Description

SIDBURY

823/27/20 CHURCH OF HOLY TRINITY
09-MAR-70

II*
DATES OF MAIN PHASES, NAME OF ARCHITECT:
Parish church with C12 nave, north chapel of 1734, restored and extended by Robert Griffiths, 1881.

MATERIALS: Locally quarried sandstone, mainly laid in herringbone fashion in the nave; ashlar siltstone to north chapel; freestone dressings, tile roofs and cast-iron rainwater goods.

PLAN: Nave with lower and narrower chancel, south porch, west belfry and chapel on the north side of the chancel.

EXTERIOR: Herringbone masonry in the nave is mainly C12 but includes some C19 work on the south side. The west wall has a blocked Norman doorway, the arch of which contains sandstone and tufa voussoirs. Except for the round-headed south doorway, the C19 nave and chancel work is in simple Decorated style, with 2-light nave windows. Two memorial tablets are on the nave south wall, to Thomas Childe (d 1772) and family, and Henry Page (d 1800). The porch, which also incorporates herringbone masonry, has a pointed entrance with continuous double chamfer, and triple lancet sided windows. The belfry is timber-framed with louvered sound holes in each face, under a pyramid roof on swept eaves, with weathervane. The chancel has single and 2-light windows in the south wall, and 2-light east window. The north chapel has a small 2-light east window but no other external openings.

INTERIOR: The nave has a trussed-rafter roof and, supporting the bellcote at the west end, a single tie-beam truss on corbelled brackets. The chancel arch has a continuous double chamfer and hood mould. In the chancel is a canted ceiling, boarded behind moulded and embossed ribs. An C18 double-chamfered arch on the north side opens to the chapel. The piscina is ogee-headed. Walls are plastered. Floors are C19 and C20 tiles, with steps in the chancel.

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES: Many interior fixtures post-date a fire in 1912. The tub font of c1931 is neo-Norman. It has intersecting arches below a tier of snake-like branches. The polygonal pulpit has open arcading and foliage-trail cornice. Simple pews have X-shaped ends incorporating trefoils. Choir stalls have moulded ends with arms rests incorporating blind trefoils, and ogee-arcaded fronts. The wooden communion rail has cast-iron uprights with scrolls. The simple reredos has paired Corinthian columns, guilloche frieze and roundel with Chi-Rho symbol. A hatchment is on the west wall. The east window shows 2 angels, dated 1931 by Powell's. In the chapel is a reassembled pair of wall monuments to Richard Creswell (d1708) and Anne Creswell (d 1705), comprising oval tablets with garlands, flaming urns and cherubs, over a memorable skull and crossbones.

HISTORY: Evidence of a C12 origin is the herringbone masonry in the nave walls. A Gothic-style north chapel was added in 1734 (date on stonework) by the Creswell family. The church was restored in 1881 by Robert Griffiths, architect of Quatford, who completely rebuilt the chancel. Porch and belfry also belong to this phase. The contractor was Nevett Brothers of Ironbridge. The church was damaged in a fire in 1912 and many of the interior fixtures post-date this.

SOURCES:
J. Newman and N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Shropshire, 2006, p 595.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The church of the Holy Trinity, Sidbury, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* It retains extensive C12 fabric, including herringbone masonry and a blocked Norman doorway.
* It has an C18 family chapel with contemporary wall monuments.
* The exterior retains C19 character which, with its timber-framed belfry, is one of the typical features of the area.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17538955

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

• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings