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I Location

II General Description

St Mary's is a substantial church with an aisled and clerestoreyed nave, a late-13thc. chancel (restored in 1866-68) with a S vestry of 1882 and an octagonal parish room added to the S of this in 1984, and a 13thc. W tower with a 14thc. embattled parapet and spire. Pevsner's analysis suggests that the original church was cruciform, on the basis of the nook-shafted respond of N arcade, pier 3. The tower and spire were entirely rebuilt in 1866-68 by W. Slater, and the rest of the church restored. Romanesque interest centres on the nave arcades, each of six bays with part of a seventh at the W. The three E bays of both arcades are of c.1300, with tall pointed arches and quatrefoil piers. Then, on the S the three and a half western bays, with their round-headed arches, and the three western piers, cylindrical with scallop capitals, are all 12thc. The N arcade is more complex, since only bay 4 is round-headed, and the western bays are pointed with 13thc. stiff-leaf capitals. Pevsner described the exterior as 'much too restored'.

IV Interior Features

2. Arcades

c. Nave

(i) N arcade, bay 4

Round-headed. The arch has an angle roll and face hollow towards the nave; the aisle face is unmoulded. Pier 3, from which the arch springs at the E, is a c.1300 quatrefoil clustered pier with moulded capitals, and the arch rests on a 12thc. quirked chamfered impost above the W capital of the cluster. A similar impost supports the W springing of the arch, but here it is applied to the E face of a heavy, square respond and supported by an engaged nook-shaft with a plain cushion capital in the SE angle of the pier. A shaft at a lower level on the NE angle of the pier supports a stiff-leaf capital and the remains of a transverse arch, formerly, according to Pevsner, the arch into the transept.

(ii) S arcade, bays 4-7

Round-headed. The arches become progressively less elaborate towards the W. Bay 4 has centripetal chevron lateral to the nave face, with a double-quirked angle roll profile. Bay 5 has a slender angle roll on the nave face, and bays 6 and 7 are unmoulded. Pier 3, of course, is a quatrefoil clustered pier with moulded capitals, and the arch of bay 4 descends on a plain impost block with a groove or roll at the lower edge set above the W capital of the pier. Piers 4, 5 and 6 are cylindrical, and each has a moulded insert below its capital, suggesting that the arcade was heightened when it was extended to the E.

Pier 4: multi-scallop ironstone capital with five shields per face and wedges between the cones. The abacus is tall and the impost a plain block carved on its N face with a recessed panel containing a running scroll with spiral terminals in low relief. The necking is a plain roll, and the spacer below the capital is carved with two widely separated rolls. The pier base is hollow chamfered with spurs.

Pier 5: ironstone capital and necking as pier 5. The impost is again a simple block carved on the N face only, this time with a panel containing chip-carved decoration consisting of a row of triangles containing raised horizontal mouchettes. The spacer below the capital has a roll necking, then a hollow chamfer and a plain face.

Pier 6: multi-flat-leaf ironstone capital with a broad pointed leaf on each angle and four similar on each face. The leaves are outlined by thin rolls. The square abacus is tall, and the impost is plain chamfered. The necking is chamfered, and the spacer below similar to that of pier 5, save that its lower necking is chamfered.

VII History

The bulk of Burton Latimer, 81/2 hides, was held by Guy de Raimbeaucourt in 1086. A smaller holding of 11/2 hides was held by Richard from the Bishop of Coutances. Neither parcel included a church or a priest.

Dedication to Our Lady recorded in 1510.

VIII Comments/Opinions

IX Bibliography