Description

WELTON COWGATE SE 9527 (south side) 9/65 Church of Saint Helen 7.2.68 II* GV Church. C15 with earlier origins, rebuilt in geometrical style, reusing some older materials, by Sir G G Scott 1862-3. Small coursed oolitic limestone rubble, freestone dressings, graduated slate roofs. 3-bay aisled nave with south porch, central tower with north and south transepts, 3-bay chancel with north vestry. Nave: low chamfered plinth: 2 sets of paired 2- light pointed windows with geometrical tracery under hoodmoulds with foliage-stops to west and face stops to east. Pointed south door of 3 orders: the inner with continuous moulding, the outer 2 on nook-shafts, all under a hoodmould with foliage stops. Plain coped parapet. South porch: massive buttresses flanking pointed opening of 2 orders on nook-shafts. Hoodmould with bishop to west, actress to east. Raised coped gable with Celtic cross finial. West end: angle buttresses. Central west door of 3 orders: the inner a continuous filleted roll, the outer two with similar filleted rolls on nook-shafts, all under a hoodmould with monarch stops. To right and left are buttresses with offsets and spurred gablets. 4-light west window with geometrical tracery under a hoodmould with foliage stops. Aisle windows of 2 lights with geometrical tracery under a hoodmould with foliage stops. Raised coped gable with cross finial. North aisle: buttresses with offsets. Three 3-light windows of 4 centred arches with Perpendicular tracery under hoodmoulds. South transept: angle buttresses with squared offset. Pointed 3-light south window with geometrical tracery under a hoodmould. Similar, smaller 2-light window to east wall. North transept: similar fenestration. Chancel: buttresses with offsets, diagonal buttresses. Three 2-light square-headed windows: two to the east with cusped ogee tracery, that to the west with cinquefoil heads, mirrored upside-down in the upper section of the lights. Central tower: angle buttresses. Small oblong windows to ringing chamber, string course to belfry stage. 2-light pointed belfry openings with plate tracery under hoodmoulds with face stops. Bracketed, coped parapet. Interior: north arcade of 3 pointed, double-chamfered, arches on octagonal abaci and piers: the east respond and pier are C15, the remainder by Scott. South arcade of 3 pointed moulded orders on cylindrical piers in Transitional style. Crossing-arches: C15: pointed, double-hollow-chamfered, on moulded imposts and hollow-chamfered responds. Re-set medieval arch to former north chancel chapel: pointed and hollow-chamfered arch, on C12 scalloped capital to east and C19 stiff-leaf capital to west: keeled responds. Original C13 lancet to chancel north wall. In south-east corner of chancel is a C15 piscina: a short column supports a basin under a 4-centred canopy beneath a brattished parapet. At west end of south aisle is a late C12/early C13 effigy of a cross-legged knight in chain mail. The church contains a fine group of windows by Morris and Burne-Jones, paid for by a local family who were related by marriage to Morris; there is also a startling window by Capronnier.

Listing NGR: SE9589627305

External Links

• Wikidata Q17555406

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