Description

SEDGEBERROW CP MAIN STREET (south side) SO 0238 - 0338 8/144 23/1 Church of St Mary 30-7-59 - II

Parish church. Circa 1328-31 for Thomas of Evesham, restored 1866-8 by William Butterfield and extended in 1899. Coursed limestone rubble faced with limestone ashlar; stone-tiled roof laid in diminishing courses with an east gable-end parapet and gabled finial. West tower and continuous five- bay nave and chancel with north porch and south vestry. Decorated style. West tower: octagonal and of four stages with strings and chamfered plinth. There is a long slit window in the south face of the lowest stage, a similar louvred slit window in the west face and also a rectangular light in the north face of the second stage, and another rectangular light in the south- west face of the third stage. The belfry stage has four louvred rectangular bell-chamber openings, one in each main face. The ashlar spire rises directly from a hollowed cornice and has a roll moulding at each angle and a weathervane. Nave and chancel: continuous chamfered plinth, chamfered eaves cornice and hood- mould. Diagonal buttresses with offsets at corners and buttresses with offsets at bay divisions. There are four 2-light windows in both side elevations, the three easternmost windows are tall and narrow whilst the westernmost window is wider with round-headed lights surmounted by a large round-lobed trefoil. The east window is of five lights. North porch is gabled, has a gable-end parapet with a pointed head and end buttresses. It has a pointed doorway of two chamfered orders and a hoodmould with returns that are continued and stepped to form a moulded eaves cornice at the sides. The side elevations have 2-light chamfered mullioned windows with square heads. Within the pointed south door- way is of a single order and is similarly detailed with a hoodmould returning to form a moulded eaves cornice to the interior walls of the porch. There is a stoup in the west side wall of the porch. North vestry: dated 1899, and adjoins the second bay from west end. It has a gable-end parapet with a cross finial, a chamfered plinth and eaves cornice and diagonal south end buttresses with offsets. At the south gable end is a 3-light window with a hoodmould and in the gable apex is a chamfered datestone inscribed "1899". There is a narrow doorway with a hoodmould in the west side and three cusped lancets beneath a single hoodmould in the east side; beneath the windows steps lead down to a basement door. In the east angle with the chancel is a tall ashlar chimney stack. Interior: walls are plastered and there is a C19 wagon roof. The ornate painted and gilded reredos is recorded as being C14 but much restored. It has three recessed semi-hexagonal bays with vaulted canopies, cusped crocketted and finialed ogee arches, flanking pinnacled buttresses and similar taller outer buttresses set in the east window jambs. Either side of the reredos is a large stone corbel intended to support small statues. The piscina has an ogee-arched vaulted canopy similar to the reredos. The two sedilia are more simply detailed and C19. There is a C19 traceried arcaded chancel screen that reaches to wall- plate level and is surmounted by a trefoil frieze. In the south wall of the nave is a piscina that probably once resembled that in the chancel. The circular font and carved timber pulpit are C19. Memorials: on the north wall of the nave is an early C18 memorial to John Parsons, died 1713, with a segmental pediment and panelled pilasters. On the west wall are two oval memorials of the late C18 and early C19 and also a mid-C19 memorial. Glass: the east window is c1878 and by Mrs Barber, the vicar's wife. There is a fragment of medieval glass in the north chancel window. The church was very heavily restored in 1866-68 by William Butterfield at the expense of Mary Barber in memory of her late husband, the Rev Barber. (VCH, Vol 3, part 2, p 520-2; BoE, p 258-9).

Listing NGR: SP0245438514

External Links

• Wikidata Q17548607

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Recommended Books

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)