Description

HAMPSTHWAITE CHURCH STREET
SE 25 NE (west side)

4/14 Church of St Thomas a
Becket
15.3.66

GV II

Church. C15 tower, the remainder 1902 by C Hodgson Fowler in Perpendicular
style. Coursed squared gritstone and ashlar, grey slate roof. 3-stage west
tower, 4-bay nave with south aisle and porch, 2-bay chancel with south
vestry. Tower: full-height stepped diagonal buttresses, fine west door in
hollow-moulded Gothic arch with hoodmould, restored 3-light pointed
Perpendicular window above. 3-light window with reticulated tracery to
centre stage, south face; 3-light pointed Perpendicular belfry window to
each side. All openings with hoodmoulds. Eaves string course,
battlemented parapet with central triangular pilasters, and weather-vane.
South porch; chamfered arch has possibly reused masonry; the side walls
include medieval and C17 inscriptions and tomb slabs. Nave, vestry and
chancel windows have flat, segmental and pointed arches respectively, all
with Perpendicular style tracery mostly if 3 lights and all with hoodmoulds.
String course at eaves level of porch carried round at sill level to aisle
south and east sides. South vestry with pointed south door. Gable coping
and finial to east end. Interior: a very tall double-chamfered arch to the
tower east wall, the roof line of the earlier nave above. A large bowl-
shaped font near the door stands on octagonal base and has a roll moulding
at the base. Fine panelling of late C17 date lines the south aisle; the pews
probably include reworked seating of the same date. Large white marble
monument to Amy Woodforde Finden (1919), a popular musician who composed the
Indian Love Lyrics; the sculptor George Wade, design probably by Judini. A
small brass depicting a merchant of c1360 and inscribed to the memory of
Andrew Dixon (1570) on the north wall of the chancel.

Listing NGR: SE2595159042

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26601756

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

• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)