Description

MEREVALE MEREVALE LANE SP29NE (South-east side) 1/127 Church of Our Lady 25/03/68 GV I Church, originally the chapel of Our Lady at the Gate, a remnant of Merevale Abbey. Nave late C13; chancel and south chancel aisle c.1340; chancel renewed and north aisle added c.1500. Nave aisles removed and arcades blocked, possibly C18; vestries built on site of south aisle 1850. Restored 1892-1893 by Alfred Bickerdike. Regular coursed/ashlar sandstone; west end of coursed sandstone rubble. Plain-tile roofs have coped gable parapets; north chancel aisle roof is hidden by parapet. Nave, aisled chancel and south vestries. Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular styles. Unusual plan, with aisled 4-bay chancel and 2-bay nave. Chancel has moulded and splay plinth, and moulded sill course. Buttresses of differing designs each have offset, weatherings and gablet. Large 5-light Perpendicular window has panel tracery, and hood mould with head stops. Gable parapet has trefoiled gablet kneelers and cross finial. Perpendicular 4-bay north aisle has moulded plinth, cornice and parapet. Diagonal, western and 3 north buttresses have 2 moulded offsets and crocketed pinnacles. East wall is blank. 3-light north windows have deep hollow-chamfered jambs and hood moulds with head stops. Blocked west arch, formerly to nave aisle, has an inner blocked arch of differing design. South aisle has splay plinth and cornice. Massive C18 or C19 diagonal buttress incorporating old masonry. Tall 3-light east window of moulded orders has Curvilinear tracery similar to some tracery in the Church of St. Mary, Astley (q.v.). South side has 3 broader 3-light windows with similar tracery. Western window is shorter and has blocked segmental-arched doorway below. 2-light west window set high up. Nave north wall has blocked C14 2-bay arcade of 2 chamfered orders and octagonal pier and half-octagonal responds with moulded capitals. Early English west front has remains of splay plinth. Plain buttress. Doorway of 3 moulded orders; the 2 outer orders have moulded capitals of missing shafts. Ribbed and studded double-leaf doors. 3-light window above has stepped lancets and piercings. Nave and former aisle walls in one; south aisle wall has coping. Small square bell turret of 1893 on nave roof is tile-hung and has steep pyramid plain-tile roof and weathervane. Paired trefoiled openings have wood louvres. Vestries have 3 segmental-pointed doorways. Central plank door. The other openings are partially blocked, with windows inserted. Interior: chancel has 4-bay Perpendicular arcades, with elaborately moulded arches and slender piers of lozenge section, very thinly moulded; thin half-round shafts rise from abaci to moulded cornice, forming large framed panels. Boarded 4-centred barrel roof, reconstructed in 1893 from the old materials, has moulded arch braces, ribs and-purlins and carved bosses, and wall posts. C13 chancel arch of 2 roll-moulded orders has half-round responds with moulded capitals to inner arch, and hood mould. Moulded circular opening above. North aisle has moulded wall shafts. Panelled timber ceiling of c.1893. Blocked moulded west arch. South aisle has moulded windows with hood moulds and head stops. Arched common rafter roof. Blocked elaborately moulded west arch has hood mould with head stops. Nave has blocked C14 arcades with continuous hood moulds and central head stop, defaced to south. South-east bay has a re-set head corbel within it. Barrel roof is similar to chancel, but simpler. Fittings: Perpendicular wood screen across west end is moulded but without tracery or dado. Doorway has arch and wide straight-headed flanking bays have curved braces with cusped spandrels. Pulpitum is supported on similar brackets. Loft has panelled front with blind tracery, probably mostly Cl9. It was probably originally the rood screen. Some medieval encaustic tiles. Cabinet organ of 1777 by Johann Schnetzler. C19 family pew in south aisle. Octagonal font of c.1893. Stained glass. East window has incomplete but very fine C14 Tree of Jesse, probably removed from the Abbey during the Civil War, found buried in the grounds of Merevale Hall and restored and installed in the early C19. Tracery has some late C14 and C15 work. 2 south windows and a north window have some C14 glass. South aisle east 1882, south-east 1871. Monuments: brass in chancel floor: Robert, Earl Ferrers 1412 and his wife; of high quality. Alabaster chest tomb against nave south wall c.1440 has effigies of a knight and lady, and 4 angels holding shields. Effigy of a knight against north wall of second half of C15 is headless and footless. Wall monument across east corner of south aisle: Francis Stratford 1762 and Ann 1779. Panel with moulded frame with cornice and scrolled pediment, with cartouche and palms below. 3 hatchments in nave, and 2 to Francis and Ann Stratford in north aisle. Medieval stone coffins behind screen. (Buildings of England: Warwickshire: pp351-353; VCH: Warwickshire: Vol IV, pp144-147)

Listing NGR: SP2905197725

External Links

• St Mary's Church, Merevale at Wikipedia
• St Mary's Church, Merevale official website
• Wikidata Q7590519

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

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  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
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  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
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  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
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  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)