2016

SK8613 : Church of St Mary, Ashwell

taken 9 years ago, near to Ashwell, Rutland, England

Church of St Mary, Ashwell
Church of St Mary, Ashwell
The reredos of coloured inlaid marbles dates from Butterfield's 1851 restoration, but receives little recognition in the various descriptions I have found of the church.
Church of St Mary, Ashwell

The church consists of aisled nave and chancel, the aisles extending alongside two bays of the chancel to form side chapels, with west tower and south porch.

The church is largely of 13th and 14th century date, based on an older church of the 12th century, of which one arch remains in the north aisle arcade. The nave and its aisles can be dated to the 13th century, probably around 1220-30, and the arcades other than the arch mentioned, are from this date. Externally however, this part of the church was all refaced during the 14th century, at which time the tower was built, as also the chancel side chapels and the eastern bay of the chancel. The church was restored in 1851 by leading Gothic Revival architect William Butterfield LinkExternal link . The main elements of this were the re-ordering of the interior, rebuilding of the roofs, including the tower pyramid, and the addition of the south porch. The main stone fabric was less interfered with than in many churches.

Distinctive details of the exterior are the use of alternate bands of ironstone and faced freestone around the chancel, its chapels and the west tower. Also a profusion of ballflower decoration. A further distinctive feature is the pyramidal roof to the tower.

Internally the fittings including the font date from the 1851 restoration. Of this period is the fine 3-seat sedilia in the south wall of the chancel, but the two-bay piscina adjacent to this is early, although much restored and moved to its current location. On the opposite wall of the chancel is a recess of the 15th century, possibly to hold a memorial. The arch is incised with a series of the letter T, probably relating to the Tuchet family.

Both north and south chancel chapels contain interesting medieval monuments. In the south chapel there are firstly an unusual wooden effigy, c.1320, of a recumbent cross-legged knight, again probably of the Tuchet family and secondly a marble slab with the incised figures of John Vernam (d.1480) and his wife Rosa. In the north chapel, now the vestry, is an alabaster effigy of a priest in vestments, possibly Rector John Vernam (d.1489).

There is a ring of six bells of which the two newest date to the 19th century restoration, the others being of 18th century date.

The church is Listed Grade I . For more detail see the Victoria County History of Rutland LinkExternal link .


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Alan Murray-Rust and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Historic sites and artefacts Village, Rural settlement Religious sites Period: Mid 19th Century Date: 1851 Architect: William Butterfield Material: Marble other tags: Church Interior Reredos Parish Church Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Restored [8] Title Clusters: · Church of St Mary, Ashwell [18] ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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SK8613, 190 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Alan Murray-Rust   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Thursday, 28 January, 2016   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 1 February, 2016
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SK 8657 1374 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:42.8642N 0:43.1954W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SK 8657 1374
View Direction
EAST (about 90 degrees)
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SW S SE
Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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