Description

SK 81 NW FREEBY STAPLEFORD PARK

6/48 Church of St.Mary Magdalen 1.1.68

I

Parish church. 1783, restored 1931 and 1967. Designed by G. Richardson for the 4th Earl of Harborough. Ashlar with ashlar dressings. Gothick style. Chamfered and moulded plinths, string course, frieze of shields with Arms, coped blind arcaded parapet with pinnacles. Rainwater heads dated 1931. West tower, nave, north and south transepts, chancel. West tower, 3 stages, has moulded plinth and string course, frieze and cornices, one of them with Romanesque ornament. Crenellated parapet with 4 pinnacles. First stage has to west, moulded Tudor arched doorway with ogee headed panelled surround with finial in the form of feathers. Margin stile door. Above, 2 light pointed arched window with Y tracery. North and south sides have each a recessed round window and above it a blank 2 light pointed arched window with Y tracery. Second stage has a roundel on each side, that to west containing a clock. Third stage has on each side a double lancet bell opening with fretted shutters. Nave, 3 bays, has on each side 3 light pointed arched windows with intersecting tracery. West end has on each side a roundel and above it a pointed niche. Parapeted north and south transepts have a blank 4 light lancet in each gable. Chancel has blank sides. East end has small central buttress and string course. Above, transomed 4 light lancet with intersecting tracery, flanked by single niches. Above it, a coronet in high relief and a datestone inscribed '1783'. Interior has octagonal vaulted porch below tower with central figurative boss. To east, pointed doorway flanked by single round headed doors. To west, pointed doorway flanked by single round headed recesses. Nave has arcaded cornice and coved plaster ceiling with lozenge patterns and fluted brackets. West end has wooden gallery with 3 Tudor arched openings on each stage, the upper central one gabled. Below, panelled dado and to left, winder stair with stick balusters. Gallery has panelled dado. West side has central Gothic Coade stone fireplace with figurative panel. Above it, Royal Arms in a roundel, flanked by single double ogee lancet panels. Lozenge patterned ceiling with central oval dome containing cherubs. Transepts have panelled plaster vaults. Gable walls have each a roundel containing a dove. Chancel east end has dado and frieze with central inlaid marble reredos with anchor motif, pediment and urn, by R. Brown of Derby. Window above is flanked by double lancet Commandment boards. Fittings of 1783, restored 1967, include longitudinal panelled stalls with candlesticks, traceried reading desk, panelled octagonal pulpit with winder stair, and movable fluted marble font on oak stem. 2 late C17 turned chairs and 7 traceried early C19 chairs. Panelled C18 chest. Late C19 wooden lectern. Memorials include brass, 1490, to Geoffrey Sherard and wife. Black and white marble chest tomb, 1640, to William and Abigail Sherard. Chest has inscribed side panel and Arms at ends, and 2 full size reclining figures plus 11 small figures of children. Above, depressed Gothic arch carrying central obelisk with niche containing bust of Philip Sherard, 1750, flanked by bust of Bennet Sherard, 1770, and Robert Sherard, 1799. Above again, central bust of Bennet Sherard, 1699. Black and white marble chest tomb by M Rysbrack to Robert Sherard and wife, 1732. Chest has inscribed panel to front and above, full size figures of seated woman with child and half-reclining man, all in Roman costume. Behind, obelisk panel with crest and 2 portrait medallions. Tablet and hatchment to the 6th Earl of Harborough, 1859.

Listing NGR: SK8117218203

External Links

• St Mary Magdalene's Church, Stapleford at Wikipedia
• St Mary Magdalene's Church, Stapleford official website
• Wikidata Q7594583

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

• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
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  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
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  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)