Description

COGENHOE AND WHISTON WHISTON
SP86SE
3/72 Church of St. Mary the Virgin
03/05/68

GV I

Church. Early C16, probably completed 1534. Built at expense of Anthony Catesby.
Limestone ashiar and lead roofs. Chancel, aisled nave, south porch and west
tower. Perpendicular style. Chancel of 1 bay has 5-light east window. Aisles
have 3-light windows to east and west ends and 4-light windows to sides.
Hollow-chamfered and wave-moulded south doorway with C19 panelled door in
shallow porch. The latter has attached shafts to doorway with wave-moulded arch,
shields in stylized foliage to spandrels, wave-moulded rectangular surround and
hood mould. Porch is battlemented and has panelled stone vault. Tower has 3
stages and is faced chiefly with ironstone ashlar with bands and dressings of
limestone. Many-moulded west doorway with attached shafts, a 3-light window
above with hood mould and quatrefoil windows to middle stage north and south
with moulded lozenge surrounds. Paired bell-chamber openings of 2-lights with
transom, traceried spandrels and single hood mould to each pair. Clasping
buttresses, set-back to bell-chamber stage, then supporting pairs of tall square
pinnacles set diagonally. Quatrefoil frieze to base, above moulded plinth,
frieze of cusped lozenges below bell-chamber stage and panelled battlemented
parapet with corbel frieze and large gargoyles to centre of sides - two monkeys
to south and bearded woolcomber to east. Body of church has off-set buttresses
to bays, diagonal off-set buttresses to chancel and battlemented parapets; some
original polygonal battlemented lead rainwater heads. Windows to aisles, chancel
and above west door have 4-centred heads, similar Perpendicular tracery and hood
moulds. Interior: a hall church with no clerestory or chancel arch. Nave has
4-bay arcades, piers with high moulded bases to clear pews and
four-shafts-four-hollows section, moulded capitals and double wave-moulded
arches. Shafts on angel corbels carrying roof principals and traceried spandrels
with shields. Fine original roofs; roofs have carved wall plates with leaf trail
and scroll decoration, similar decoration to principals, many-moulded ridge
pieces and purlins, stop-moulded rafters and carved bosses. Triple-chamfered
tower arch with shafts innermost. Font: octagonal with panelled stem and shields
in quatrefoils to bowl. Oak font cover with 5 twisted balusters supporting
pyramidal top; probably mid C17. Several groups of benches, substantially
original and square-topped with thin buttress-shafts. Wrought-iron
candle-holders to benches with flowers, of c.1890. Mid C18 communion rail with
column-on-vase balusters. Communion table of similar date with cabriole legs.
Late C19 reredos of oak with carving in high relief of Last Supper. C18 reredos
in vestry with round-arched Commandment boards. 3 funeral hatchments to members
of Irby family; oil on canvas. Royal Arms of George II; oil on canvas. C19
stain-glass east and west windows. Monuments: standing wall monument to Thomas
Catesby, last of his line, d.1699, erected 1700. Various marbles. Busts of him
and his wife on base with relief showing 3 kneeling daughters, small child with
a skull and baby in swaddling clothes. Slate inscription panel bears Catesby
lineage and has round-arched surround with black marble console keyblock and is
flanked by veined marble ionic columns supporting pediment with cartouche of
arms. Standing wall monument to William Irby, lst Baron Boston, d.1775 by
No11ekens. Various marbles. Mourning female figure leaning on urn and holding
extinguished torch. Obelisk background. Wall monuments to Mary Irby, d.1792 also
by Nollekens, with weeping cherub by an urn. Wall monument in Grecian style to
Edward Irby, d.1805 with trophy of arms to base, and signed J. de Vaeri, London.
Wall monument to Frederick, 2nd Baron Boston, by W. Pitts with relief of praying
family and ascending angel. Other simpler, early C19 and later wall monuments to
members of Irby family.
(Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: pp459 and 460; VCH: Northamptonshire:
Vol 4, pp289-291)

Listing NGR: SP8519360520

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17527180

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

• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)