The church of St.
Mary, situated in the middle of the village, consists of chancel,
north vestry, south organ chamber, nave, north and south aisles,
south porch, west porch, south-east tower. The walls are of flint
with stone dressings; the tower is covered with cement.
The earliest part
of the existing church is the chancel, which dates from about
1230–40. The nave appears to have been rebuilt about the middle of
the 14th century, but the west doorway is earlier, about 1320–30.
The north and south aisles are of the same date as the nave. The
west porch and a detached tower to the south of the chancel were
added in the 15th century. The unusual position of the tower is
probably due to the existence of the west doorway of an earlier
date. In 1864 the church was thoroughly repaired, much of the
external stone was replaced, the whole building re-roofed, a vestry
built north of the chancel, the upper part of the tower repaired
with brick and cemented, an organ-chamber erected on the south
side, connecting the chancel with the tower, and a timber south
porch added.
This church
presents several interesting features unusual in the Hertfordshire
churches. The chancel has a considerable elevation above the floor
of the nave. The floors of both nave and chancel have a perceptible
inclination upwards towards the east; this is probably partly due
to the slope of the ground, and there is a belief, which, however,
has never been investigated, that a vault exists under the chancel.
The other unusual features are the detached tower on the south, now
connected with the chancel, and the west porch.
The fine chancel
arch dates from about 1230–40. The arch is of two richly moulded
orders, with the dog-tooth ornament between. The jambs are moulded,
and have modern detached shafts of red Devonshire marble. The
moulded bases and the capitals of carved foliage are original.
The nave has north
and south arcades of five pointed arches. Over each pier is a
clearstory window of two lights, the inner jambs of which belong to
the early 15th century, the rest of the
stonework being modern.
The west doorway is
of early 14th-century date, with moulded
clunch arch and jambs of
oolite. The west window has four
lights, with flowing tracery of about 1340–50.
The east window of
the north aisle is of three cinquefoiled lights with flowing
tracery. The west window is also of three lights with flowing
tracery. The four windows in the north wall are of two lights with
traceried heads. All the windows are of mid14th-century date,
repaired
The windows in the
south aisle are similar to those in the north, the section of the
inner label in the windows in the south wall being different.
The south porch is
modern.
The west porch is
of 15th-century date.
The south-east
tower is of three stages, with doorways on the north and west
sides. The second stage is pierced by loops. In each face of the
belfry stage is a two-light window with traceried head. The tower
is finished with an embattled parapet and a small leaded spire.
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would
just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first so he can
keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid
duplication.