Description

BARSHAM
TM 38 NE
4/3 Holy Trinity Church
1-9-53
GV I
Parish church. Medieval; south Chantry Chapel rebuilt 1908, replacing the
original which was demolished in 1785. Nave, chancel, west tower, north
chapel, north sacristy and organ chamber, south porch. Flint rubble with
remains of plasterwork; stone dressings. Thatched roof to nave, plaintiles to
chancel. Round tower, in 3 phases: the lower part, which is not later than
Cll, has 3 C12 lancet windows; the slightly narrower belfry stage incorporates
some red brick, and has C15 openings (missing tracery) to each quarter. The
tower is surmounted by a spike. The nave is probably Cll, the west angles
being constructed of field stone; there is one early, perhaps original, window
in the west wall. To the south the nave has 3 C14 2-light windows. Late C14
porch (restored) and nave doorway. Simple unmoulded north doorway. C14
chancel: to the south there is a broad lancet window, 2 2-light windows (one
renewed) and an unmoulded Priest's doorway. The whole of the chancel east end
is decorated with a lozenge grid of flushwork, the design being carried
through as tracery across the whole of the window; this stone tracery was
renewed following storm damage in 1906. It is described by Pevsner as 'a
unique conception'; the most likely date is the early C17 when the chancel
roof was renewed. Sacristy and organ chamber of c.1880, incorporating re-used
C14 windows. Interior. C14 2-bay chapel arcade. The nave roof was renewed
following a fire in 1979. Early C17 5-bay chancel roof, said to be dated
1633; the wallplate is inscribed 'Joseph Fleming Rector'. The panelled
ceiling with Jacobean-style plasterwork was added in 1906. In the sanctuary
is a piscina with cusped ogee arch, and adjacent a drop-sill sedila. Good C15
carved octagonal font; in the chancel is a disused C12 font with a square
tapering bowl. Early C17 square pulpit, the base and tester both renewed; the
pulpit stairs, with turned baulsters and the date 1636, may once have formed
part of the altar rails. The rood screen incorporates early C17 work but has
been much restored: the figures above the rood beam were added in 1893 and the
painted rood canopy in 1919. 2 good monuments in north sanctuary: in the
floor an early C15 brass effigy of a knight; recessed in the wall a richly
moulded terracotta tomb chest to Sir Edward Echingham (1527). C18 ledger
slabs in chancel. The east window has stained glass of c.1875 by Kempe, 28 of
the panels containing a single figure. Stored in the chapel are 4 hatchments
and Arms of Anne and George III.

Listing NGR: TM3969989633

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17527259

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

• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)