The original small church was built in the 13th century, probably by monks from Bilsington Priory, and consecrated by Archbishop Rich in 1238. The chancel is the earliest part of the church which was enlarged in the 14th and 15th centuries with the nave, aisles and tower.
Here is a view of the interior, looking from through the tower arch into the body of the church.
The south chapel is dedicated to St Michael and St Thomas of Canterbury. Both the north and the south chapel have medieval screens, and the openings to a former rood loft are visible in the nave walls.
The piscina in the south chapel is 14th century.
The east window of the south chapel has remnants of old glass in the tracery.
The pulpit is located on the north side of the chancel arch.
The north porch, the main entrance to the church, is 14th century, and is wide and low with no entrance gates or doors.
The porch contains a holy water stoup.
The font is late medieval, with an octagonal bowl. There is a shield on seven of the eight sides, one has a sword of St Paul, another the crossed keys of St Peter, and others bearing the white rose of York, the red rose of Lancaster and the Tudor Rose. It is thought that the font may have been made as a thanks offering for peace under the first Tudor King, Henry VII (1485) after the Wars of the Roses.
The chancel arch looking east. Notice the small dormer windows letting light into this part of the building. They are not visible outside as they open into the valleys between the nave and aisle roofs.
The pipe organ, between the chance and north chapel, was bought from St James' Church, Alperton in 1928. The electric blower was added in 1959 and is dedicated in the memory of John and Sarah Homewood.
The glass in the east window was installed in 1845, when the chancel was repaired. It was the gift of the Rev. Nares at a cost of £600. The Ascension is depicted at top, below are the two symbols of Christ, the lamb with the Nimbus cross (the sign of sacrifice) and the cross adorned banner (symbol of the resurrection). Below this is these is a pelican feeding its young with its own blood, a symbol of the words of Jesus, "My blood is their blood". Lower are the symbols of the four evangelists. During the 1845 restoration, Matthew Tumble fell from the tower and was killed. A stone on the south side marks the spot where he fell.
Here is a view from the chancel looking east. The cut through arches to the side chapels (13th century) make an interesting comparison with the nave arcades.
Here is a view of the fine tower arch, which leans severely to the west.
The tower was built in two stages. When only partly constructed, the weight on the soft ground caused it to lean to the west. Large buttresses were erected to stabilise it before the rest of the tower was completed vertically on the top. The leaning tower is visible in this final view of the church from the south side.
Digital photographs
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