St. Mary
Another contribution to this series, started by sadexploration.
The church of St. Mary, Worplesdon, has been much over-restored, and in consequence it is now almost impossible to assign a date for the oldest part of the church. The chancel, however, is probably of fairly early 13th-century date, and the north chapel seems to be of about the same time. The nave arcades and aisles appear to date from the middle of the same century; and about the middle of the 15th century the west tower was built and the clearstory added. The porch, though much restored, is more than a century later, the date 1591 being still faintly discernible. In the middle of the 17th century the whole church was re-roofed, and in modern times the north vestry and south chapel were added, a new chancel arch inserted, and the arcade between the north chapel and chancel built.
The east window of the chancel is of late 14th-century style with modern tracery of two cinquefoiled and one trefoiled light, with a two-centred head and flowing tracery. On the north is a modern arcade of three bays opening to the north chapel, and on the south, at the east, is a window of two cinquefoiled lights under a square head which, though much restored, is of 15th-century date. West of this are three modern sedilia and a modern doorway and an arcade of two bays.
The north chapel is lit on the east by a lancet of which a few quoin stones are old, high up in the wall, two modern north windows of 15th-century detail, and a 13th-century lancet on the west, partly blocked by the aisle roof. In the north wall are two ogeeheaded tomb recesses, now empty, of mid-14th-century date. Between the chapel and the north aisle is a plain chamfered arch with a few old stones in its jambs.
The south chapel is entirely modern with a two-light window on the east and on the south two two-light windows and one single light.
The nave is of three bays and has arcades with round columns and half-round responds, moulded capitals and bases of curious profile, the mouldings having been much cut down, and two-centred arches of two chamfered orders. Like all internal work here they are of chalk; the plaster edges towards the nave are finished in scallop pattern, after an early fashion, but are here modern.
The tower arch is of two hollow-chamfered orders with a moulded capital at the springing line and shafted and moulded jambs, very fine and massive work in chalk.
The clearstory has, on either side, a single trefoiled light between two two-light windows, all under square heads.
Both aisles have two two-light windows in the side walls, with square heads, perhaps 15th-century work renewed, and in the west wall of the north aisle is a modern lancet.
The south porch is a plain open timber one, a good deal restored. On the tie-beam over the entrance are faintly visible the royal initials E.R., the date 1591, and also the initials H.T. The sides are filled with modern arcading of 14th-century style.
The tower is of three stages built in Heath stone with an embattled parapet, and is surmounted by a small open lantern of 18th-century date, said to have been brought there from the rectory stables, and absurdly out of proportion. The belfry windows are of two cinquefoiled lights under a four-centred head. The west window is of 15th-century date, much restored, of five lights with sub-mullions and smaller lights over and a wide hollow external reveal. The west door, of the same date, and also much restored, has moulded jambs and head in two orders, the inner being four-centred and the outer square. The tower has a turret staircase on the north-east and diagonal buttresses.
The fittings of the church are largely modern. The font is of marble and of 18th-century date with a very graceful outline. The 18th-century notes referred to above, however, contain a sketch of a square font on angle shafts with an arcade on the bowl of pointed arches, apparently of 13th-century date.
The roofs are all apparently of the same date, except those which are modern, and on the moulded wall-plate of the north chapel is carved 'R.R. I.C. C.W. 1650. R.K.' They are all open and quite plain. The seating is all modern, but there is an extremely fine pulpit of late 17th-century date with moulded and raised panels and acanthus enrichment. This is said to have come from Eton College.
In the windows of the church is a quantity of stained glass mainly of 15th-century date, but some earlier. In the windows of the north aisle are two small 14th-century figures under contemporary canopies, and a kneeling priest in a cassock, over which is a red cloak and a brown hood. This is of the 15th-century, but the head of a bishop here is a piece of 14th-century work. In the same window are two shields: Argent three gimel bars gules impaling azure a cross argent; and Gules a fret or on a chief azure a lis or—probably three lis originally.
The cache has a log book only but no pen so please bring one with you.
If anybody would like to expand this series please do, we would just ask that you could let sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.