St Mary, Little Coxwell, Berkshire

I Location

Site Location
Little Coxwell
National Grid Reference
SU 28X 93Y
County
traditional: Berkshire
now: Oxfordshire
Diocese
medieval: Salisbury
now: Oxford
Dedication
medieval: not confirmed
now (or name of monument): St Mary
Type of building/monument
Parish church

II General Description

12thc. work is found on the S nave and chancel doorways. The former is described below, the latter is completely plain.

III Exterior Features

1. Doorways

S doorway, general view from S

S doorway, general view from S

S doorway, upper part from S

S doorway, upper part from S

S doorway, L impost, detail

S doorway, L impost, detail

(i) S doorway, nave

Round-headed, of one order. Angle rolls without bases. No capitals, but moulded imposts following the profile of the roll and continuing E and W along the wall as far as the label. These imposts comprise a roll, or necking, above this a cavetto, finally an upright face, rounded at its lower edge to form a lip over the cavetto. At the outer end of each impost, within the cavetto, the necking roll and the lip of the upright turn in through 180 degrees, join at a collar, and terminate in a pointed bud pointing towards the jamb. On the upright of the impost, two horizontal grooves, just above the lip. In the arch, an angle roll with a flat arch outside it. The label has billet on the chamfer.

Dimensions
h. of opening 2.38 m
w. of opening 1.01 m
h. of imposts 0.13 m

VII History

No church mentioned in DS, when the manor was held by the king.

VIII Comments/Opinions

The S doorway sculpture cannot be compared with anything else in the church. Its plainness and narrow proportions argue an early date, the moulded imposts and curious impost decoration a late one.

IX Bibliography

  • N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England. Berkshire. Harmondsworth 1966, 167-68.
  • C.E. Keyser, 'The Norman Architecture of Berkshire, repr. from Transactions of the Newbury District Field Club, V (1911), 20.