Description

TM 16 SE,
6/93

DEBENHAM,
HIGH STREET (east side)

Church of St Mary

09.12.55

GV

I

Parish church. Medieval, restored 1871 (nave) and 1883-4 (chancel). Aisled
nave, chancel, west tower, Galilee porch with former guild chapel over. Flint
rubble, stone dressings. South aisle and facade of porch faced in knapped
flint. Slated roofs to nave and chancel, aisle roofs leaded. Square
unbuttressed tower, substantially of c.1100, with herringbone flintwork and
long and short work to quoins; 2 lancet windows to south. Late C14 rebuilding
at top: 2-light belfry openings, embattled stone parapet. A spire was removed
in mid C17. Late C14 Galilee porch: buttresses to west face contain statue
niches, with a 3rd niche over the moulded entrance arch; all original
stonework is much weathered. Restored C17 entrance gates with turned
balusters. Good moulded doorway into base of tower with original doors. C15
4-bay south aisle has flushwork to buttresses and an embattled parapet with 3
pinnacles. To south, renewed 3-light windows and at west end a doorway with
enriched arch and shield-carved spandrels, partly renewed C19. Renewed 4-
light east window. C15 4-bay north aisle with renewed windows and moulded
doorway. 8-bay clerestorey with 3-light windows. Nave has 3-light gable
window to east. Mid C13 3-bay chancel, considerably restored C19. Lancet
windows to north, 2 renewed. 2-light windows with plate tracery to south.
Priest's doorway has one order of colonnettes. East window of 1883 has 3
grouped lancets.

INTERIOR. Fine 4-bay aisle arcades with richly-carved
capitals. Chancel arch, raised in C15, has similar capitals. Circa 1100
tower arch to west, the imposts with a simple incised geometric design. Arch
to east rebuilt. C15 nave roof is in 8 bays: alternate tie beams and
hammer beams, both embattled, from which spring short moulded arched braces.
Moulded principals, purlins and ridge piece; embattled cornice. 5 mutilated
angel corbels at foot of wallposts, the remainder lost. At east end the
moulded and embattled rood beam. Original aisle roofs. Scissor-braced rafter
roof of 1884 over chancel. Rood loft stair at north east corner of south
aisle. Chancel piscina has pointed trefoil arch on colonnettes with
crocketted gable above. Piscina in north aisle re-uses many carved stone
fragments. C15 octagonal font bowl with mutilated carving. C19 pyramidal
font cover. Early C17 carved pulpit on C19 stone base. Set of poppyhead
benches of 1871. 2 good monuments. In south chancel, Sir Charles Framlingham
(1595) and his wife: full-size recumbent effigies on carved tomb chest. 2
hatchments above. In south aisle, Rev. John Simpson (1697). For further
details of these monuments see Pevsner.

Listing NGR: TM1744563208

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17526352

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

• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990