Description

TL 3027 ARDELEY ARDELEY
(south side)

9/12 Parish Church of
St Lawrence (C of E)

22.2.67

GV I

Parish church. Nave C13 or earlier; chancel and N aisle early
C13; early C14 S aisle, chancel arch, and W tower; C15
clerestorey and angel roofs to nave and aisles; N porch donated
1508; C19 N vestry and half-timbered S porch. Chancel restored
1864 by Butterfield; general restoration 1880-84. Flint rubble
with stone dressings and remains of external render. C18 red
brick buttresses with tumbled brickwork, stone bases and stone
offsets to S aisle and chancel (rendered). Steep old red tile
roofs to chancel and porches, roofs of nave and aisles concealed
by embattled parapets. Similar parapet to unbuttressed tower
with Hertfordshire spike. A picturesque village church with
nave, N and S aisles, chancel, W tower, N and S porches, and
lean-to flint vestry. A polygonal turret at the NE of the nave
contains the rood stair. Chancel with C13 lancet in N and S walls
(reset), piscina on S and tomb-recess on N both with shafted
jambs and dog-tooth ornament. E window renewed 1858 flanked by
niches said to have been found in 1849 and restored 1864 by
Butterfield from record drawings (Harbord (1952) 9). Behind C20
reredos scratch-moulded panelling painted with luxurient
vegetation and flowers on a green ground in the style of Wm
Morris. Simple C19 collar-rafter roof after Brandon with sloping
ashlars and all members chamfered and simple trefoil cusping over
altar. Brasses on S wall Philip Metcalffe 1515 vicar; on S jamb
of C14 chancel arch of 2 chamfered orders Thomas Shotbolt with
wife and children 1599; on N wall Wyndham Malet 1885 vicar; next
pulpit lower part of female figure and inscription to John Clerk
and wife c1430. Cut-down screen with 4 painted saints, restored
in 1884 (Kelly (1914) 24). Rood loft with crucifix and attendant
saints and panelled canopy over, 1928 by Frederick Charles Eden,
supported on carved posts with curved braces. 3-bay nave with 3
2-light cinquefoil clerestorey windows on each side. Stone
figure corbels at E wall but timber corbels elsewhere support
wallposts of C15 3-bay low-pitched open timber roof and curved
braces to cambered tie beams with traceried spandrels. Moulded
ridge and purlins have carved bosses in each bay at mid-span
where they meet a similarly moulded secondary principal rafter
with a large angel figure on the lower part with wings displayed,
playing a musical instrument. Similar roofs in N and S aisles
have angels with shields or scrolls. The easternmost half-bay of
the nave roof is panelled with carved bosses and ribs, over the
rood. 3-bay early C13 N arcade has 2-centred arches in 2
chamfered orders, octagonal shafts and simple bell capitals.
Corbel head supports capital at W impost. More pointed C14 S
arcade has additional drip mould, wider piers and more elaborate
moulded caps. Fine wall monument on S side of chancel arch to
Mary Markham 1673 attributed to Edward Stanton (Pevsner (1977)
72). Demi figure in niche with Corinthian pilasters and broken
pediment with swaddled baby on ledge in front. C15 benches with
poppy heads at rear. N aisle has late C13 2-light W window with
stained glass in situ in tracery at head. 2 late C15 3-light
windows in N wall and more elaborate 3-light Perp E window.
Elaborate swagged marble cartouche to Henry Chauncy 1703, son of
the county historian Sir Henry Chauncy 1632 - 1719 also buried in
the church. S aisle little altered with late C15 tracery in the
original openings of its 3-light windows. Narrow trefoil headed
window at W. Piscina with cusped trefoil head and shelf. C15
Octagonal font with heads carved on alternate facets of bowl
above moulded cap to octagonal shaft. W tower of 2 stages is
entered by a tall C14 tower arch of 2 chamfered orders on heavy
polygonal jamb shafts. C14 2-light W window and C15 2-light bell
openings. N Porch has an entrance archway with shafted jambs, a
scissor-braced roof with ashlar pieces and moulded cornice, small
2-light E and W windows, stone basin to W of doorway, and 2 stone
benches with graffiti. Wall paintings are said to have been
found in the church in 1880 but are not now exposed. Ornate
cistern with date '1775' between N aisle and vestry. (RCHM
C1911) 36: VCH (1912) 198: Pevsner (1977) 72: Harbord RE The
Parish of Ardeley: A Short History priv. print. Ardeley, 1952.

Listing NGR: TL3081727138

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17528930

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

• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)