Description

TF 60 NE FINCHAM HIGH STREET
(north side)

5/12 Church of St. Martin
8.7.59
- I

Parish church. Mid C15, restored 1847 and 1870. Flint and carstone with
ashlar dressings. Leaded roofs. West tower, nave, aisles and chancel. 3
stage tower with angle buttresses to belfry. Plinth with course of pointed
trefoil arcading. Arched west door under square C19 surround. 4-light west
window above. 2-light ringing chamber window south and one-light west. 3
light C19 belfry windows. Battlemented parapet with trefoil arcading. Gabled
south porch with angle buttresses and carved parapet bearing inscription 1852,
the date of restoration. South aisle with stepped flushwork buttresses
leading through flushwork crenellated parapet to pinnacles with crockets and
finials. 3-light 4-centred panel tracery aisle windows between buttresses
each with stepped transoms. Clerestory windows of 3 lights with rising super-
mullions and scissor motif. All windows with brick relieving arches. Rebuilt
nave parapet. Chancel rendered. 2 3-light windows as aisle. Arched priest's
door and crenellated flushwork parapet. 5-light east window elaborated from
aisle type. North chancel obscured by 2 storey vestry of c.1500 : gabled
with pantile roof; trefoil lancet to east with moulded hood on labels. One
chancel and 5 north aisle windows as before. Plain stepped buttresses to
north aisle plain parapets. North clerestory 2-light single reticulation
units. 2-light window in nave east gable head under square hood on labels.
Interior. Tall, heavily moulded tower arch on polygonal bases. 5 bay arcade
: lozenge piers with fillets east and west. Double chamfered arches. Capitals
only on south side. Windows above apex of arches. Hammerbeam roof with
alternating braced and unbraced hammer-posts, which are in form of angels.
Moulded arched braces to collars. One tier butt purlins and ridge piece,
both moulded. Aisle roofs of arched braces to principals with pierced tracery
spandrels. Chancel screen : 2 bays of 3 lights to right and left of arched
central opening. Solid dado with 3 trefoiled arches each bay and painted
flower scroll. Moulded stiles and muntins. Double cusped central opening
and side lights arched with tracery head above curving transom. Chancel roof
: short hammer-posts on arched braces to corbels. Arched braces from hammer-
posts to collars. One tier moulded butt purlins and ridge piece. Early C12
font with square bowl on 5 columns, each with roll capital and base. Each
face of font of 3 arches of continuous arcade, each roll moulded arch carried
on cushion capital, circular engaged column and moulded base. Above and below
are dog-tooth decoration. Figures fill arches. South : the nativity with
manger, ox, ass, Mary and Joseph; east : the 3 magi; west : Baptism of Christ
with St. John the Baptist and a bishop; north : Adam and Eve and a serpent
in The Tree of Knowledge.

Listing NGR: TF6880106458

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17536256

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

• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version