Church of St Mary, Yatton, North Somerset

Description

YATTON C.P. CHURCH ROAD (south side)
ST 46 NW
5/147 Church of St. Mary
G.V. I
11.10.61
Parish church. Late C13, nave, aisles and chancel remodelled C15 with later C15
south porch and chancel chapel; extensive restoration 1872 by G. Street (box
pews and west gallery removed) and late C20 chapter house. Dundry stone, rubble
with freestone dressings, nave, aisles, porch and chapel in coursed freestone,
lead roofs. Nave, north and south aisles, south porch, north chapter house,
crossing tower, north and south transept, chancel and north chancel chapel.
Mostly Perpendicular style, some earlier work as in south window of south aisle.
Nave has west elevation with large 6-light window with sub-arches, pointed arch,
hood mould and angel stops, image niche above with seated figure, probably the
Trinity, coped verge with fleurons and finial, window has moulded cill above
pointed arched west door, surround of 3 hollow moulded orders, figure in niche in
central order to each side, carved hood, finial and pinnacles to sides; 3-stage
hexagonal turret left and right with string courses continued over heads of aisle
windows, with lancets, cornice, pyramidal ribbed stone roofs, carved finial to
north, missing to south, plinth. West elevation of each aisle has 4-light
window, polygonal buttress to each side with similar top to stair turrets,
pitched roofs with cornice and parapet with frieze of cusped triangles. North
and south elevations of nave haves-bay clerestorey, all pointed arched 2-light
windows with cusped lights and quatrefoil, hood mould and mask stops, turrets
have small pointed arched door to aisle roof and upper door to nave roof behind
similar parapet with crocketed pinnacles and gargoyles between bays. 5-bay
north aisle has four 4-light windows with Y-tracery in upper sections, hood mould,
weathered buttresses between with triangular shafts rising to crocketed pinnacles
above similar parapet, large gargoyles, 3 fully remaining, 3 1/2 bays of parapet of
C20 replacement; central bay has north door with pointed arch, fleurons on
hollow-moulded surround, ogee hood with large finial and pinnacles, concealed by
passage to C20 chapter house, door removed. South aisle as north, with fine
carved demonic figure as gargoyle to west, scratch dial to west of porch;
central bay has 2-storey south porch, highly decorated, 4-centred arched entrance,
frieze of small leaves running up the jambs and along the arch, ogee gable with
more foliage and naturalistic crockets, to left and right blank panelling sending
up an ogee-curved crocketed feeler towards the gable, more panelling above;
angel under parapet as on aisles, central image niche, lancets to west wall,
clasping buttresses, scratch dial on south east buttress, gnomon missing, with
figures 7, 8 and 9. Tower of 3 stages has diagonal weathered buttresses with
crocketed pinnacles, south east hexagonal stair turret rising above parapet with
panelled sides to top, open cusped parapet, tower has parapet with similar
frieze, gargoyles, octagonal spire, truncated and ribbed with pinnacles above
ribs, WH and IW in lead, weathercock of 1822, string courses; at 2nd stage all
sides a single lancet and double lancet with Y-tracery under string course, 3rd
stage has clock to east and 2-light cusped windows with pierced stone tracery.
North transept has large north window of 5 lights, hood mould, stonework extended
below window (tomb recesses inside) weathered angle buttresses, raised coped
verges to gable with cross finial, parapet continued from aisle to west. South
transept has 5-light south window with intersected tracery and 4 quatrefoiled
circles above, hood mould with mask stops and relieving arch, buttresses to
sides, upper east window of 3 cusped lights with flat head and hood mould,
4-centred arched door below. 3-bay chancel has 5-light east window with
continuous hood mould, raised coped verges and cross finial, plinth, weathered
angle buttresses and buttresses, one similar 2-light north window, 3 similar
2-light south windows, central one smaller with pointed arched priest's door
below with moulded surround and hood mould. North chapel has pitched roof,
2 north windows, 4-centred arched, 3-light with fine upper tracery, hood moulds,
similar parapet with gargoyles, north east octagonal angle turret with string
course and cusped lancet, crocketed pinnacles, spire and finial; 4-light east
window with pointed arch and continuous hood mould. Interior: nave has 10-bay
wagon roof, demi-figures of angels on wall-plate, principals moulded and painted;
to east, tall pointed C19 chancel arch, line of lower nave roof visible above and
formerly external tower window (as on other sides); to west, window has 4-centred
arched door with foliate hood and crocketed pinnacles to left and right at base
(possibly access for former gallery); 5-bay pointed arched arcade to north and
south, section of piers a Greek cross with concave quadrants in the diagonals,
demi-shafts attached to the ends of the cross-arms, thin attached shafts set in
the hollows, shafts have small capitals with bits of leaf, east responds have
heads instead, north east capital with green man; demi-shafts on nave side rise
to roof, through cill-course of clerestory, decorated with fleurons, and ending
in little heads which carry the roof-principals. North and south aisles have
5-bay C19 ceiled roofs with moulded ribs and bosses, also wall-shafts with mask
tops carrying depressed pointed trefoiled arches of wood with closely panelled
tracery under wall-plate; nook-shafts to windows. North aisle has north door
with pointed segmental head with fleurons, stone with quatrefoil piscina re-set
in wall to right of door, north east window has remains of shaft and carved
figure on cill, possibly from former rood support, pointed arch of 2 chamfered
orders to north transept and stonework remaining at upper level, possibly remains
of buttress to earlier nave. South aisle has west door to nave stair turret
with 2 convex mouldings and pointed arch, south wall shaft curtailed above
pointed arched door to parvise, moulded pointed arch to south transept. Porch
has thin-ribbed lierne vault, carved bosses including a green man, paired shafts
to corners, 4-centred arched door with fleuron frieze, image niche above. Tower
rests on arches with 2-wave moulding, round shafts at corners supporting ribs of
tierceron vault with C19 painted flowers. North transept has 3-bay wagon roof
with moulded ridge purlin and one row of purlins, bosses, pointed arched
chamfered west doorway, studded door with raised fillets, to former rood stair,
squint to south east with cinquefoil head, north east image stand, pointed arch
to chapel has hollow-moulded surround with cusped panels, slender shafts with
leaf capitals and similar panelled soffit. South transept has similar roof,
east door to tower, inner side of arch to tower has 2 broad wave and hollow
mouldings, arch to aisle has 3 jamb shafts with leaf capitals. Chancel has
4-bay C19 wagon roof, brattished wall-plate, windows have moulded nook-shafts
rising from lower cill, continuous hood mould and cill string on south wall,
piscina to south, north wall has cill string and hood mould to window, 4-centred
arched skew doorway to chapel, arch to chapel as between transept and chapel,
outer shaft of arch continued through middle of squint, south priest's door has
flat inner head. Chapel has framed ceiling in 9 panels of C19, stone angel
corbels remaining from former roof, east window has tall elaborate image niche to
left and right with clustered pinnacles to tops, pillar piscina to right,
4-centred arched north door to stair turret. Fittings: 2 carved oak figures of
St. Peter and St. Paul in nave, in Baroque attitudes, made for the organ of Bath
Abbey 1708; C19 stone octagonal font in south aisle; C18 panelled chest in
north transept; 2 Jacobean sanctuary chairs in chancel. Mediaeval monuments in
north transept (De Wyck Chapel) 2 effigies in recesses with broad cusped ogee
gables, a knight and lady c.1325, possibly Sir Robert de Gyene and his wife
Egelina de Wyck; alabaster monument to Sir Richard Newton, 1449 and his wife,
1475, good recumbent effigies on tomb chest with ogee niches filled by figures of
angels carrying shields; in chapel, monument to Sir John Newton, 1488 and Isobel
of Cheddar, 1498, recumbent effigies on tomb chest with quatrefoils in recess,
broad buttresses and pinnacles left and right, low Tudor arch with openwork cusps,
tracery in spandrels and crocketing, relief of the Annunciation on back wall,
frieze of 10 niches for figures, half a figure left, upper fleuron frieze and
cornice. In north transept, marble tablet to Edward Day, 1802; marble tablet
to Henry Hawes, 1809, by Wood of Bristol; marble tablet to John Norman, 1837;
marble tablet with pediment to Sarah Battiscombe, 1736; in south transept,
marble tablet with draped urn, to John Cam, 1795; in north chapel, marble
monument with broken pediment and shield, to Henry Grimsteed, 1714, by M. Sidnell
of Bristol; marble monument with draped urn, to Hannah Markham, 1768; in
chancel, marble monument to Thomas Wickham, 1829. (Sources: Pevsner, N. :
Buildings of England : North Somerset and Bristol 1958. Peart, M.C. : History
of Yatton Parish Church 1931. Keily, G. : Guide to the Parish Church of St.
Mary The Virgin, Yatton 1982. Somerset Record Society, Proceedings, vol. IV,
1890, containing extracts from Yatton churchwardens' accounts, 1446-1602, full
accounts in Somerset Record Office).

Listing NGR: ST4312965416

External Links

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.

British Listed Buildings

History in Structure

Church of St Mary

A Grade I Listed Building in Yatton, North Somerset

Coordinates

Description

External Links

Recommended Books