Staunton St Mary

Official Listing Description

SK 84 SW

8/48

16-1-67

STAUNTON

HIGH STREET
(east side)

Church of St. Mary

Grade II*

Parish Church. C14, 1687, largely rebuilt in 1853 by E. J. Willson of Lincoln, restored in 1936. Coursed rubble with ashlar dressings and some rendering. Slate roofs with tiled cap to tower. Ashlar coped gables, with kneelers to east chancel, and 3 ridge finials. The church is buttressed and stands on a plinth which is shallow in places. A string course runs under the east chancel window and around the south, west and north aisle walls, interrupted by the south porch and north door. Nave, north aisle, tower over east end of north aisle, north vestry, chancel, south porch.The west end of the nave has a 14-light arched, flowing tracery window with cusping, hood mould and label stops. The west end of the north aisle has a 3-light arched and traceried window with hoodmould and label stops. The angle buttresses of the west wall rise above the roof line and have decorated pinnacles, separating nave and aisle is a similar single buttress. The north aisle has a doorway with foliate decorated capitals extending to imposts with ogee arch, finial and label stops over. Above is a niche with damaged base, and canopy decorated with crockets, cusping and 2 small heads. To the east is a slate wall tablet to the Revd. John Mounsey, c.1827 by R. Harston, Newark. There are two 3-light arched and traceried windows with hood moulds and label stops. The buttresses rise above the gargoyled corbel table and terminate in decorated pinnacles. The angle buttressed C14 tower of 2 stages is rendered in places under the bell chamber. The north wall has a small square headed doorway with rectangular opening above. There are 3 further small rectangular lights. The rendering is dated 1936. The east wall has on the 1st floor a rectangular light with the date 1687 over. On the ground floor is a damaged slate tablet to the Revd. John Staunton, c.1851, by E. Marshal, Newark. The south wall has a rectangular light. There are four 2-light arched openings to the bell chamber with tracery and cusping. They have hood moulds over with label stops to the south and north There is a gargoyled corbel table, each side having, 2 larger gargoyles. Between the tower and vestry is a small arched window. Steps lead down to a doorway, with depressed arch, in the west wall of the vestry. The north wall of the vestry has an arched single light window with tracery and cusping, and an arched doorway. The east wall has an arched 2-light window with cusping, hood mould and label stops. The arched 3-light east chancel window has tracery with cusping, and hood mould and label stops over. There is an angle buttress to the south. The south chancel has an arched doorway flanked by single 2-light arched windows with tracery, cusping, hood moulds and label stops. There is a gargoyled corbel table. The south nave has three 3-light arched windows with hoodmoulds and label stops. The centre window has flowing tracery the outer windows are both reticulated with multifoils. The buttress which is one window in from the east rises above the gargoyled corbel table and forms a flue with embattled parapet. The gabled, coped and buttressed south porch with ridge cross has a central moulded arch supported on engaged columns with moulded capitals, with hood mould and label stops over. The east and west walls both have single ashlar quatrefoils contained in a rectangular panel. The interior porch doorway has a billet decorated arch. The nave is separated from the north aisle by an arcade of 3 bays, having C14 octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases supporting double chamfered arches, the western arch has a label Stop to the nave side. To the west of the western most arch is a small chamfered arch rising to a level with the capitals. There is a triple chamfered tower arch. The tower is blocked. The double chamfered chancel arch is supported on octagonal engaged columns with hood mould and label stops, with a traceried screen dated 1519. The north aisle end south and north chancel walls each have a single arched doorway. There is a piscina in the south chancel wall. The north aisle windows and west nave window have hood moulds and label stops. The C12 circular font is decorated with arcading. In the north aisle are 2 C16 unusually carved oak benches. There is a C19 circular cast iron radiation stove heater in the nave with inscription, "Ventillating Coy Gurney Patent The Warming". on'the north chancel wall is a monument, 1738, with broken pediment and central urn, to Gilbert and Elizabeth Charlton, Gilbert and Harvey Staunton, Lettice and Elizabeth. The south chancel wall has an ashlar and slate monument to Anne Staunton and Will and Eliz Holbrooke, 1685, the apron is decorated with a skull and cross bones, brackets support a segmental podium with decorated shield. On the blocked tower wall is a monument to Job Brough, Elizabeth Brough and their 2 sons Job Charlton Brough and Francis John, 1811, by Richd Westmacott, the crown is decorated with a shield and a bird carved in relief. The north wall of the nave has an inset tablet to Antonius Staunton, 1560, and a monument with broken pediment to Jane Degge and Harvey Degge her son, 1757. On the east wall of the north aisle is a monument with broken segmental podium and coloured decorated shield on the apron to Gilbert and Anne Charlton, 1731, by Jas Wallis, Newark and an inset ashlar tablet, 1732, to Anne Brough. The north wall has a very fine monument to Job Staunton Charlton, 1807, over the inscription is a large standing female figure carved in relief and surmounted by a shaped podium with coloured and decorated shield and small carved animal head over. In the north aisle are several tombs. Against the east wall is an early C14 knight in sunk relief with a dog at his feet and 2 shields in a band over his body. There is a C13 coffin with an incised stylized cross in the lid with interlaced arch decoration around the sides. Another, damaged, has a stylized cross. Adjacent to the north wall is a C15 tomb, topped with a damaged lady in a wimple, the base is decorated with shields and tudor roses in cusped panels. There is the damaged lower half of a knight, and an early C14 damaged cross-legged knight with intricate chain mail. In the floor is a stone with shield carved in sunk relief, 1582.