Description

SEAVINGTON ST MARY CP CHURCH LANE (East side)
ST41SW
5/66 Church of St Mary
4.2.58

GV II*

Former Anglican parish church, now vested in the Redundant Churches Fund. C13 origins, mostly late C15 or early 16;
restored 1880/82. Ham stone roughly cut and squared, ashlar dressings; Welsh slate roofs with stone slate base courses
to nave, between stepped coped gables with cross finials; the nave east gable set very high, suggesting former thatch.
Two-cell plan of 2-bay chancel and 4-bay nave, with south porch and west tower. Chancel has high chamfered plinth and
eaves course; east window a 3-light 4-centre-arched of c1500, set in hollowed reces with shaped label over; on south
side 2 pairs plain lancets, the north side blank and rendered. Nave partly rendered on north side, with 2 bay and a
west corner-buttress, probably C19, and two 2-light C15 style windows in hollowed pointed-arched recesses under labels,
also probably C19: south side has similar 3-light windows on either side of porch, and to east a C13 late
plate-traceried 2-light window without label. South porch plain, with chamfered pointed arches to outer and inner
doorways, the inner having crude label and statue bracket over, bench seats along sides. Tower of 3 stages, probably
early and late C16: deep plinth, angled corner buttress to lowest stage only; string courses, the upper with gargoyles
at corners, low battlemented parapet; hexagonal-plan stair turret in north-east corner, taller than remainder of tower:
west doorway simple, semi-circular arched without label, and above it a 3-light late C15 window in pointed-arched
recess with headstop label; to second stage single rectangular bellchamber windows on west and south sides, and to
third stage 2-light windows with 4-centre-arched lights set in hollowed rectangular recesses on 3 sides, with
single-light window to match on north face, all filled with pierced stone baffles. Interior had plaster stripped and
fittings removed in March 1986 pending runner repairs and restoration. Chancel has C19 rib and board ceiling; aumbry
recess with trefoil head in north wall and C17 segmental-arched recess with fluted side pilasters in east wall. Small
C14 chancel arch, double chamfered without capitals, with squint to south side and pointed-arched recess on north nave
side; walls have distinct batter, and the arches to the north windows are framed in brickwork: tower arch almost
triangular, with single shaft and hollows; nave ceiling formerly a 3-centre arched barrel vault, but former moulded
ribs for panelled ceiling exposed by removal of ceiling, timber cornices. Simple circular tub font, possibly C12;
early C19 commandment boards in under-tower space. The church was galleried by 1816, but no traces now remain. (VCH,
Vol III, 1974).

Listing NGR: ST4028814920

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Church of St Mary, Seavington St Mary at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q5117537

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

• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)