Description

TM 07 SW WATTISFIELD THE STREET (EAST SIDE)

3/101 Church of St Margaret 15/11/54

GV II*

Parish church. Some earlier fragments, but mainly C15; C19 restored. Random flint, but some sections on the south side more carefully coursed; freestone dressings; old plaintiles to nave and porch roofs, slates with remains of decorated ridge tiles to chancel. Nave, chancel, north and south porches, west tower. Stepped buttresses, faced with freestone and panels of black knapped flint, to the north and south walls; diagonal buttresses to the east end of chancel. 2 3-light and one 2-light window to north side of nave, one 2-light and one 3-light to south side, all in Perpendicular style with traceried heads, partly restored. 2 2-light similar windows to north and south of chancel, and a 3-light east window with central embattled transome infilled with 6 stained glass panels, inserted in 1864 as a memorial to the Rev. William Hepworth (1759-1841), curate of Wattisfield for 48 years. Pointed priest's door on north, ogee-moulded, continuous arch. C14 timber north porch: entrance arch with ovolo-moulding, rebated and pintle-hinged for a door; substantial rafter roof with later bracing; side walls with an upper row of closely-set chamfered Jacobean mullions, originally forming an open balustrade, now boarded externally. Cusped timber arch above the north door, which has a C14 pointed continuous arch with ¼-round mouldings and drip-mould. C15 south porch, now used as a vestry: faced in black knapped flint mixed with small rubble stone blocks; diagonal buttresses with remains of flushwork panels, including the crowned MR monogram and a wheel; continuous entrance arch with flushwork panels to each side. Top of walls and gable rebuilt in Tudor red brick: the apex bears a much-damaged shield in brickwork with the arms of de la Pole, and a sundial, and is topped by an ornate cross. Similar crosses at the east end and above the chancel arch. Small unbuttressed west tower in 3 stages divided by string courses. Flushwork base with a trefoil arcade. A 2-light traceried window to each face of the top stage; different 2-light windows to the 2 lower stages on the west; 2 tiny slit windows and a quatrefoil for the internal stair on the south side; plain crenellated parapet. Interior much restored in 1872. Chancel, with renewed roof, has a large C15 rectangular piscina in the south wall with ogee-moulded surround and a C19 cusped ogee arch. Various wall memorials; mid C19 black ledger slab on floor to the Rev. William Hepworth, his wife and son. C15 chancel arch. Complete rood stairs in south wall of nave. Fine octagonal Perpendicular font: panelled tracery to each face of the wide stem, blank shields to the faces of the bowl. Ornate octagonal Jacobean font cover, the ribs carved with scrolls and beaked bird or dragon heads, a ball and spike finial on top. Plain medieval rafter roof with scissor-bracing. Some sections of the medieval chancel arch screen are incorporated in the prayer desk and lectern. Early C14 tower arch.

Listing NGR: TM0103074191

External Links

• Wikidata Q17536189

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Recommended Books

• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)