Description

SE 55 NW NUN MONKTON THE AVENUE (east end)

2/24 Church of St Mary 15.3.66

GV I

Church. Late C12 - early C13 with restoration and rebuilding of east end and vestry 1873 by J H Walton, and stained glass by Morris and Company. Limestone ashlar, plain tile roof. 7-bay continuous nave and chancel with north vestry to 2 eastern most bays. West front: integral central tower interrupting steeply pitched roof. Round-headed west portal of 5 orders on slim shafts with stylised foliate capitals. Zigzag enrichment to the 2 inner and the outermost orders, and hoodmould with head stops. Triangular gable with pellet decoration supported on miniature shafts with waterleaf capitals, enclosing trefoiled niche. Doorway flanked by pairs of round- headed niches with roll-moulded arches on shafts with waterleaf capitals, the outer ones set into flat buttresses at the angles of the facade; that to extreme right contains weathered, headless figure. Above the doorway set on a continuous sill are 3 stepped lancets with banded shafts, nailhead enrichment and hoodmoulds. Narrow staircase window to right of central lancet. Shouldered belfry openings to each face of tower with corbel table above. Pyramidal roof. Nave, south side: 3 round-headed doorways, that to west of 3 chamfered orders and the central one, now blocked, of 2 plain orders. The easternmost door is largely a C19 reconstruction, with existing original sections confirming its accuracy. It consists of 3 orders, the outer one with zigzag enrichment, held on shafts with stiff-leaf capitals. Pellet and nailhead enrichment to jambs. Plain hoodmould with decorative stops. Upper storey: lancets with hoodmoulds on continuous string course, separated by flat buttresses. Nave, north side: blind lower storey with full-height flat buttresses and C19 vestry to east. Upper storey: lancets with hoodmoulds. East end, rebuilt in 1873: band bearing inscription "To the glory of God and the Memory of Anne, wife of Isaac Crawhall, this chancel is rebuilt and dedicated AD 1873", flanked by flat triangular-headed buttresses. 3 stepped lancets with banded shafts and nailhead and dogtooth enrichment. Vesica above, and cross to apex. Interior: 3 tall arches carrying tower to west end. The nave walls carry an ornate triforium and wall passage. The wall is divided by vaulting shafts into wide and narrow bays, the wide bays containing deeply-splayed pointed windows with banded shafts, hoodmoulds with headstops and nailhead enrichment. The narrow bays contain paired pointed arches with banded shafts and between their heads a sunk trefoil panel with roses on the cusps. Over these is a trefoil-headed opening ornamented with roses. This is an extremely fine triforium arcade. 1873 east end in similar style with polished marble shafts. Memorial brasses to south wall of chancel to George Payler, died 1689 and Elizabeth Payler died 1724/25; George Payler died 1678 and Lady Maria Carey died 1679; Bethia Darcie, died 1671. Elaborate font with polished coloured marble shafts and inlay, and wrought-iron altar rails, both of 1873 restoration. Stained glass in east window probably from designs by Sir Edward Burne- Jones, considered by Pevsner to be the finest in the West Riding. The Church was the priory church of a community of Benedictine nuns founded c1153 by William de Arches. Anon, The Parish of Nun Monkton, nd. Archaeological Journal, Vol 4, 1847. Pevsner N, Yorkshire: The West Riding, second edition, 1967.

Listing NGR: SE5115157927

External Links

• Church of St Mary at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17538222

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

• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas