Description

STAPLEFORD CHURCH LANE
TL 31 NW
(South side)
Stapleford
4/114
Church of St. Mary
24.11.66
the Virgin
- II*

Parish church. Mid C12 with later medieval alterations. Restored and
enlarged 1874 at expense of Abel Smith of Woodhall Park (q.v. Watton-
at-Stone Civil Parish). Flint rubble, cement rendered with stone
dressings, stock brick buttresses. Weatherboarded tower stage to leaded
timber spire. Tiled roofs. Originally a 3 bay nave with narrower and
shorter chancel. Nave lengthened by 1 bay, S vestry, N transept, porch
and tower added all in C19. Chancel E end: C19 3 light window,
rectilinear tracery, moulded pointed arch, hood mould with mask stops, 2
stage C19 diagonal buttresses, bargeboards. Chancel to N has a restored
C13 lancet and a C19 Gothic panelled door with a hood mould. Nave has
bargeboards to taller E gable. N transept: gable end 2 light window with
traceried head, 4 centred arch with hood mould. Quatrefoil above with
date 1874. 2 stage diagonal buttresses, plinth, bargeboards. E return
has a Gothic panelled door with hood mould. Further W and projecting
from nave in angle with transept is C19 entrance porch surmounted by
tower. Inside porch is early knapped flint walling with C12 round arched
door surround, 2 orders, inner colonnettes with foliate capitals,
moulded bases, triple horizontal zigzag on arch, outer voussoirs have
vertical zigzag. Outer entrance to porch has pointed arch, moulded hood
mould. To left steps up to a plank door to stair turret with an upper
slit opening. To right a 3 stage diagonal buttress. Lancet in return to
W. Cornice to weatherboarded upper stage of tower with a leaded light to
N, broaches to octagonal head and timber belfry. Octagonal spire has
zigzag patterning, weathervane finial. 2 stage buttress at original W
end of nave, a C19 square headed light in added bay. W end C19 3 light
window with rectilinear tracery, upper cusped diamond, 3 stage diagonal
buttresses, plinth, bargeboards. Nave to S has 3 windows, that to centre
a single C19 light replacing C12 door, lower jambs of which are visible
with mass dial. Towards E end is a C15 window, 2 cinquefoiled lights
with curvilinear tracery, 4 centred arched head with hoodmould, this
window copied in C19 towards W end. 2 stage buttresses to right of door
and at original W end. Slight thickening of wall for rood stairs with a
slit light at E end of nave S wall, 2 stage buttress. Extending from
chancel to S is large lower vestry. Gable end 3 light traceried window,
angle buttresses, lancets in returns, blocked to E. Door to E with a 4
centred arched head with square hood mould. Interior: C16 2 centred
chancel arch, double chamfered with moulded caps at springings. C13
lancet in a deep embrasure from chancel S wall to vestry. C19 double
chamfered pointed arch from nave to N transept. Nave SE angle has
chamfered 4 centred arched headed opening to rood stairs with upper
opening with chamfered jambs. C15 or early C16 crown post roof in nave,
extended to W in C19, octagonal crown posts with caps and bases, 4 way
braces, stop chamfered tie beams, ovolo moulded wall plates. Late C18
vase baluster font with swags on bowl. Early C18 stone memorial to
Rev D Williams removed from churchyard to nave S wall, arms in relief.
Nave SE window has fragments of C15 glass at head, elsewhere early C20
glass. 1919 sanctuary panelling and communion rails. (RCHM 1910: VCH
1912: Pevsner 1977).

Listing NGR: TL3119216863

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17553465

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

• 
  For the Record
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)