St Thomas at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17529079

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]