Church of Saint Mary, Market Drayton, Shropshire

Description

This List entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 16/01/2017

SJ 6634-6734,
13/31

MARKET DRAYTON C.P.,
CHURCH STREET (south-east side),
Church of Saint Mary

07.05.52

G.V.

II*

Parish church. C14 tower with C12 doorway and remains of C14 work
in nave and chancel. Restored and largely rebuilt in 1881-89, by Carpenter
& Ingelow at a cost of £7747. 10s. 10d. Red sandstone ashlar (with
some grey sandstone in tower) with C20 tile patching. Roofs invisible
behind parapets. Five-bay nave, Seven-bay aisles, Four-bay chancel with north
vestry and west tower. Tower: three stages. Large angle buttresses
with chamfered offsets, hollow-chamfered plinth, moulded string to belfry,
coved parapet string with carved gargoyles, and battlemented parapet
with moulded coping and crocketed corner pinnacles. Weathervane.
Canted stair turret to north-west with two small rectangular windows and
pyramidal cap with finial. C19 Caernarvon-arched boarded doorway at
base, approached by nine stone steps with low coped wall. Louvred belfry
openings of two ogee trefoil-headed lights with quatrefoil in tracery,
double-chamfered reveals and hoodmould. Small second-stage chamfered
trefoil-headed openings beneath belfry. C15 or C16 second-stage west
window of three ogee trefoil-headed lights with transoms, cinquefoil-headed
lower lights, flowing tracery with quatrefoils, double-chamfered reveals,
and returned hoodmould. Small carved head in wall at apex of window.
Round-arched C12 west doorway of two orders of (former) shafts with chevron
ornament to outer arch, hoodmould, and pair of C19 nail-studded boarded
doors with strap hinges. Clock above belfry opening on each face.
Nave: 8-bay clerestory. Windows of two ogee trefoil-headed lights with
moulded arches and hoodmoulds. Each window set in recess flanked by
buttresses with chamfered offsets and with carved fleurons to top edge.
Battlemented parapet with moulded coping, carved gargoyles and parapeted
gable end with moulded coping. Small square bellcote on gable end to east with gabled ogee
trefoil-etched openings, chamfered offsets, corner shafts and crocketed canopy with finials.
Aisles: chamfered plinth, cill string, parapet string and parapet with moulded coping
and carved corner gargoyles. Windows of two and three ogee trefoil-headed
lights with cusped Y, intersecting and reticulated tracery, moulded reveals
and hoodmoulds with scrolled stops. West window of south aisle of
three ogee trefoil-headed lights with reticulated tracery, moulded reveals
and hoodmould with scrolled stops. East and-west windows of north
aisle of three lights with intersecting tracery, that to east with cusping,
chamfered reveals and hoodmould. Chamfered- and moulded-arched south
doorway in second bay from east with broach stops, quarter shafts with
moulded capitals and bases, hoodmould with carved foliated stops and
boarded door with strap hinges. North doorway in second bay from east
with chamfered arch, hoodmould with carved stops, and boarded door with
strap hinges. South and north aisles with rectangular recesses beneath
second and third windows from west respectively, that to south with
moulded reveals and that to north with chamfered reveals. Chancel:
chamfered plinth, flush buttresses flanking east end with chamfered
offsets, moulded parapet string with carved gargoyles and battlemented
parapet with moulded coping and carved lion at west end. Square clerestory windows of two cinquefoil-headed lights and with chamfered reveals.
Restored C14 windows to north and south of three trefoil-headed lights with
intersecting tracery and hollow-chamfered reveals. Large east window
of four trefoil-headed lights with intersecting tracery, blind panels below
low transom, chamfered reveals and hoodmould with carved heads as stops.
Circular quatrefoil opening in apex of gable above. Vestry: chamfered
string, parapet string and parapet with moulded coping and gargoyles.
Square-headed east window of two ogee trefoil-headed lights with chamfered
reveals. Projecting wing to left has square-headed window of two ogee
trefoil-headed lights with chamfered reveals. Set-back to right has
chamfered-arched boarded door with strap hinges.

INTERIOR: restored
5-bay arcades consisting of circular piers with hollow-chamfered bases
(those to south with broach stops), moulded capitals to north (except
for second from west with 15 carved heads), waterleaf capitals to south,
and double-chamfered arches. Moulded cill and wall plate to clerestory.
4-bay nave roof with tie-beams, brackets with pieced spandrels springing
from carved head corbels at cill level, king posts and subsidiary struts
with carved cusped panels between, and pairs of purlins. Nave roof
timbers also springing from 5 carved stone corbels on west wall. Tower
arches on 3 sides consisting of half-octagonal piers with moulded capitals
and bases. Eastern arch with C19 moulded imposts and arch with roll
moulding and inner and outer chamfers (moulding and outer chamfers dying
into responds. West wall with remains of possible former clerestory
door high up to left with chamfered reveals. Small chamfered ogee-
headed blocked opening above tower arch and line of former steeper roof
pitch. West door with round rear arch. Windows with chamfered rear
arches. Chancel arch consisting of half-octagonal piers with moulded
capitals and hollow-chamfered bases, and arch with inner chamfer and
outer roll moulding. Former rood-screen doorway high up to right consisting
of four-centered archway. Small chamfered opening above chancel arch and line
of former steeper roof pitch. 4-bay chancel roof with moulded tie-
beams and pierced braces springing from carved wooden winged angels.
5 stone winged-angel corbels on the east wall and 4 moulded stone corbels
on the west wall with round arch over opening at apex. Chamfered north
and south arches at east ends of aisles (that to north with organ) with
half-octagonal shafts. Doorway to north vestry with chamfered reveals,
hoodmould with carved stops, and boarded door with strap hinges. South
doorway with moulded arch and pierced wooden screen. Square aumbry
to north with pierced wooden door incorporating reticulated tracery,
C14 piscina to south with continuous moulded arch, ribbed soffit,moulded
bowl with 8 flutes and mouled cill. Chapel in east end of south aisle
has chamfered square-headed piscina and segmental tomb recess in north
wall (neither noted at time of survey - June 1986). Blocked former
doorway to tower stair, with chamfered reveals. Rich fittings of c.1879-
84, including: traceried chancel panelling with cresting. Carved
and painted wooden altar and reredos with pierced ogee-headed panels,
vine trails, crocketed buttresses and heraldic crests. Brass altar
rails. Carved wooden choir stalls. Carved wooden chancel screen,
by Kempe, and screens to organ chamber and 2-bay south aisle chapel,
each with pierced ogee tracery, carved frieze and cresting. Brass lectern.
Octagonal stone pulpit with moulded base. Ogee panels with marble
colonnettes crockets and finials, and carved band to top. Carved wooden
altar in south aisle chapel with 3 panels inscribed: "BEHOLD THE LAMP
OF GOD", and large carved wooden triptych above with figures of saints
in canopied niches. Low stone walls to east and north tower arches
with traceried panels and moulded copings. Octagonal wooden font in
north aisle with trefoiled panels to stem and bowl and plain wooden
cover. Late C17 parish chest. Two smaller chests. Encaustic tiles.

Stained glass: that in east window of 1895, in south aisle of 1901
and 1903 and in north aisle of 1904, all by Kempe. West window glass
by Shrigley and Hunt. Monuments: stone tablet in south aisle to William
Church (d. 16 June 1632) and his son Richard (d. 24 October 1651), with
flanking scrolls and segmental pediment with shield. Stone tablet
in chancel to Dame Anne Corbet (d. 24 October 1682), consisting of a
cartouche with swags, flanking putti, winged angel at base etc. Tablet
in south aisle to Sir John James Markham (d. 10 December 1778) signed
by Joseph Wilton, with mourning female figure to right and urn to left.
Tablet on tower pier to John Smallwood (d. 7 April 1771) and Catherine
his wife (d. 22 December 1765). Old photographs kept in the church
show the interior before restoration with galleries and box pews.
An engraving of c.1875 shows the exterior with the late C18 hipped-
roofed aisles. The C18 work commenced in 1786. There is a local
tradition that Robert Clive (1725-74), later to become Lord Clive of
India, climbed the church tower and sat astride a gargoyle when he was
attending the grammar school (q.v.) nearby.

D.H.S. Cranage, An Architectural Account of the Churches of Shropshire, Part 8, pp. 677-81; B.o.E., p.194; Drayton Civic Society, Market Drayton. A Town and its People,
pp. 63-4.

Listing NGR: SJ6759234071

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Church of Saint Mary

A Grade II* Listed Building in Market Drayton, Shropshire

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