Description

SEAMER MAIN STREET
TA 08 SW
4/33 (west side)
Church of Saint Martin
18.1.67
- I
Church. Early C12 nave, chancel and tower lower stages; chancel extended in
C15; C15 north aisle, chantry, vestry and south porch; upper stages of tower
rebuilt c1840; re-roofed and some restoration 1885-89, by C Hodgson Fowler.
Dressed sandstone with stone flag roof. West tower; 4-bay nave and
clerestory, north aisle and south porch; chancel with north chantry and
vestry. Tower: 3 stages, with battlements over a corbel table, incorporates
C12 angle buttresses. 2-light bell openings under round arches to upper
stage. Nave: gabled porch with four-centred arched opening with C19 sundial
above. South dooway of round arch of two orders with scalloped capitals and
roll moulding. C12 or C13 iron-studded oak door with strap and C-hinges,
and later reinforcement. Two single-stepped clerestory windows survive on
either side of porch, with 3-light replacement windows to right, one C14
with Decorated tracery, the other C19 with intersecting tracery. Pilaster
buttresses between windows. On the north side is a 4-centred doorway, and
2-light windows with plain heads. Chancel: C15 2-light window with flat
hood mould, and inserted C19 window with intersecting tracery. C19 east
window. Fragments of an original sill band of nutmeg moulding are visible
on either side of the buttress between the nave and chancel. Nave and
chancel are embattled over a corbel table; crocketed pinnacles to nave.
Interior: C12 round chancel arch of three orders with scalloped capitals and
a form of beakhead and roll moulding to the arch. A rood stair survives in
the left pier. C12 deeply-splayed clerestory windows with roll-moulded
heads survive above the arcade. Blocked and shortened similar window with
shafts in north wall of the chancel above inserted opening to the later
chantry. Nave clerestory and string course below altered by C15 insertion
of 4-bay arcade of double-chamfered round arches on shafted piers. C15
vestry has pointed tunnel-vaulted roof, 2-light east window and corner
fireplace. A portion of the same band of nutmeg moulding visible on the
south external wall survives in the south-western corner of the chantry.
C12 reset corbels carved as caryatid heads to left and right of altar. A
sanctus bell dated 1448, presented by Lady Percy in 1550, is preserved in
the vestry. In a north window, fragments of C15 glass depicting two heads.
Chancel screen of c1685 presented by Sir John Napier bearing his coat of
arms. Verses from Psalm 46 painted on the west wall date from the period in
the C19 when the church gallery served as the Village School. Monuments: a
C16 brass to Lucy, wife of Sir Henry Gate, in the chantry. Wall monument in
chancel to Elizabeth Woodall, d1801, by Chambers of Scarborough. Wall
sculpture in high relief in north aisle to Sarah Boutflower, d1810, by J.
Theakston 1815.

Listing NGR: TA0149983381

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17526206

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

• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings