Description

RAYLEIGH CHURCH ROAD
TQ 79 SE RAWRETH
2/63 Church of St. Nicholas
27.8.57
- II

Parish church. C15 west tower. Circa 1882 Rev. E. Geldart, Chancel, Nave,
north and south aisles, the latter demolished due to 1939-45 war damage, north
porch, south chapels, using some old materials and built upon former church
foundations and costing £2,500. Mainly ragstone with limestone and blue
Bathstone dressings, some red brick and some flint flushwork. Red plain tiled
roofs. Chancel, east wall. Right and left buttresses. Flint flushwork band.
5 light window with tracery over, label continues to form band. Band below
window. North wall with 2 centre buttresses, two 2 centre arched windows,
square labels over, and a 4 centre arched window of 2 ogee lights with tracery
over and label. North aisle, small triangular bay east wall window with pointed
roof and flint flushwork decoration. North wall 2 chamfered 4 light windows
with square heads. North gabled and buttressed porch, moulded 2 centred arch,
shields to right and left, square label over. Niche to gable with figure of a
saint. 2 attached 2 centre arched doorways with shafted jambs. North wall of
Nave with 5 clerestorey 2 light ogee windows in square heads, flint flushwork
parapet. Small bell turret to east. West tower, the crenellations and upper
storey recently restored. Old gargoyles to each angle, restored moulded band.
Plinth and central band. Trefoiled 2 light belfry windows, labels over, to each
face, some restored. Square opening below southern window. Angled south stair
turret with hipped roof at clerestorey height. West face, trefoiled 2 light
window with label over below belfry window. 3 light west window with tracery
over under 2 centred arch and moulded label. 2 centre arched west doorway,
label over. South wall, C20 plastered with two 2 light windows set into the
blocked former south aisle, clerestorey over matching that in north wall.
Gabled north Chancel with 2 small trefoiled windows, angle buttresses. Lean-to
chamber to west of chapel with chamfered square headed doorway. Interior.
Chancel roof barrel vaulted with 3 pairs of moulded ribs and end ribs. Pierced
and crenellated ashlar plate. Coloured tile sanctuary floor. C19 Piscina and
dropped cill Sedila. C19 painted triptyche reredos, carved wooden frame, stone
base. C19 altar, carved painted panels between buttresses. Chamfered 2 centred
arch leading to south chapel. Carved bench ends. 4 brasses, Edmund Tyrell and
his wife of Beaches 1576, Thomas Hasteler and his wife of Rawreth Hall and
Burrells, 1527, Rebecca Listeny 1602 and Richard Hayes, 1600. C16 oak chest.
Chancel screen, lower crenellated panels, later traceried head. Moulded 2
centred Chancel arch, moulded capitals and bases to chamfered jambs. Nave. 4
cant roof, carved arched collar braces on stone corbels. Moulded queen posts
over. Chamfered splays to clerestorey windows. North aisle of 4 bays, moulded
bases and capitals, bosses to the later octagonal columns, 2 centred arches. The
former blocked south arcade similar but without bosses to capitals, is now the
north wall. C19 octagonal pulpit. C19 octagonal font. 2 centred tower arch of
2 orders, the outer continuous, the inner to arch only, 2 centred arch to stair
turret doorway. 2 bells. Probably early C14 by John of Hadham, one inscribed
"Jam Tempus Est.: RCHM 1.

Listing NGR: TQ7806693430

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26608165

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

• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)